Welcome to Camp Sovereignty, 2006

Lisa Bellear, language/cultural group: Minjungbul/Goernpil/Noonuccal/Kanak. Welcome to Camp Sovereignty, 2006 (PH 5409). Digital photographs courtesy of the Koorie Heritage Trust Collection.

Camping is transformed from a back-to-nature pastime to an act of resistance in urban protest movements such as Camp Sovereignty, an Indigenous Australian demonstration and occupation in Melbourne which coincided with the hosting of the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The timing presented a prime opportunity to draw the international media’s attention to a range of Indigenous political issues.

The people and events at the campsite in Kings Domain park were documented by photographer Lisa Bellear (1961—2006), a Minjungbul/Goernpil/Noonuccal/Kanak woman, who was also an Indigenous activist, broadcaster, poet, feminist, academic and performer.

Stay alive: a handbook on survival, 1981

Maurice Dunlevy, Stay alive: a handbook on survival, 1981.

The Australian landscape has been the backdrop for infamous expeditions and has tested many a traveller’s skills and ingenuity. Modern conveniences have lessened the need for a survival spirit in nature, but not the impetus to be prepared.

DIY manuals such as Stay alive and Survival in the bush, are indicative of survivalist movements that endeavour to bring reassurance through self-taught expertise.

Survival in the bush, 1979

George Brown, Survival in the bush, 1979

The Australian landscape has been the backdrop for infamous expeditions and has tested many a traveller’s skills and ingenuity. Modern conveniences have lessened the need for a survival spirit in nature, but not the impetus to be prepared.

DIY manuals such as Stay alive and Survival in the bush, are indicative of survivalist movements that endeavour to bring reassurance through self-taught expertise.

Ringo Terrick Faces the Media, 2006

Lisa Bellear, language/cultural group: Minjungbul/Noonuccal/Kanak. Ringo Terrick Faces the Media, 2006 (PH 5501). Digital photographs courtesy of the Koorie Heritage Trust Collection.

Camping is transformed from a back-to-nature pastime to an act of resistance in urban protest movements such as Camp Sovereignty, an Indigenous Australian demonstration and occupation in Melbourne which coincided with the hosting of the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Photographer Lisa Bellear documented the people and events at the campsite in Kings Domain park. The timing presented a prime opportunity to draw the international media’s attention to a range of Indigenous political issues.

Young woman in the bush dressed as a swagman, 1900–40

State Rivers and Water Supply Commission of Victoria. Young woman in the bush dressed as a swagman, 1900–40. Glass negative, State Library Victoria Pictures Collection.

A national symbol of surviving the great outdoors is the swag. This portable camp came about to provide a makeshift home for on the road, when seasonal workers walked huge distances in search of jobs – and water.

Its design evolved in response to pragmatic needs, yet the colloquial names by which it is known are much more elaborate, including ‘jabbing trotters’, ‘waltzing matilda’ and ‘humping bluey’.

Illustration of an 1854 canvas town in Melbourne, 1934

Raymond Lindsay, illustration of an 1854 canvas town in Melbourne, 1934. Watercolour, gouache and ink wash on paper, State Library Victoria Pictures Collection.

The sweeping view in the painting takes in a camp settlement on the banks of the Yarra River and the beginnings of a city skyline in the distance.

During the gold rush, Melbourne’s population grew so rapidly that new arrivals resorted to building an informal city of tents. Only canvas shelters were permitted, forcing people to rethink how they inhabited the land as they adapted to a new environment.

Shine a light prom protest, Wilsons Promontory National Park, 2013

Shine a light prom protest, Wilsons Promontory National Park, 2013. Digital photograph courtesy of the Victorian National Parks Association.

In the aerial photograph, protestors at Wilsons Promontory are laying their bodies on the sand to spell out a message for Victorian state government about private development.

A growing appreciation for national parks has brought higher footfalls, meaning the parks face increased threat from commercialisation and pollution.

‘The Prom’ is one of Victoria’s most loved natural icons. But it is not an untamed wilderness. Exploited by whalers, used for military training and decimated by forest fires, this habitat has been radically altered by humans.

Our Future, commission for Climate Poster Project II

Amy Spiers, Our Future, commission for Climate Poster Project II; ART+CLIMATE=CHANGE 2019 Festival. With thanks to the people of the Woi Wurrung and Boon Wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation, and the linguists and Elders who assisted this project. State Library Victoria Pictures Collection.

This poster is a call to action to meaningfully engage with Indigenous Aboriginal practices of caring for Country. In the local Woi Wurrung and Boon Wurrung languages, the text states: ‘Our future depends on respecting Country and Indigenous ways of being’.

It was commissioned for ART+CLIMATE=CHANGE, a socially engaged festival in Victoria which profiles the arts as a catalyst for action on important environmental issues. The full series of posters produced in 2019 were donated to the Library.

Rosebud, 2006

Matthew Sleeth, from the series Rosebud, 2006. Type C photograph State Library, Victoria Pictures Collection.

Matthew Sleeth has taken many photographs of Rosebud, a popular coastal town on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, where he would go as a child for family holidays in the summertime.

His images capture a quintessential Australian experience: leisure time spent camping by the beach. Sleeth has said that the most enduring memory of his family getaways is the late afternoon light on the beach through the trees, which would seem like it was ‘endless’.

You Forgot Your Tent, 2020

Georgina Humphries, You Forgot Your Tent, 2020. Reclaimed tents, sail and gazebo fabric. Site-specific installation, with support from Budget Direct.

This colourful canopy is constructed from tents that were left behind at local festivals. Although it is commonly believed that the abandoned tents will be salvaged and reused, they are more likely to end up in landfill.

Eco-conscious initiatives, such as upcycling and the right-to-repair movement, challenge throwaway culture and its impact on the environment. The artist who created this work hopes to inspire change and motivate people to find ways of living more sustainably.