The Land Treaty in Victoria: History, Struggles, and Global Analogies
The movement toward a land treaty in Victoria marks one of the most significant developments in Australian history. While treaties with Indigenous peoples exist in other settler-colonial nations, Australia has historically lacked such formal agreements. Victoria is now leading the way through the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria and the Yoorrook Justice Commission, both working toward a treaty that recognises the sovereignty, land rights, and cultural authority of First Nations peoples.
This article explores the historical background of treaty discussions, the impacts of colonisation that made treaty urgent, the current process in Victoria, and global analogies that place Victoria’s efforts within a broader context of Indigenous justice movements.
Historical Background: Colonisation Without Treaty
Lack of Recognition in 1788
Unlike in New Zealand (Treaty of Waitangi, 1840) or in North America, British colonisation in Australia occurred under the doctrine of terra nullius — the false legal claim that the land belonged to no one. This doctrine ignored the sovereignty of Aboriginal nations, who had occupied and managed the continent for over 60,000 years (Reynolds, 1987).
No treaties were negotiated, and Aboriginal systems of law, ownership, and custodianship were deliberately unrecognised by the Crown.
Frontier Violence and Land Dispossession
In Victoria, the 1830s and 1840s saw intense frontier conflict. Nations such as the Gunditjmara, Wadawurrung, Taungurung, and Wurundjeri experienced massacres, forced displacement, and confinement to missions (Clark, 1995).
Unlike other British colonies, no official treaties were signed with Victorian clans despite their sophisticated governance, social systems, and long-established land custodianship. This created a legal vacuum that persists to this day.
The Batman “Treaties” and the Kulin Nation Connection (1835)
In 1835, John Batman, a grazier from Van Diemen’s Land, claimed to have negotiated land agreements with Kulin leaders across Port Phillip. These events — long referred to as the “Batman Treaty” — are better understood as two separate meetings on Wurundjeri and Wadawurrung Country. They remain the only known attempts at formal land agreements between colonists and Aboriginal peoples on mainland Australia before modern treaty processes (Broome, 2005).
The Merri Creek Agreement – Wurundjeri Country
The first meeting occurred on Wurundjeri land at Merri Creek, near present-day Northcote and Thornbury.
Batman presented two deeds asserting that Elders had “sold” over 200,000 hectares of land in exchange for goods such as blankets, knives, tomahawks, flour, mirrors, and clothing (Presland, 1994).
However, what actually occurred was a tanderrum — a sacred Kulin ceremony of welcome and temporary access to Country. Through tanderrum, hosts allowed visitors to use land and resources respectfully for a limited period. It did not imply sale, ownership, or permanent alienation (Clark, 1990).
The Wurundjeri believed they were entering a relationship of friendship and obligation — not a commercial transaction. Yet Batman interpreted the ceremony through the lens of English property law, claiming legal possession of vast areas of central Victoria.
The Wadawurrung Agreement – Geelong and Bellarine Peninsula
Soon after Merri Creek, Batman sailed along the coast to Indented Head and the Barrabool Hills on Wadawurrung Country. There he met with Wadawurrung Elders, repeating the same gestures of exchange.
Like the Wurundjeri, the Wadawurrung performed tanderrum ceremonies — expressions of peace, diplomacy, and safe passage — not land sales.
Batman later included these lands in his “deeds,” expanding his claim to cover the Bellarine Peninsula, Werribee Plains, and Barwon River region (Clark, 1995). For the Wadawurrung, this misunderstanding symbolised the beginning of dispossession.
The Red Paint Signatures
Batman’s “treaty deeds” included signatures made in red ochre paint, which he claimed were the marks of several Elders. Later analysis revealed the marks were all identical in style and size — likely painted by a single individual, possibly Batman himself or one interpreter (Broome, 2005; Attwood, 2003).
This revelation undermines the document’s authenticity and highlights the profound cross-cultural miscommunication — and possible manipulation — behind the so-called treaty.
Feoffment vs. Tanderrum
Batman enacted a feoffment — an English legal ritual involving the symbolic transfer of soil or vegetation to signify ownership. To the British, this satisfied property law.
However, the tanderrum performed by Wurundjeri and Wadawurrung was a spiritual and relational ceremony, acknowledging temporary coexistence and shared responsibility for Country.
The collision of these two worldviews — one relational, one proprietary — exposes the legal and moral gulf between Aboriginal law and British colonial law (Reynolds, 1987).
Crown Rejection and Legacy
When reports of Batman’s activities reached Sydney, Governor Richard Bourke declared both deeds invalid under British law. On 26 August 1835, he issued the Proclamation of Terra Nullius, asserting that all land belonged to the Crown and only the government could grant titles (Critchett, 1990).
