Journey

Aboriginal History Walk - The Flats

The area known as ‘The Flats’, became home to many after the Walk Off from Cummeragunja at Barmah on four February 1939. The first ever mass strike of Aboriginal people, the Walk Off, was due to the increasingly restrictive controls upon the movement and activities of the people, the poor rations and cruel treatment they received and the increasing removal of children. Jack Patten, with the help of William Cooper, encouraged the people of the mission to leave, therefore resulting in the walk off to ‘The Flats’. Jack Patten received a gaol sentence for his part in enticing the Aboriginal families to leave the Cummeragunja reserve. Both Jack Patten and William Cooper were spokesmen for the dispersed Aboriginal communities of central Victoria and western New South Wales. The particular site at ‘The Flats’ was chosen as the Yorta Yorta had an extended traditional association with the environments in close proximity to rivers such as the Kaiela (Goulburn River). ‘The Flats’ was also home to some Aboriginal families prior to the Walk Off. Today, walking through the flats with the aid of good interpretive signage and aided by an attitude of stillness, absorbing the story of the people who moved out of oppression to make their home on these river flats is a visceral experience. Organised walks are run on an ad-hoc basis through RiverConnect. Learn more and gain a better understanding. Spend time on country. Take it in. Listen to the stories. Pass them on.

Visit website

Connect with nature on Yorta Yorta country

Bike rider at The Flats - Shepparton and Goulburn Valley

Distance

4.3 Kilometres

Duration

0.45 Hours

Location and Directions7277 Midland Highway Mooroopna Victoria 3629 Australia

Directions in Google Maps

Product Types

Trails

Activities

Walks

Itineraries

This walking tour will give you the chance to walk some of the tracks in the area known as the ‘Flats’ located between the Peter Ross-Edwards Causeway and the Goulburn River on the south side. The establishment of an Aboriginal community in this area by the Yorta Yorta families was a direct result of the Cummeragunja ‘Walk Off’ on 6 February 1939. This particular site was chosen, as the Yorta Yorta had an extended traditional association with the environments in close proximity to rivers such as the Kaiela (Goulburn River). A September 1946 police report listed 130 people aged from 8 days to 80 years living on the ‘flats’ with a third of them less than 15 years of age. Lodgings consisted of 29 dwellings, 22 being assortments of tin or hessian bag huts and the rest tents. The river provided abundant food including crayfish, red fin, yellow belly, cod as well as possum, turtle, turtle eggs, swan, duck, crane and other birds and their eggs. The women predominantly fished whilst the men would hunt for rabbits. Every year the river would flood, causing the residents to move to higher ground on Daish’s paddock, now home to KidsTown Adventure Playground.
Travel Method
- Bicycle
- Walk
Activities
- Cycling
- Hiking
- Walks
Start Location
7277 Midland Highway, Victoria, 3629, Australia
Start Area & Region
The Murray, The Murray
End Location
7277 Midland Highway, Victoria, 3629, Australia
End Location Area & Region
The Murray, The Murray

Do you own this business?

Click here to update