Indigenous Knowledge, Stories, and Culture
Stories Across Victorian Indigenous Communities, with a Focus on Wadawurrung
Stories across Victorian Indigenous communities are living cultural frameworks, embedding Law/Lore, kinship, environmental knowledge, and spiritual responsibilities into oral traditions. Each Nation maintains distinct narratives tied to Country, but common themes include creation, transformation, and the moral responsibilities of people to one another and to the land. This article surveys key stories across Victoria—the Kulin Nations, Gunaikurnai, Yorta Yorta, Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, and others—before focusing on the Wadawurrung people. It also examines the impact of colonisation on storytelling traditions and highlights contemporary revitalisation efforts.
Storytelling as Law and Education
In Victorian Indigenous communities, storytelling is central to learning. These are not “myths” in a Western sense but expressions of Law, history, and spirituality, tied to specific features of Country—mountains, rivers, coastlines, and stars. Children learn through listening, dancing, singing, and drawing symbols on Country. Stories ensure survival, teaching kinship rules, ethics, and ecological practices such as when to burn, hunt, or gather (VACL & Creative Victoria, 2014; VAEAI, 2024).
Stories of the Kulin Nations
Bunjil the Creator.
Across the Kulin Nations—Wadawurrung, Wurundjeri, Boonwurrung, Taungurung, and Dja Dja Wurrung—Bunjil, the wedge-tailed eagle, is creator and law-giver. He shaped the land and instituted moieties (Bunjil/Eagle and Waa/Crow) with marriage and kinship rules still central today (Deadly Story, n.d.).
Waa the Crow.
Waa is both protector and trickster, credited with bringing and sharing fire. Waa stories emphasise intelligence, adaptability, and cooperation in survival (Taungurung Land & Waters Council, n.d.).
The Emu in the Sky.
Kulin star knowledge includes the Emu traced in the dark of the Milky Way. Its seasonal positions guide activities such as gathering emu eggs at appropriate times, integrating astronomy with sustainable practice (Hamacher & Norris, 2011).
Stories of the Gunaikurnai (Gippsland)
Tiddalik the Frog.
The tale of Tiddalik, who drank all the water until the animals made him laugh and release it, teaches about greed, cooperation, and water cycles (Museums Victoria, n.d.).
Borun and Tuk.
Borun (pelican) journeyed carrying his canoe, followed by Tuk (musk duck), who became his wife; their story explains Gunaikurnai origins and binds families to rivers, wetlands, and coastlines of Gippsland (VACL & Creative Victoria, 2014).
Stories of the Yorta Yorta (Northern Victoria)
Creation of Dhungala (Murray River).
A giant ancestral snake carved Dhungala (the Murray). The story frames the river as kin and law and instructs care for its waters and ecosystems (Barwick, 1998).
Star Stories.
Constellations signal movements of fish, animals, and plants, ensuring sustainable harvest cycles across seasons.
Stories of the Gunditjmara (Western Victoria)
Budj Bim and the Volcanoes.
Budj Bim revealed himself by erupting, creating western Victoria’s lava flows. Oral traditions align with ancient volcanic activity and link directly to stone-channel eel aquaculture—now UNESCO-listed for its Outstanding Universal Value (McNiven et al., 2012; UNESCO, 2019).
Eel Stories.
Narratives teach seasonal eel migrations and stewardship of waterways, embedding food security and engineering knowledge within story.
Stories of the Dja Dja Wurrung (Central Victoria)
Lalgambook (Mount Franklin).
Volcanic features such as Lalgambook are explained through ancestral movements, blending geology and cultural meaning (VACL & Creative Victoria, 2014).
Ceremonial Stories.
Songlines and ceremonial narratives teach roles, responsibilities, and protocols for community life.
Spotlight: Stories of the Wadawurrung
Bunjil and Waa.
As part of the Kulin, Wadawurrung stories of Bunjil and Waa underpin moiety systems and kinship responsibilities.
The Three Sisters.
Wadawurrung tell of three sisters transformed into stone to protect them from forbidden unions—stories tied to volcanic and coastal formations that teach kinship Law, women’s protection, and Country as ancestral memory (Eccles, 2017; State Library Victoria, n.d.).