For the Wurundjeri and Wadawurrung, these events remain both an early attempt at diplomacy and a striking example of misunderstanding and exploitation.
They symbolise how Aboriginal hospitality and law were met with deceit and appropriation — a dynamic that defined much of Australia’s colonial history.
The Push for Treaty in Victoria
Early Advocacy
From the mid-19th century onwards, Aboriginal leaders in Victoria demanded recognition and land justice.
At Coranderrk Mission, Wurundjeri leader William Barak led petitions to government in the 1880s for land rights and autonomy.
Later, activists such as Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls, Margaret Tucker, and Jack Patten continued the struggle through the 20th century, laying the foundations for today’s treaty movement.
Modern Developments
In 2018, the Victorian Government passed the Advancing the Treaty Process with Aboriginal Victorians Act — the first legislation in Australian history to formally commit to treaty.
This act established the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, a democratically elected body representing Traditional Owners and Nations across the state.
The Assembly’s role includes:
· Developing a Treaty Framework for negotiations.
· Establishing a Self-Determination Fund to support communities.
· Partnering with the Yoorrook Justice Commission, which conducts truth-telling about colonisation, missions, and dispossession.
Truth-Telling and the Yoorrook Justice Commission
The Yoorrook Justice Commission, established in 2021, is Australia’s first formal truth-telling process.
It documents testimony from Elders and communities about massacres, land theft, child removals, and mission life.
In 2025, Yoorrook concluded that genocide had occurred in Victoria, carried out through frontier violence, state policy, and cultural suppression (The Guardian, 2025a).
Truth-telling is central to treaty. It ensures negotiations are grounded in acknowledgement and accountability, creating a shared foundation for justice.
What Treaty Means
For Land and Sovereignty
· Recognition that sovereignty was never ceded.
· Return and co-management of Crown land and waters.
· Cultural authority to manage Country through traditional law and ecological knowledge.
· Reparations and resource-sharing for centuries of dispossession.
For Governance
Treaty also represents a shift in governance — embedding Aboriginal leadership in decision-making, policy design, and land management.
It offers a framework for First Nations-led governance within Victoria’s political system.
Global Analogies
Victoria’s process resonates with treaty experiences worldwide:
· New Zealand: The Treaty of Waitangi (1840) acknowledged Māori sovereignty, though its interpretation remains contested. Today it underpins major land settlements and ongoing political negotiation (Walker, 1990).
· Canada: Modern treaties and land claims agreements have provided self-government and land rights for First Nations and Inuit peoples (TRC Canada, 2015).
· United States: Over 370 treaties were signed with Native American nations, creating a legal foundation for sovereignty, despite frequent breaches.
· Scandinavia: The Sámi people have gained cultural and land rights recognition in Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
These analogies show both the potential and limitations of treaties — their power to recognise sovereignty, and the risk of state failure to uphold them.
Contemporary Challenges
Victoria’s treaty process faces key challenges:
· Balancing statewide frameworks with local Nation-based treaties.
· Ensuring adequate funding and resources for Traditional Owners to negotiate equitably.
· Building public understanding and support across Victoria.
Despite these obstacles, the Victorian treaty movement stands as a landmark in Australia’s ongoing journey toward truth, recognition, and reconciliation.
Conclusion
The land treaty process in Victoria represents the first genuine attempt in Australian history to recognise the sovereignty and custodianship of First Nations peoples.
Emerging from a history of colonisation, dispossession, and cultural suppression, the treaty process offers a pathway toward justice, land restitution, and cultural renewal.
In global perspective, Victoria joins nations like New Zealand and Canada in using treaties as instruments of reconciliation. Its success will depend on the honouring of commitments, and on ensuring that the voices of Elders and Traditional Owners remain central.
For Aboriginal Victorians, treaty is not just about land — it is about truth, survival, and self-determination for future generations.
Reference List
· Attwood, B. (2003). Rights for Aborigines. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
· 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. (1995). Scars in the Landscape: A Register of Massacre Sites in Western Victoria 1803–1859. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
· Critchett, J. (1990). A Distant Field of Murder: Western District Frontiers, 1834–1848. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.
· Presland, G. (1994). Aboriginal Melbourne: The Lost Land of the Kulin People. Melbourne: Harriland Press.
· Reynolds, H. (1987). The Law of the Land. Ringwood: Penguin.
· Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015). Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future. Ottawa: TRC Canada.
· Walker, R. (1990). Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle Without End. Auckland: Penguin.
· The Guardian (2025a). Victoria’s Indigenous People Experienced Genocide, Truth-Telling Inquiry Says. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jul/01/victorias-indigenous-people-experienced-genocide-truth-telling-inquiry-says [Accessed 8 Sept. 2025].
Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter 07/10/2025
Magic Lands Alliance
Sharing the truth of Indigenous and colonial history through film, education, land and community.
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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.