Indigenous Engineering and Design: Bird Observatory

B I R D O B S E R V A T O R Y

hugo marmara | dein lawson-Matthew | charlie reinhardt

PROJECT FOR THE GUNDITJMARA PEOPLE

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land. We pay our respects to the local people for allowing us into their lives and sharing their stories and wisdom.

We would also like to pay our respects to Elders past and present.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Budj Bim landscape is home to an array of ecologies and microclimates, from open marshy wetlands to expanses of forested woodland. Each of these ecological climates lends itself to a diverse family of flora and fauna all of which hold delicate relationships with each other and with country. It is how these relationships are observed, understood, and eventually communicated that brings the creation of stories and songlines, permeating into what is Gunditjmara cultural heritage. The Bird Observatory for the Gunditjmara people aims to facilitate these observations between people and fauna, specifically birds, to enable the sharing of cultural knowledge.

Targeted towards a younger audience, the following proposals also hope to encourage new observations and perspectives, engaging children with playful, interactive designs that will provide both formal and informal teachings on the birds and their stories.

BIRD OBSERVATORY

Informing these designs is a set a of parameters identified by the Gunditjmara community which have been explored and discussed through presentation and feedback sessions. We have also taken the advice of peers and mentors, who have helped shape the journey detailed in the following report. In its initial design stages, the project was very open ended and from this arose many conflicting directions and possibilities. Using a range of precedents and talking with industry professionals, our options were narrowed down and redefined into the need for a transportable, flexible and constructable design; grounded in reality, while not breaking the ground.

The final stages of the report detail our move from this pragmatic style of thinking, exploring specific birds in depth and relaying that information into series of unique designs. We considered the movement of the birds, their roles in creation stories and their relationship to Gunditjmara cultural practices to inform how these small bird hides operate spatially. This way each bird hide is able to respond not only to the bird but how the bird interacts with its environment, making each design more suited to its wetland or woodland environment.

Of course, given the circumstances with the COVID over the past 3-4 months here in Victoria our designs have faced limitations, a major factor being we were unable to visit the Budj Bim site. There is no way to know our current designs will respond as well to the context as we have planned, or that all of them will be 100% feasible. However, through our proposition of multiple smaller designs and a strong ethos of simple building techniques, we hope that out of a range of options one them is bound to stick.

This report follows a chronographic exploration of the transportable, flexible and constructable designs we ideated. Our initial conclusion from this set of parameters, was a large trailer-based design that was transportable and would act as a singular bird watching unit. This process followed a very practical approach, keeping a strong connection on material elements, construction techniques. This would prove helpful in later designs as we had created a strong platform of feasible, pragmatic design thinking to keep us grounded should we get lost in conceptual ideas. After a consultation session we identified flaws in the design, namely in the size and accessibility of the unit to more sensitive area of the Budj Bim site, as well its connection to the story of the birds and their role with in Gunditjmara culture. This assessment caused us to take a big step back again and begin to reassess.

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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CONTENTS

7 INTRODUCTION 9 CONTEXT 15 DESIGN OPTIONS

BIRD OBSERVATORY

21 FINAL DESIGN 32 CONCLUSION We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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LESSONS LEARNED This semester has been an unforgettable journey, from the people we met to the relationships we’ve made, not only with other students but also the community members of the Gunditjmara community.

Indigenous Connection To have the opportunity to listen and engage with the Indigenous community of Gunditjmara has been exceptionally unique for many reasons however one of the biggest lessons for us as a group was to be able to get a glimpse into the way Aboriginal Communities, The Gunditjmara in particular connect with Country. We have come to only begin to understand the complexity of this relationship they have with Country and how much more there is to learn about their unique spiritual, cultural and environmental connection with the land and how extraordinarily different it is from the western view. We have come to understand just how much we don’t know about the country we call home and how much we have to learn from these people who’s lively hoods and lifestyles have been broken due to colonisation. Once we began to get a grip on the magnitude of the cultural and spiritual diversity within the Gunditjmara Community it provided a sufficient platform for us to then move forward and design a culturally sensitive yet engaging space, which we hope the bird hides will come to be.

