Coranderrk

37°41′02″S 145°31′19″E / 37.684007°S 145.521938°E / -37.684007; 145.521938

William Barak's grave and headstone at Coranderrk cemetery

Coranderrk was an Aboriginal reserve run by the Victorian government between 1863 and 1924, located around 50 kilometres (31 mi) north-east of Melbourne. The residents were mainly of the Woiwurrung, Bunurong and Taungurung peoples, and the first inhabitants chose the site of the reserve.

It ran successfully for many years as an Aboriginal enterprise, selling wheat, hops and crafts on the burgeoning Melbourne market, but in the 1870s and 1880s further controls were put on Aboriginal Victorians' lives, culminating in the passing of the Aborigines Protection Act 1886, which required "half-castes under the age of 35" to leave the reserve, among other requirements and restrictions. A group of Coranderrk residents sent a petition to the Victorian colonial government in 1886 to protest the controls that were applied to their lives by the government, that became known as the Coranderrk Petition.

The reserve was formally closed in 1924, with most residents removed to Lake Tyers Mission.