Sunday 7 July

‘Lalkambuk Cultural Landscapes’ Tour for NAIDOC Week

Sunday 7 July 2024

Hepburn Shire is collaborating with the Great Dividing Trail Association as part of NAIDOC Week to present a ‘Lalkambuk Cultural Landscapes Tour’ in the Lalkambuk / Mount Franklin area on Dja Dja Wurrung Country.

NAIDOC Week is an annual Australian observance. ‘NAIDOC’, standing for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’ has its roots in the 1938 Day of Mourning.

The tour (9.30am-3pm) led by Barry Golding, will visit a number of significant but poorly known sites in the footprint of the former 1841 Aboriginal Protectorate, which included all land within an 8 km radius of Franklinford, until the Protectorate system was abandoned in 1849. The remaining First Peoples were removed to Coranderrk in 1864.

Sites visited (all viewed from public land after short walks) include the Larni Barramul (‘Nest of the Emu’) crater within the Lalkambuk (‘Split Head’) Mt Franklin Scenic Reserve, the former Aboriginal Protectorate and Aboriginal School site and Cemetery, the former Aboriginal Protectorate Flour Mill on the Mill Spring, the Limestone (Mount Franklin) Mineral Spring and Clarks Pool on Larni Barramul Yaluk.

The tour’s main message, in an era of Truth Telling, is that we have much to learn about First Nations and post-contact history in what amounts to a valuable but poorly acknowledged local cultural landscape. In collaboration with Dja Dja Wurrung peoples, we do indeed need to be eternally vigilant, learn about and acknowledge what happened in the landscape, protect and interpret what remains, and ‘keep the fires burning’ on Country.

Registrations are essential as numbers are limited. The Tour is Free for GDTA members; non-members will be charged $5.00 on the day to cover insurance. For bookings, visit the GDTA website:

The tour starts with a 9.30am Welcome and Smoking Ceremony by Dja Dja Wurrung Elder, Uncle Ricky Nelson in the crater of the Mount Franklin Reserve. Only short walks (total 2 km) are anticipated and we will drive between sites. The tour will require people to share transport to limit the number of cars in convoy.

Bring your own lunch, drinks and refreshments. Dress appropriately for the weather on the day. Details of the meeting place and time will be provided to all those registered prior to the event.

Bookings open on 21st June and  close on Friday 5th July with 1 booking per email address.

You may cancel your booking by returning to this page, clicking the cancel button will free up a space.