Lake Connewarre — Kunuwarra: Place of the Black Swan

Region and Language Group

Lake Connewarre, known in Wadawurrung language as Kunuwarra, lies southeast of Geelong (Djilang) at the heart of Wadawurrung Country, one of the five nations of the Kulin Confederacy. The name Kunuwarra means “black swan”, reflecting both the abundance of these graceful birds and their profound cultural symbolism (Blake 1991; Clark 1990).

The lake and surrounding wetlands form part of the Barwon River system, which flows from the volcanic plains near Ballarat to the Barwon Heads estuary. Together, these waters link inland and coastal Wadawurrung lands, uniting freshwater and saltwater Country in a single living system.

Lake Kunuwarra

Kunuwarra (Lake Connewarre) is one of Victoria’s most significant Indigenous and ecological landscapes — a vast, shallow wetland that has nourished life for thousands of years. For the Wadawurrung people, it was a centre of abundance, ceremony, and law.

Here, waterbirds gathered in their thousands, fish and eels moved with the tides, and families came together to harvest, trade, and give thanks. The lake’s shifting tides reflected cycles of fertility and renewal. In its shimmering expanse, the black swan stood as a totem of beauty, balance, and belonging — a messenger of the seasons and the spirit of Country.

Meaning and Symbolism of Kunuwarra — The Black Swan

In Wadawurrung cosmology, the black swan (Kunuwarra) embodies grace, transformation, and kinship. Its annual arrival signalled the change of seasons — the coming of floodwaters, the greening of plants, and the renewal of food sources.

The swan also symbolised love and partnership, as pairs mate for life and move together across wetlands. In stories, Kunuwarra is linked to the spiritual guardians of the Barwon system, who watch over the flow between freshwater and saltwater.

Beyond Wadawurrung Country, the black swan holds importance across many Indigenous nations of southern Australia, often connected to creation and water spirits. The Wadawurrung version reflects their coastal ecology — an understanding that spirit and water are one (Wadawurrung Traditional Owners 2023; Howitt 1904).

Country and Ecology: The Life of the Wetlands

Before colonisation, Kunuwarra was part of a continuous mosaic of wetlands extending from Lake Connewarre through Reedy Lake, Hospital Swamp, and Salt Swamp. These wetlands provided:

Eels (kooyang) and fish during their migrations between the Barwon and the sea.
Birds and eggs, including pelican, swan, ibis, and duck.
Reeds, sedges, and rushes used for weaving mats, baskets, and shelters.
Edible roots and tubers, such as yam daisies (murnong) and cumbungi rhizomes.

The lake’s shallow depth allowed it to breathe with the tides — alternately flooding and retreating, each cycle renewing soil and water. To the Wadawurrung, these changes represented the heartbeat of Country, governed by Bunjil’s law of balance and respect (Broome 2005).

Ceremony and Gathering on Kunuwarra

Kunuwarra was more than a hunting ground — it was a ceremonial and diplomatic centre. Its location between inland and coastal clans made it an ideal meeting site for tanderrum (welcome) ceremonies, trade exchanges, and initiation rituals.

At times of plenty, groups from neighbouring nations — Woi Wurrung, Boon Wurrung, and Gunditjmara — visited the wetlands to share food, songs, and stories.
Common exchanges included:

Greenstone axes from Mount William.
Shell ornaments and ochre from the coast.
Animal skins and reed spears from the inland plains (Clark & Heydon 2002).

These gatherings reinforced social law, kinship ties, and ecological responsibilities. The lake itself, shimmering under sunlight, was considered a mirror of the sky-world, where ancestors and water beings dwelled beneath the surface.

Colonial Transformation and Disruption

Pastoral Expansion

In the 1830s, British squatters began occupying Wadawurrung Country. The Barwon Valley and Lake Connewarre were among the first areas taken for grazing and cropping. Runs established by Learmonth, Roadknight, and Austin families claimed the best watered land (Clark 1990).

The results were catastrophic for both people and environment:

Wetlands were drained for agriculture.
Fish traps and eel channels were destroyed.
Burning practices that maintained biodiversity were banned.
Swan populations declined, disturbed by hunting and habitat loss.

Industrial and Urban Impact

By the late 19th century, the Barwon’s flow had been dammed, diverted, and polluted. Geelong’s industrial expansion turned nearby creeks into waste channels. The balance between freshwater and saltwater at Kunuwarra shifted, disrupting fish breeding and wetland vegetation (Boyce 2011).

For the Wadawurrung, this represented not only ecological loss but spiritual desecration — a breaking of the law that had governed the river for millennia (Atkinson 2002).

Cultural Survival and Renewal

Despite dispossession, Wadawurrung families continued to visit and maintain connection to Kunuwarra in secret, preserving stories of the lake’s spirit and its swan guardian.

Today, these traditions are being reawakened through:

Language revival: reintroducing the word Kunuwarra in schools, signage, and cultural education.
Cultural mapping: documenting old campsites, middens, and ceremonial zones.
Partnerships with the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CCMA) to manage water flows and protect sacred sites.
Ecological restoration: replanting native sedges, managing weeds, and re-establishing waterbird habitats under Wadawurrung guidance.

For the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (WTOAC), caring for Kunuwarra is both an environmental and spiritual duty — a return to balance and law.

The Lake Today: A Living Cultural Landscape

Lake Connewarre is now part of the Ramsar-listed wetlands of international importance for migratory birds. Yet, for the Wadawurrung, its greatest value lies in its continuing story.

On calm mornings, black swans still drift across the water — living symbols of endurance. Their movements recall ancestral teachings: that life, like water, flows in cycles; that renewal comes through respect and care.

Modern truth-telling and educational programs at Kunuwarra encourage visitors to understand the lake not as a recreational zone, but as sacred Country — where every ripple carries memory.

Conclusion

Kunuwarra — Lake Connewarre — stands as both a reminder and a renewal. Once the great meeting place of Wadawurrung clans, it was scarred by colonisation but never silenced. Its name, meaning black swan, still echoes across the water, carrying the voices of ancestors and the law of Bunjil.

Today, the return of cultural leadership to the lake marks a turning tide — a movement toward healing, respect, and shared stewardship. To speak the word Kunuwarra is to remember that the land, the water, and the people are one story — ever flowing, ever alive.

References

Atkinson, J. (2002) Trauma Trails: Recreating Songlines – The Transgenerational Effects of Trauma in Indigenous Australia. Spinifex Press.
Blake, B. (1991) Wathawurrung and the Colac Language of Southern Victoria. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
Boyce, J. (2011) 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia. Black Inc.
Broome, R. (2005) Aboriginal Victorians: A History Since 1800. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Clark, I. D. (1990) Aboriginal Languages and Clans: An Historical Atlas of Western and Central Victoria, 1800–1900. Melbourne: Monash Publications in Geography.
Clark, I. D. and Heydon, T. (2002) Dictionary of Aboriginal Placenames of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages.
Howitt, A. W. (1904) The Native Tribes of South-East Australia. London: Macmillan.
Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (2023) Kunuwarra: Caring for the Barwon Wetlands Country Plan. Geelong: WTOAC.

Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter (22 September 2025)

MLA

Sharing the truth of Indigenous and colonial history through film, education, land, and community.
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Magic Lands Alliance acknowledges 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 respect 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 their respective communities.

Lake Connewarre - Kunuwarra