GLOSSARY

Bunyip:

The bunyip is a large creature from Australian Aboriginal mythology, said to be found in billabongs, creeks, swamps, riverbeds, and waterholes. The word bunyip is from the Wergaia language of the Aboriginal people of South-East Australia and means ‘devil’ or ‘spirit.’ It is a nocturnal creature said to have supernatural powers, and so fearsome, on account of the bloodcurdling scream it makes as it jumps on its prey, that the Aboriginal people avoided waterholes at night.

The Dreamtime:

The Dreamtime is the Aboriginal understanding of the world, and its creation, told in stories. It is believed to be the beginning of all things, when the land and all the people in it were created by the Spirits – the Ancestors – who made mountains and rocks, plants, animals, rivers and lakes, and gave the people their land, tools, and Dreaming.

Point Nepean:

Point Nepean is the most westerly point of the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Australia, with panoramic views of Bass Strait and Port Phillip Bay, and is part of the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park.

Aboriginal settlement of the area dates back 40,000 years, and it is considered sacred land by Boonwurrung People, who used it as a birthing place.

The Quarantine Station, established in 1857, houses the oldest quarantine buildings in Australia, including four hospital buildings and a morgue. Fortifications were built in 1878, and gun batteries still exist at Fort Nepean.

The Kulin Nation:

The Boonwurrung People are Indigenous Australians belonging to the Kulin nation, a group of five Indigenous tribes whose territories extend from Port Phillip and Western Port Bays all the way up to the Goulburn River in south central Victoria, Australia.