Presence of Mind

BIRD OBSERVATORY

A lesson we learnt about Aboriginal culture that helped us in framing our designs was being psychologically present within your surroundings. When Damein took us on the virtual field trip to Budj Bim, Hugo, Charlie and I came away with a lesson which was fundamentally simple yet crucial for the design. As Damein took us around Budj Bim, we noticed his absolute awareness of his surroundings, his acute presence of mind to what was around him on Country. Even if he was just walking along a track he was engaging all his senses, in order to receive any form of information about what plants or animals may be present with him. Through our designs we tried to follow this idea by allowing for those who use the bird hides to be able to fully immerse themselves in their surroundings, even if they are physically within the built form of the bird hide.

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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LESSONS LEARNED More than just a bird hide What we concluded from our feedback session with Damein and the other Gunditjmara community members was that what we end up designing needs to be more than just a bird hide. Our design should not only accommodate for the observation of birds, as this concept is largely a western one. We learnt, as mentioned in the previous lesson was that it is part of Aboriginal culture to observe your natural surroundings constantly and therefor the idea of going to a certain place to watch the birds is a concept stemming from the European idea of nature and how humans live not within nature but next to it, a division as such and if they want to observe nature (in this instant birds) they need a specific place to sit and do so. Where as we have learnt that the Aboriginal culture involves living within nature and therefore always observing it.

Thus this encouraged us to form our design on the idea that the bird hide is more than a place to watch the birds, it is a place to share stories, hunt birds, collect eggs and celebrate the relationship that the Gunditjmara have with nature, but birds specifically.

More than one bird

BIRD OBSERVATORY

After delving deeper into the culture of the Gunditjmara and Budj Bim, we begun to scratch the surface of the complex relationship that the Gunditjmara community have with birds. From our understanding of the Gunditjmara, they don’t see birds as just an animal with wings, two legs that mostly fly. The huge variety of birds that call the land of the Gunditjmara home, for some parts of the year or all year round represent many different meanings as birds play an important role spiritually and culturally as there are many different messages to be taken from all types of birds, from totems to alarming for snakes. The huge depth of knowledge and information about all different types of birds is impossible to comprehend with a semester long subject, little own a lifetime and therefore we tried to design our bird hides to be a tool by which the Gunditjmara community can use to continue practicing and passing on this knowledge to future generations.

The Struggle Finally we also learnt that through struggling and initially not totally understanding the task at hand forces one to become more invested in finding out what exactly needs to be done, at a much finer detail than being given crisp instructions from the beginning which largely leads to less imagination and innovation.

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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INTRODUCTION

BRIEF

The return of water into Tae Rak saw thousands of birds re-entering the ecosystem each year. With this return, it is important that this ecosystem is protected in order to pass on thousands of years of knowledge to future generations. Furthermore, with 81% of the Glenelg Hopkins region being developed for agriculture, there has been a huge reduction in woodland birds. The remainder of woodlands need to be appreciated and learned about.

BIRD OBSERVATORY

RAKAH TAEE COND

LAK

These ecosystems are vital to the process of upstanding country and culture. Therefore, this project will explore how a Bird Observatory can provide a space for the Gunditjmara community to reflect, experience and learn about country.

Lastly, we hope the project in the future can become a commonality between the birdwatching community and the Gunditjmara community and for the space to facilitate this two-way learning.

The brief for our bird hide design was very open for interpretation and from this arose many conflicting directions and possibilities. While it was made clear to us it would be community orientated, we were also encouraged to consider local bird watching groups outside of the Gunditjmara circle. While told it should be a space for younger members of the community to learn and engage with the Budj Bim birdlife, we also were made wary of how adults, such as the 6’5� Damien, may occupy the space. On top of this our lack of knowledge and experience of the site made it difficult to propose a refined idea without imposing something ignorant of systems we do not yet understand.

From these parameters arose a need for a flexible, constructable design, grounded in reality, while not breaking the ground.

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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OUR ROLE As students, our role has been to develop and design a multifaceted bird hide for the Gunditjmara Community. The bird hide will be situated on the shores of Lake Condah within the site of Budj Bim. As designers we have been trying to understand to the best of our ability the cultural significance of birds and the relationship the Gunditjmara people have with birds and therefore provide a space in the shape of a bird hide that allows the Gunditjmara community to continue to be engaged to their traditional and spiritual relationship with birds.

