In 1803, British invasion brought the devastating impacts of colonisation, particularly for the Mumirimina whose Country they first ‘acquired’.
The first massacre of Aboriginal people in Lutruwita occurred just around the corner from here at Risdon Cove in May 1804 when British soldiers opened fire on a large group of Mumirimina men, women and children hunting kangaroo. An ‘orphaned’ Mumirimina boy was taken by the British and christened Robert Hobart May, becoming the first of many Aboriginal children stolen by the invaders. We do not know what became of him.
The dispossession of the Mumirimina was early, violent and rapid. By 1820 the survivors retreated to neighbouring territories. Many joined guerrilla groups in the resistance fight. Others ended up with George Augustus Robinson on his mission to remove Aboriginal people to Flinders Island in the Bass Strait. None survived.
The spirit of Mumirimina people lives on through the cultural heritage sites that are still visible on their traditional lands (albeit severely impacted on), and through their countrymen, lutha (the gum tree). The protection of these sites is imperative, as they provide our Community the physical and visual links to our past, and a reminder to the wider community of the longevity of a People and their culture.
The many middens that line the river banks have been mostly impacted or completely destroyed by contemporary development. Shell material was also removed for lime by colonists and used in the construction of colonial buildings. Amateur archaeologists through the 20th Century eagerly and frequently collected stone tools. This unfortunately interrupts an age-old story, that can never be re-told.
Aboriginal community today are devastated at the amount of heritage and country that is destroyed by logging, mining, developments, and continue to fight for our People and our Country.
Pakana ngini mangina mapali, krakapaka Pakana-nara, milaythina-nara.
paywuta, milaythina nika Mumirimina
Mumirimina taypani lumi mulaka tara + payathanima
raytji mulaka Mumirimina; Mumirimina-mapali krakapaka rri-ta raytji
raytji ningina pliri-Mumirimina
ningina milaythina-nara; takariliya-nara; pakana-nara;
waranta putiya tunapri nara tapilti
liyini ningimpi Mumirimina makara milaythina-nara-ti
nara lumi; lutha-ti; limuna-ti; tiyuratina-ti; takila-mana-mapali-ti
waranta kanaplila Mumirimina; waranta taymi tunapri-nara.