In 1834, the Henty brothers established the first permanent European settlement in Victoria at Portland on unceded Gunditjmara Country.

This marked the beginning of violent colonisation in the state, and the dispossession, injustice and systemic racism that continues to impact First Peoples today.

Old painting of people unloading a ship onto a beach — Edward Henty unloading supplies at Portland, beginning the colonisation of what is now the State of Victoria. Picture: Public Records Office

Nearly two centuries later, this history is being formally acknowledged.

The story of the Henty brothers is just one of many accounts of settler violence and Aboriginal strength and survival recorded through the Yoorrook Justice Commission, Australia’s first formal truth-telling process.

In June 2025, the Commission will deliver its final report.

This marks the culmination of a landmark inquiry into the ongoing injustices experienced by Aboriginal people in Victoria, following more than 191 years of resistance by First Peoples since the arrival of the Henty brothers.

The Yoorrook Justice Commission

Yoorrook, a Wemba Wemba word meaning ‘truth’, is also creating an official public record of the impact of colonisation on First Peoples.

This record is based on evidence from more than 2000 people including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Victorian Government ministers and senior bureaucrats, churches, state institutions including universities, private landowners and descendants of early colonial figures.

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Education

‘We have always been here’

Its final recommendations will help shape ongoing Treaty negotiations in Victoria, based on evidence that provides all Victorians with a clearer understanding of the state’s colonial past.

However, truth-telling is not a one-off event.

The challenge now is to engage the public in this shared understanding of our past and find ways to continue truth-telling, building on the momentum generated by the Commission.

Walking for Truth

One of the most visible expressions of this ongoing process begins on Sunday 25 May.

Walk for Truth is a 400-kilometre journey led by Yoorrook Deputy Chair, Commissioner Travis Lovett (Kerrupmara/Gunditjmara) that begins in Portland and ends on the steps of the Victorian Parliament.

Simple map marking a route through western Victoria — The 400 kilometre journey of the Walk for Truth. Picture: Yoorrook Justice Commission

Over 25 days, walkers will traverse Country, passing through areas of deep cultural and historical significance, including known massacre sites.

The route has been developed in consultation with Elders from the Gunditjmara, Eastern Maar, Wadawurrung, Bunurong and Wurundjeri peoples.

The Walk invites public participation, with seventeen walkable segments and eight community events along the way. Thousands of people are expected to take part, demonstrating a strong public appetite for active involvement in the truth-telling process.

For Commissioner Lovett, the Walk is about “opening people’s minds and opening their hearts".

Our support for Truth-telling

The University of Melbourne has played a central role in supporting the Walk for Truth, reflecting our broader commitment to truth-telling and justice.

Through its Indigenous Portfolio, the University has provided in-kind support to help bring the Walk to fruition – offering project management, procurement, logistics, vehicles and volunteers.

Supporting the Commission is part of the University’s broader reckoning with its own history, and a commitment to new models of partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people based on reciprocity, accountability and shared purpose.

Canvas painting with bright orange line horizontally through the middle

Discussion & Debate

“It is a clarion call to action”

Confronting our own history

In May 2024, the University published Dhoombak Goobgoowana: A History of Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne.

The first volume, Truth, documents the institution’s involvement in eugenics and scientific racism, dispossession, and its long, troubled relationship with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including enrichment through benefactions tied to stolen land, wealth and labour.

A second volume, Voice, will be released later this year.

It explores the University’s role in silencing Indigenous voices, and the powerful impact of those that broke through.

The volume illustrates how collections of art and cultural objects, once viewed through a Western lens, have become expressions of Indigenous identity.

Voice documents the stories of Indigenous pioneers who entered the University more than a century after its founding, first as students and later as staff, documenting both their achievements and the barriers they overcame.

These works are part of a broader effort to confront the institution’s history and make a meaningful contribution to truth-telling in Victoria.

Travis Lovett in front of a mural — The Walk is led by Yoorrook Deputy Chair, Commissioner Travis Lovett. Picture: Supplied

A centre for Truth-Telling

To ensure an ongoing commitment to truth-telling within the University and across Victoria, we are establishing a Centre for Truth-telling and Dialogue.

The Centre will serve as a hub for research, education and practice, supporting communities, governments and institutions in the ongoing work of truth-telling locally and beyond.

We know that historically, truth commissions and commissions of inquiry need to be sustained.

The Centre aims to embed truth-telling, ensuring that initiatives like the Yoorrook Justice Commission are not isolated moments, but part of a sustained effort to confront the legacy of colonisation and spotlight the strength and resilience of First Peoples.

The path forward

As the Yoorrook Justice Commission prepares to hand down its final recommendations, the responsibility now lies with all Victorians to continue the work of truth-telling.

Politics & Society

Truth-telling and re-naming is an opportunity to redefine our future

The University of Melbourne, through our academic expertise, strong Indigenous leadership and growing network of Indigenous partnerships, is well placed to support this next phase.

With growing momentum toward truth and Treaty, Victoria has an opportunity to lead by example.

The process can serve as a model for other states and territories, many of which are yet to begin their own formal truth-telling journeys.

The public is invited to participate in the Walk for Truth (25 May – 18 June 2025) by walking part of the route or attending an event along the way. Sign up on the Yoorrook Justice Commission website.

This article was first published on Pursuit. Read the original article.

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Jennifer Balint

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Comparative Transitional Justice

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