Gardens and Aboriginal land management in Western Victoria

Winter online zoom  lecture by Dr Raymond Madden,

 Senior Lecturer, Anthropologist, in the School of Social Sciences, La Trobe University

James Dawson, (1806-1900), was a prominent pastoralist in the colonial history of western Victoria.  In 1881 he published, ' Australian Aborigines: The Languages and Customs of Several Tribes of Aborigines in the Western District of Victoria'. This lecture will outline Dawson's knowledge, respect and advocacy for Aboriginal people and his appreciation of their land management or 'gardening' skills.He was also a good friend of the colonial artist Eugene von Guerard, who often stayed with Dawson at his properties Kangatong and Wuurong, on his various sojourns into the western district regions. Dawson was also very aware of the imminent denuding of the Tower Hill landscape, leading to the commissioning of Guerard to capture it in his famous painting. This ties in with the spring bus trip in November.

Presented by: Victorian branch – Australian Garden History Society

Cost:  $10 members AGHS, $10 Friends RBG, $15 non-members