The Koorie Heritage Trust’s extensive Curatorial collection includes pre-contact, historic and contemporary artefacts, artworks and photographs. Our collection is unique in that it concentrates solely on south-eastern Aboriginal culture.

There are hundreds of Koorie artists and craftspeople represented in the Trust’s artefact and picture (painting) collections. Koorie art itself is diverse and inclusive of a wide range of styles and mediums through which artists choose to represent themselves and tell their stories. Artists continue to use and reclaim the designs and patterns of their ancestors and reinterpret these traditional designs and beliefs through a wide range of contemporary and traditional mediums.

In accordance with the Trust’s mission of protecting and preserving Koorie culture and heritage the Trust continues to acquire items for its collections through purchasing and donations to preserve Koorie cultural heritage for generations to come. The second part of the Trust’s mission is about sharing and promoting Koorie cultural and heritage, which is supported through the display of collection items in the permanent and temporary exhibitions held both at the Trust and off-site.

Artefact collection
There are approximately 3,000 artefacts (objects) registered in the Trust’s Curatorial collection. The Trust has been collecting (mostly purchasing) items since 1985, from artists, private collections and Auction houses locally and overseas.

Oldest artefacts
The oldest items in the collection would be the stone tools. These number in the thousands and include grinding stones, scrapers, flints and the highly valued green stone axes. Green stone is a superior stone for the manufacture of axe heads and people came from hundreds of kilometres away to the quarries at Mt. William, near Daylesford, the only source of this stone in Australia to trade with the Wurundjeri people for this stone.

Pre-contact and historic artefacts
It is mostly through the Auction houses, but also through significant donations that the Trust has been able to build up such a strong collection of pre-contact and historic artefacts, ranging from awls, baskets, boomerangs, clubs, digging sticks, message sticks, shields, spears and woomeras (spear throwers).

The historic crafts of making feather flowers, emu egg carving and wood burning are linked with establishment of missions and reserves and through the Trust’s extensive collection of these items we can track the evolving nature of Koorie art and culture. These crafts represent the impact of traditional materials and crafts being modified as a result of the new European tools and the increasing demand from tourists for souvenirs and cultural commodities.

The Trust has over 250 items made from the traditional craft of basket weaving, including baby carriers, baskets, eel traps and ornamental pieces (placemats, coasters etc.). Through the Trust’s collection of weaving we can witness the changes in basket weaving associated with mission times, where new forms of baskets (with handles), ornamental pieces (placemats etc.) and bags were in demand and became more decorative and reminiscent of the items in European households of the time.

Culturally significant memorabilia
There are a number of culturally significant memorabilia in the collection which show the shared history since European contact of the Koorie community such as awards, breast plates, a military uniform and war medals. Breast plates were presented to Aboriginal people in the 1800’s and carried titles of Chief, Duke, Prince, King or Queen positions that had no equivalent in the Aboriginal tribes in which they were being presented.

Possum skin cloaks, emu eggs and sculpture
The Trust has a diverse collection of contemporary artefacts, artworks and crafts ranging from carved/painted emu eggs, mosaics, coolamons, possum skin cloaks, emu feather skirts, echidna quill earrings/necklaces, marnangook (possum skin footballs), painted/woodburnt shields/clubs/boomerangs, clothing items, ceramics, sculptures and a range of textiles etc. Through these contemporary items we can see how Koorie artists proudly continue to use and reclaim the designs, patterns and stories of their ancestors and reinterpret these elements through a wide range range of contemporary and traditional mediums and materials.

For further information on the Trust’s collections of artefacts, pictures (paintings) and photographs please contact the Nerissa Broben, Curatorial/Collections Manger nerissa@koorieheritagetrust.com