From a historical perspective there are a range of images of Victoria such as ‘A reminiscence of early Melbourne Elizabeth street 1844’ and Koorie Victoria in the 1800’s. These images include historical events such as Batman signing the ‘treaty’ with Woiworung and Boonwurrung clan heads and snapshots of life for Koorie people during this early contact period, ‘Black camp Lake Tyers mission’ and ‘Corroboree on the banks of the Murray’.

The William Barak (1824 - 1903) painting and the Tommy McRae (1830 - 1901) ink drawings are important historical pieces in this collection as they present rare Koorie perspectives from the mid – late 1800’s, as opposed to European depictions and interpretations of Koorie people of the time.

Included in this collection are paintings by the widely acclaimed Lin Onus, a Yorta Yorta artist, including “Exile’ and ‘On the Deniliquin Road’ depicting the effects of the many policies imposed on the Indigenous by the Aboriginal Protection Board. The paintings of Gunditjmara artist Les Griggs, such as ‘Half-caste Dreaming’ contain powerful political messages that explore cultural ideology. “I paint about the lifestyle we’ve been forced to choose rather than the lifestyle we could have had by choice without colonisation”, Les Griggs – Artist, Jane Watson, Thesis; University of SA, 1990). These political artworks contrast the scenes of natural beauty depicted in the watercolor and oil landscapes of Ronald Bull the Lake Tyers artist, and the more abstract, semi figurative style of Gayle Maddigan, a Wamba Wama/Werraguya painter.