Includes engaging with the younger community members. We aim to provide a space which not only encourages cultural traditions to continue but also to be able to engage and immerse the younger members of the Gunditjmara with such traditions in an exciting but culturally sensitive way.

BIRD OBSERVATORY

Involved designing a bird hide which followed the guidelines of the UNESCO World Heritage listed ‘Cultural Site’ and a place of high cultural importance for not only the Gunditjmara People but also for Australia as a nation.

These guidelines largely involved not disturbing or breaking the soil and also using materials, which had been approved by the Community. The bird hide also needed to be easily maneuverable or be able to withstand extremely high temperatures, possible fires and floods.

Overall, our role is to provide a bird hide that seemingly fits into its cultural, traditional & physical surroundings through the relationship the Gunditjmara people have with birds.

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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CONTEXT: PEOPLE AND PLACE PEOPLE

Gunditjmara The Gunditjmara people refers to the Indigenous people of south-western Victoria.

They are said to be one of the first fish-farmers in the world with their aquaculture system dating back 6,600 years.

Creation Story To the Gunditjmara people, the Creator Being Budj Bim was sent down to create the landscape features that are seen today. Giving the Gunditjmara the volcano (Mt Eccles), Budj Bim caused it to erupt allowing the landscape to change. Waterways, wetlands, flora and fauna supported the Gunditjmara people to live a lifestyle full of rich resources. Providing nourishment for thousands of years, the eel holds great significance for the Gunditjmara people.

BIRD OBSERVATORY

Tae Rak In 1875 drainage took place at the Lake Condah wetlands, with the aim if increasing the land available for grazing. Major floods in 1946 encouraged further drainage works at the site which was highly successful at reducing further flooding at Lake Condah. However, these actions caused destruction of large areas of aquatic habitat and made aquaculture useless.

Not until recently has the lake been re-flooded following a native title determination.

Since water has reentered the landscape a large variety of water birds - including coots, black swan, brolgas and sea eagles - have made been attracted to the area. In 2013 a bird count revealed 10,000 birds visiting the site in just one year.

Tae Rak (Lake Condah)

PLACE

Seasons and Birds The Gunditjmara people understood the land through seasonal observations rather than the standard western seasons. The Gunditjmara people follow what is called the Gariwerd seasons and contains six different seasons. Kooyang, Gwangal moronn, Chunnup, Larneuk, Petyan, and Ballambar. The two that are interesting to bird life here are Chunnup and Larneuk. Chunnup or Winter is referred to as the Cockatoo season where there is freezing winds, rain and always the coldest time of the year.

Larneuk or Pre-Spring is referred to as nesting bird season and comes straight after Chunnup. Larneuk includes dramatic weather changes and is the wettest time of the year.

Mobile Design Due to the limits of not breaking the ground, our design will be mobile and able to be transported to wherever someone wants. Initially thinking of having multiple different ‘pods’ for bird hides, we have taken this idea and tried to translate it into a movable object. This is too allow for someone in the community to dictate where they go and see, learn or teach about the birds of the Budj Bim landscape.

Winnipeg Skating Shelters by Patkau Architects

Red-tailed black-cockatoo

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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SEASONS (Bureau of Meteorology) KOOYANG - SEASON OF EELS

GWANGAL MORONN - SEASON OF HONEY BEES

CHUNNUP - SEASON OF COCKATOOS

Woodland Areas > Red wattle birds flocking and fantails scurry down bush gullies. Young birds are emerging during this season.

Woodland Areas > Pre northern migration flocking begins:

-red wattle birds flocking

-first flame robin juveniles and females come

down from the hills

-flocks of insectivorous birds pass down gullies

pied currawongs come down from mountains

Woodland Areas > Several bird species nesting including:

- brown thornbill building first nests

- scrub wrens

- jacky winter flycatcher returning to nesting sites

- dive bombing magpies and lapwings Many birds active and on the move:

- shrike tits tear bark off manna gums

- yellow tailed cockatoos on the move

- first calls can be heard of fantailed cuckoos

- flocks of sittellas pass through

- yellow tailed cockatoos seek new feeding grounds

- newly flowering eucalypts attract hone yeaters

- noisy miners call loudly at dawn

- satin bowerbirds on the move

- little ravens flocking

- powerful owls laying eggs

Wetland Areas > Second brood of swamp hens are running.