Landscape Stories.
The You Yangs (Anakie Hills) and Bellarine Peninsula hold stories of beings whose actions shaped the land; stony rises and granite peaks are embodiments of ancestral presence (WTOAC, 2025).
Animal Teachers.
Magpie, pelican, and kookaburra stories teach communication, respect for waters, and sharing of resources (GORCC & Wadawurrung, 2020).
Impact of Colonisation Across Victoria
Disruption and Silencing.
From the early nineteenth century, dispossession, massacres, missions, and child removals broke cycles of oral education; many stories could no longer be told on-Country (Clark, 1995).
Misrepresentation.
Settler writers often recorded fragments detached from meaning. William Buckley’s recollections preserve details yet remain filtered through a colonial lens (Morgan, 1852).
Loss of Language.
Because story and language are inseparable, bans and suppression caused deep silencing and obscured meanings.
Survival and Revival.
Stories endured within families and ceremony. Today, communities lead language and cultural revival, on-Country education, and heritage recognition—such as Budj Bim’s UNESCO listing and public Tanderrum ceremonies—re-embedding story in place (VACL & Creative Victoria, 2014; WTOAC, 2025; UNESCO, 2019).
Contemporary Revitalisation
· Nyernila: Listen Continuously collects and shares creation stories across Victorian Nations (VACL & Creative Victoria, 2014).
· Deadly Story provides online resources for young people and educators (Deadly Story, n.d.).
· Traditional Owner corporations—including Wadawurrung, Wurundjeri, and Gunaikurnai—lead school partnerships and cultural tours (WTOAC, 2025; Taungurung Land & Waters Council, n.d.).
Conclusion
Stories across Victorian Indigenous communities form an interconnected cultural map. From Bunjil and Waa among the Kulin, to Tiddalik among the Gunaikurnai, to Budj Bim among the Gunditjmara, each narrative links people to land, waters, and sky. Colonisation sought to silence these traditions, yet they remain resilient, carried by Elders and revitalised by communities. For Wadawurrung, stories such as The Three Sisters, Bunjil, and animal teachers continue to guide identity and Law, sustaining Country as a living library of ancestral knowledge.
References
Barwick, D. (1998) Rebellion at Coranderrk. Aboriginal History Inc.
Clark, I. D. (1995) Scars in the Landscape: A Register of Massacre Sites in Western Victoria 1803–1859. Aboriginal Studies Press.
Deadly Story (n.d.) Stories & Totems. Available at: https://www.deadlystory.com
Eccles, C. (2017) ‘Corrina Eccles – a Wadawurrung Traditional Owner’, Otway Life Magazine.
GORCC & Wadawurrung (2020) Wadawurrung Way: Symbol Stories (F–3 resource).
Hamacher, D. & Norris, R. (2011) ‘Bridging the Gap through Australian Cultural Astronomy’, Archaeoastronomy.
McNiven, I. et al. (2012) The Budj Bim Landscape: World Heritage Assessment Report. UNESCO Nomination.
Morgan, J. (ed.) (1852) The Life and Adventures of William Buckley, Thirty-Two Years a Wanderer Amongst the Aborigines of the Then Port Phillip District.
Museums Victoria (n.d.) Creation Stories: Tiddalik the Frog. Available at: https://museumsvictoria.com
State Library Victoria (n.d.) William Buckley—Reminiscences (1837), MS 13483.
Taungurung Land & Waters Council (n.d.) Creation Stories. Available at: https://tlwc.com.au
UNESCO (2019) Budj Bim Cultural Landscape World Heritage Listing.
VACL & Creative Victoria (2014) Nyernila: Listen Continuously – Aboriginal Creation Stories of Victoria. Melbourne: VACL.
VAEAI (2024) Koorie Education Resources. Available at: https://www.vaeai.org.au
Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (2025) About Us. Available at: https://www.wadawurrung.org.au
Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter 16/09/2025
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Magic Lands Alliance acknowledge the Traditional Owners, Custodians, and First Nations communities across Australia and internationally. We honour their enduring connection to the sky, land, waters, language, and culture. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging, and to all First Peoples communities and language groups. This article draws only on publicly available information; many cultural practices remain the intellectual property of communities.