Gawa Trail Marker

Plaque #0 (Welcome) WOMIN JEKA! — the Woiwurrung words for ‘Welcome’ The GAWA WURUNDJERI RESOURCE TRAIL offers you a burra burra yan, a bush walk of discovery through Wurundjeri country. Rich in natural resources, this land sustained the Wurundjeri people

Plaque #1 TEA TREE Kunzea ericoides Woiwurrung name: BURGAN The Burgan’s straight stems were perfect for spears used for hunting and weaponry. A stem was selected and pared down with a stone scraper, its kinks removed by heating over a

Plaque #2 SPINY-HEADED MAT-RUSH Lomandra longifolia Woiwurrung name: KURAWUN The leaves, inner bark, and root fibres of many shrubs, trees and reeds were used by the Wurundjeri to make mats, bags, hunting nets, baskets for carrying and cooking and articles

Plaque #3 WOMBAT Woiwurrung name: WARENDJI Wombats sleep during the day in their long, multi-chambered burrows. Young men were sometimes sent along a burrow to signal the position of the wombat, so the men above could dig a vertical shaft,

Plaque #4 BRACKEN FERN Pteridium esculentum Woiwurrung name: the generic name for fern is BUYET The Wurundjeri used bracken fern as a mattress, an ointment and for making bread. They used the springy, leathery fronds of the bracken fern covered

Plaque #5 VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS BUSH Prostanthera lasianthos Woiwurrung name: CORANDERRK Coranderrk is a mint bush. The leaves were used by the Wurundjeri as food flavouring and for medicinal purposes. Coranderrk was important for fire-making. A stalk was twirled rapidly between

Plaque #6 ECHIDNA Woiwurrung name: GAWARN GAWA is a derivation of gawarn. The echidna may have heard you coming and used its long digging claws to quickly bury itself, escaping you as a perceived threat. Echidna was prized by the

Plaque #7 WATSONS CREEK The creek’s Woiwurrung name was never recorded. The creek provided seasonal bounty for the clan. When the rains came the creek became a torrent, while in the heat of summer only a trickle remained. The Wurundjeri

Plaque #8 MANNA GUM Eucalyptus viminalis Woiwurrung name: WURRUN The large tree in front of you is a Manna gum, or wurrun. Within wurrun lives a small grub, djeri. Say the two words together to discover the origin of the

Plaque #9 RED STRINGYBARK Eucalyptus macrorhyncha Woiwurrung name: WAYUT Stringybark was used for building shelters or willams. Bark was cut off in slabs to form the roof and walls, while acacia or similar wood formed the frame. The willam was