Entangling Time and Place at Budj Bim

Background: This article takes the form of a yarn between Gunditj Mirring Elder, Aunty Eileen Alberts and Jock Gilbert on a journey through time and place on Country in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed cultural landscapes of Budj Bim in western Victoria. The article was commissioned by Landscape Australia Editor Emily Wong as a piece exploring the concept of place and challenging non-indigenous landscape architect practicitoners to understand and reflect upon their own place in relation to Indigenous knowledge systems. The essay explores a developing body of research around the ways in which non-indigenous design practitioners can respond to issues of sovereignty through Indigenous-led approaches, challenging the profession to make a place in a national discourse of social, environmental and cultural justice. Contribution: This article makes contributions and generates new knowledge on several levels. It is structured using Indigenous knowledge techniques and provides the place for the voice of an Indigenous knowledge-holder, Aunty Eileen. The article explores notions of Country, place and landscape through both traditional Story and contemporary lived experience invites an engagement that grounds non-linear approaches and attitudes to the world as a precursor to action. The article outlines the ways that the Budj Bim development provides a template for the demonstration of connection to Country through enterprise development, which is infused with the past, embedded in the present and looking to the future. Significance: Landscape Australia is the pre-eminent quarterly journal addressing issues of national significance through landscape endorsed by the AIA, PIA and AILDM. Articles are archived in major databases including Informit Australian Public Affairs Full Text and the journal is listed in Ulrichs Global Serials Directory. The review was also published online.