Many birds are moulting feathers during this season.

Honeyeaters and wrens are searching for moths and insects.

Wetland Areas > Masked lapwings and grey fantails are flocking.

Red Wattlebird OR kanakk wurrot

Robin Juveniles

Wetland Areas > Large flocks of pink eared ducks seen on lakes.

Swans and coot graze on lake shores. Rising waters cause ducks to seek new feeding and nesting areas.

Lapwings are nesting on eggs.

BIRD OBSERVATORY

Scrubwren OR mirnam mirnam

Purple Swamphen

Masked lapwing OR pitthirrit

Coot OR kuii

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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SEASONS (Bureau of Meteorology) LARNEUK - SEASON OF NESTING BIRDS

PETYAN - SEASON OF WILDFLOWERS

BALLAMBAR - SEASON OF BUTTERFLIES

Woodland Areas > Many small birds are nesting, including lapwings.

Early nesters can now be seen feeding young.

Spotted pardalote build nesting tunnels for first brood.

Cuckoos return and call continuously.

Fledgling powerful owls and wedge tailed eagles emerge.

Woodland Areas > Bush rings with sounds of courting birds, frogs and insects. Many birds are moulting. Olive-backed orioles are calling. Cuckoo shrikes are feeding on caterpillars.

Many birds are breeding and nesting, including:

- grey butcher birds

- superb fairy wrens

- currawongs

- wood swallows nesting after migrating south Many birds returning south:

- fly catchers arrive from the north

- trillers move south

- rufous fantails and rainbow bee-eaters arrive from the north Migratory birds return.

Woodland Areas > Birds active include:

- orioles and white throated warblers calling

- squabbling honeyeaters clamber over the

flowering banksias

- kites prey on mice and locusts Many birds still have young including:

- bee-eater chicks hatch in nesting tunnels

- kookaburras and sacred kingfishers feeding young

- bee-eaters feed on young dragon flies

- pardalote and yellow robin nestlings leave nests Many birds have post nesting moulting.

Wetland Areas > Some migratory birds return:

- sandpipers and stints arrive on mud flats

- reed warblers return from north Early ducklings walk to water.

Wetland Areas Snipe return to long grass around swamps.

Swamp hens have running young.

Reed warblers return.

Wetland Areas Grebes build floating grass nests on lakes for second brood.

BIRD OBSERVATORY

Wedge-tailed Eagle OR Bunjil

Reed Wardbler OR kuulin kuulin tark

Grey butcherbird

Black-shouldered Kite OR warn warneetch yakerr

Snipe

Australasian Grebe

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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BIRDS (Part-Parti App) RED-TAILED BLACK-COCKATOO KAPATJ OR GAMADJ

WEDGE-TAILED EAGLE KNEEANGAR

- Significant totem or moiety ancestor in this region.

- Call of the ‘black cockatoo’ foretold the approach of friends.

- Feared due to their habit of attacking young children.

- Men collected eggs in pairs and waited for the eagle to leave its nest. One would then go and climb up to the nest and take the eggs by taking a hole out of the base.

- Any chicks found in the nest were burned using a lighting stick

SULPHUR-CRESTED COCKATOO NGAYUK OR NGAYOOK - Significant totem or moiety ancestor in this region.

- Crest and wing feathers of the cockatoo were utilised in headdresses and to decorate objects.

- Call of the cockatoo foretold the approach of friends.

BROWN FALCON TARAKAK OR TARRAKAK

YELLOW-TAILED BLACK-COCKATOO KAPATJ OR GAMADJ

BUSH STONE-CURLEW WIRUK OR WEERROOK

BIRD OBSERVATORY

- Significant totem or moiety ancestor in this region.

- Call of the cockatoo foretold the approach of friends.

- Falcon ancestor giving people access to fire - Red-browed Finch, steals a fire stick from the crows (who had exclusive possession of fire) and passes it to tarakak who set the whole country alight.

