Budj Bim Cultural Landscape

A Gunditjmara cultural landscape in southwestern Victoria, Australia, where an ancient aquaculture system channels water and harvests eels across the Budj Bim lava flows.

Budj Bim aquaculture system: A network of channels, dams, and ponds that directs water and traps eels in southwestern Victoria. This engineered network is the landscape’s defining aquaculture feature.
Budj Bim: An extinct volcano in southwestern Victoria, traditionally known to the Gunditjmara as a creator ancestor. Its eruptions produced the lava terrain on which the aquaculture system was built.
Gunditjmara people: An Aboriginal Australian people of southwestern Victoria with enduring connections to Gunditjmara Country. Their ancestors built and managed the aquaculture works, and Gunditjmara people maintain them today.
UNESCO World Heritage Site: A place inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List for its recognized cultural or natural significance. Budj Bim’s inscription brought international recognition to Gunditjmara aquaculture and cultural continuity.
Budj Bim National Park: A national park in southwestern Victoria encompassing Budj Bim volcano and parts of Gunditjmara Country. The park protects volcanic features and cultural places within the wider landscape.
Stone eel traps: Stone structures that guide or retain eels within waterways for capture. Stone barriers helped shape eel movement through the aquaculture channels.
Gunditjmara: An Aboriginal Australian people whose Country includes the Budj Bim region of southwestern Victoria. Gunditjmara communities created, maintained, and continue to care for the landscape.
Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation: The organisation representing Gunditjmara Traditional Owners in managing and caring for Country. It supports Gunditjmara stewardship and interpretation of the landscape.
World Heritage Convention: An international treaty adopted in 1972 to protect cultural and natural heritage of outstanding universal value. The convention provides the framework under which Budj Bim was inscribed in 2019.
Mount Eccles lava canal: A natural lava channel near Budj Bim that forms part of the region’s volcanic drainage network. Its geology illustrates how lava-created waterways offered routes for later engineering.

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Prehistory of AustraliaBroader topic: Its channels, weirs, and stone structures show long-term aquaculture and settlement.