About the room
Narrm is the traditional name of the salty part of the Birrarung (Yarra River) and the top of Port Phillip Bay. Most of what is now called the City of Melbourne has been the homeland of the Wurundjeri people for millennia. Wurundjeri people have lived and thrived along the Birrarung, due to the lore handed down by Bunjil, the life giver, to respect and care for this land as it has provided for our survival past and present, and into the future.
Wurundjeri people constantly meet with our neighbours. Whether to fulfil spiritual ceremonial obligations, catchup with family, conduct general business or sort out disputes, a formal ceremonial process called Tanderrum Ngarrga, or Welcome to Country, allows people to feel culturally safe when doing so. Creating smoke by placing gum leaves on a fire, is a key part of the ceremony, and symbolises the spiritual cleansing of both people and Country, which are connected. Wurundjeri people enjoy welcoming people from all over the world to our sacred land and ask that you respect us, our land, and the culture of the land, while you are here.
‘Wominjeka Wurundjeri balluk yearmenn koondee bik. Welcome to the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people. ’
Artist Statement
Brett Leavy's Virtual Narrm 1834, 2025
In recognition that the Potter Museum of Art stands on the unceded lands and waterways of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, Kooma artist Brett Leavy was commissioned to collaborate with the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation to create Virtual Narrm 1834. The resulting animation reimagines the traditional custodians living on Country prior to European colonisation. It provides a sense of the spirit of Wurundjeri people in pre-contact Narrm, immersed in the sounds of nature, and encourages the viewer to contemplate the consequences of colonisation for the traditional custodians. As Aunty Diane Kerr says, ‘Wurundjeri people were disempowered, becoming refugees in their own Country.’
