The historical landscape of the Yarra Bend Park marks one of the most significant post-contact Aboriginal sites in the Melbourne metropolitan area. This book analyses Aboriginal cultural institutions in colonial Victoria. It is suitable for schools teaching Victorian Indigenous history, society and geography.

The location of this 'little settlement' gave Aboriginal people - from near and far - access to the colonial economy and European cultures, at a time when pre- contact ways of life were increasingly frustrated and undermined by the incursion of mostly British settlers.This area continued to hold significance to Aboriginal people after the 1840s, linking pre- and post-contact histories and geographies. The place has added importance in the early twenty-first century as Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians address the legacies of our contact past. This book provides an authoritative analysis of Aboriginal cultural institutions in colonial Victoria. It will interest organisations involved in Indigenous cultural tourism, and prove a valuable resource for schools teaching Victorian Indigenous history, society and geography. Above all, it is an engaging and accessible history of a popular Melbourne parkland.

Introduction
Study Area
Aboriginal Associations
Historical Background
Merri Creek Protectorate Station
Merri Creek Aboriginal School
After the Protectorate
Statement of Significance
Conclusion.