Wurundjeri

The Wurundjeri are a people of the Indigenous Australian nation of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin alliance, who occupy the Birrarung Valley, its tributaries and the present location of Melbourne, Australia. Prior to European settlement, they lived as all people of the Kulin nation lived, sustainably on the land, predominantly as hunters and gatherers, for tens of thousands of years. Seasonal changes in the weather, availability of foods and other factors would determine where campsites were located, many near the Birrarung and its tributaries.

Wurundjeri people spoke the Woiwurrung language. The term Wurundjeri is paired with the term Woiwurrung in that both refer to the same region. Wurundjeri refers to the people who occupy the territory, while Woiwurrung refers to the language group shared by the clans within the territory. The Wurundjeri peoples territory extended from north of the Great Dividing Range, east to Mount Baw Baw, south to Mordialloc Creek and west to Werribee River. Their lands bordered the Gunai/Kurnai people to the east in Gippsland, the Bunurong people to the south on the Mornington Peninsula, and the Dja Dja Wurrung and Taungurong to the north. Wurundjeri people take their name from the word wurun meaning Manna Gum (Eucalyptus viminalis) which is common along Birrarung, and djeri, a grub found in the tree.