TREATY PAST, TREATY PRESENT? Remembering the Batman ‘Treaty’

Outline
170 years since the signing of the Batman Treaty, ANTaR Vic invited Melbournians to reflect on the ‘Founding of Melbourne’ and learn about the impact on and experiences of Indigenous peoples arising from European occupation of the Port Phillip district, where Melbourne is situated.

Batman bus tour group June 2005. Guide Meyer Eidelson

Through a series of events, we exposed past and present interactions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Using history, comedy, satire and debate, Treaty Past, Treaty Present? reflected on past events, questioning what they meant to different people. The series then looked to the present and the future, examining the possibilities for treaties and agreement-making between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

The project has its own section of the ANTaR website, which details aims and processes for the project, as well as stories and images regarding the history and remembering of the Batman ‘treaty’. The Treaty page on the ANTaR website features the Treaty Scroll project and materials, here. The Treaty Scroll project lives on post- the greater Batman 170th - Treaty Past, Treaty Present? project.

Events
Melbourne Conversations - a series of three public forums hosted at BMW Edge by the City of Melbourne. Talk Blak 1 and 3 were organized by ANTaR and Talk Blak 2 (a debate on reconciliation) was organized by Reconciliation Victoria. Talk Blak 3 focussed specifically on ‘Treaty past, Treaty Present.’ Speakers: Joy Murphy Wandin, Kim Kruger (MC), Gary Murray, Irene Watson, Wal Saunders; Rod Quantock (MC), Vicky Walker, Lisa Bellear, Lionel Austin, Gary Foley, Lillian Holt, Eleanor Burke; Alexis Wright (Participating MC), Ian Hunter, Sean Brennan, Geoff Clark, Michael Mansell, Marji Thorpe.

Treaty Supporters' Scroll – ANTaR Victoria’s unique 20-metre petition for Treaty. We aim to fill it up with thumbprints. See our Treaty page and find out how to host a Treaty Scroll event! (Download PDF)

Darebin Public Hypothetical – organized by ANTaR in Darebin, who also contributed to the overall project design, this hypothetical (based on a mystery fictional event) probed beyond the disputes about the site of the Batman ‘treaty’ to flush out some of the meanings and consequences of the Batman encounter - for the Indigenous people of the time, the new settlers and all of us today, black and white. An enriching discussion was generated.

Urban History Tour – organized by ANTaR and supported by Jaga Jaga ANTaR, Go West Tours and the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, this guided bus tour marked the 170th anniversary of the Batman Treaty. Guided by historian Meyer Eidelson (author of The Melbourne Dreaming and President of the St Kilda Historical Society), the tour took in Dight’s Falls and urban sights. It was a sell out, attended by a diverse group including two of Batman’s descendants and a cameo (as tourist) by a well-known historian.

Publicity, Documentation, Evaluation
The Talk Blak / Melbourne Conversation series was recorded by the City of Melbourne and there is a copy which can be listened to in the ANTaR office. The City of Melbourne gave ANTaR and Borderlands access to the questionnaire feedback from the series, which revealed strong positive feedback.

The Age, The Melbourne Times and the Northcote Leader all ran stories in the lead up to the bus tour. A feedback questionnaire was distributed, with overwhelmingly positive responses, particularly referring to a “deeper knowledge” or a “greater appreciation” of the history of Melbourne and Indigenous-non Indigenous relations.

Talk Blak 3: Ian Hunter, Sean Brennan, Michael Mansell, Marji Thorpe, Alexis Wright, Geoff Clark	Treaty Scroll and trimmings