Visit Victoria celebrates UNESCO recognition of Budj Bim Cultural Landscape

South western Victoria's Budj Bim Cultural Landscape has been formally recognised on the UNESCO World Heritage List, becoming the only Australian World Heritage property listed exclusively for its Aboriginal cultural values. 

Traditionally engineered by Gunditjmara Ancestors to trap eels for food, the highly sophisticated aquaculture systems was developed over 6,600 years and connect across nearly 100 kilometre².

Alongside these aquaculture systems, the Gunditjmara built round houses out of basalt stones with large numbers still visible in the landscape today. 

Over the past five years the Gunditjmara people have worked closely with the Victorian and Australian Governments in developing Budj Bim’s World Heritage nomination.

The Victorian Government has shown strong support with an overall commitment of $13 million to the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation to implement the Budj Bim Master Plan to support tourism infrastructure projects.

Visit Victoria Chief Executive Peter Bingeman said that supporting the promotion of Victoria’s Aboriginal tourism offering is a key priority for the organisation, commenting “supporting Aboriginal tourism in Victoria is central to telling the story of Victoria’s diverse history, growing the state’s tourism assets and supporting local communities through the creation of jobs and training opportunities.”

Implementation of the Master Plan will advance Budj Bim as a world-class tourism destination and support self-determination for the Gunditjmara People in sharing the Cultural Landscape with the world.

The Master Plan outlines visitor targets over three stages with the ultimate goal of attracting more than 150,000 annual visitors in ten to 25 years. However, the Master Plan recognises the need to build tourism sustainably so the increase in visitors does not negatively impact the area. Work is currently underway to implement the Master Plan, which will continue over the next few years.

The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape is situated near the Great Ocean Road, where existing Aboriginal tourism businesses and experiences are among the most mature and established within regional Victoria.

Bingeman added “Visit Victoria welcomes the announcement of UNESCO World Heritage status for the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape and we look forward to its ongoing development as a tourism icon of the future.

“This is a milestone for Victoria’s Aboriginal cultural heritage and will help to raise awareness of Budj Bim’s 6,600 year history of aquaculture and ongoing significance to the Gunditjmara.”

The site is located along Victoria's Great Ocean Road.

Images courtesy of Visit Victoria.