- Name originates from the species mournful, wailing cry - Believed that if the curlew flew low over camp emitting its cry then someone would die.

- Killing this bird is still seen as bad luck

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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BIRDS (Part-Parti App) LAUGHING KOOKABURRA KUNITH OR KOONEETH

BROLGA

- Indicator of danger and can alert people to the nearness of snakes

- Hunted during spring and winter when the birds returned to the wetlands.

- Believed young people risked developing sores if they consumed Brolga - Features in a creation story where the Brolga and the Magpie-lark created water by flapping their wings.

MAGPIE-LARK TJULIMP OR THOOLEEMP

SOUTHERN BOOBOOK KOOKOK OR KUKUK

-Children not allowed to kill this species as it made their hair prematurely grey.

- Call of species also indicated the coming of bad weather

- Owls all generally considered evil omen - Survey the country at night and their conspicuous calls inform bad spirits of the whereabouts of people.

- Regarded as devil birds by the Gunditjmara people - signifies death and danger.

REEDWARBLER

AUSTRALIAN MAGPIE KIRRAEAE

KUULIN KUULIN TARK

- Name translates to hidden in the reeds because they are often seen climbing through reed beds.

BIRD OBSERVATORY

KUROUT

- Name in reference to its call - Associated with whirlwinds and hurricanes - Large flocks of magpies flying from the northwest brought strong winds with them.

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

13

PRECEDENTS The first move in deciding how the bird hide would operate was if it would be on a small scale and if it could be mobile.

For this, the skating shelters by Patkau Architects were a great influence on this idea of a pod system. The system would allow for multiple different designs that would work in a network.

BIRD OBSERVATORY

The other influence was Tomohiro Hata and Takashi Manda’s, Forest Shadow which is a simple structure floating in a landscape and makes you appreciate the sounds of the forest.

Winnipeg Skating Shelters by Patkau Architects

Forest Shadow by Tomohiro Hata + Takashi Manda We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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DESIGN OPTION

BIRD OBSERVATORY

Design Option - Trailer Bird Hide (Week 9 review)

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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DESIGN OPTION

BIRD HIDE ON TRAILER

BIRD OBSERVATORY

PRELIMINARY IDEAS

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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DESIGN OPTION

BIRD HIDE ON TRAILER

BIRD OBSERVATORY

RESOLVED DRAWINGS

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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DESIGN OPTION

BIRD HIDE ON TRAILER

BIRD OBSERVATORY

FEATURES

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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DESIGN OPTION

BIRD HIDE ON TRAILER

FACTS COST: >Cost of trailer = approx $2500 - $5000 >Cost of timber structure: approx $10000 MATERIALS: >Prefabricated steel trailer >timber frame construction > Corrugated plastic roof >Corrugated metal roof EFFECTIVENESS/ADAPTABILITY: >Trailer can be sized to any needs >Can be moved anywhere to observe birds >Can be closed or opened up depending on what the people want to use it for >Can be used for a large group setting or a small individual space ENGAGEMENT > Construction can be completely DIY after the steel frame for the trailer is fabricated off site. > Rest of the materials will come as a set with construction drawings of how to put it together

BIRD OBSERVATORY

NEED >The design offers the community a space that can be moved to woodland or wetland areas without breaking the ground > The space incorporates learning spaces and reflective spaces for people to connect back with these stories and learn about culture through observing and listening for birds.

FURTHER DEVELOPED > Designing smaller movable hides so one can drive off road with a structure in the back of their car > Needs to be more autonomous in the landscape > Disguise the fact it is a trailer We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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DESIGN OPTION

BIRD HIDE ON TRAILER

REFLECTION Upon bringing our ideas together and presenting them to Josh, Damien, Uncle Johnny and Aunty Denise we received lots of valuable feedback which will inform our design as we progress it for the final report. Overall the feedback was very positive and believe our ideas about a transportable structure were very well received. Our flexible and constructable options were also successful and will be carried on.

Where we need to improve is predominantly in accessibility to bird watching sites and a trailer on a car limits where we can go. Denise was really fond of the smaller pods which we have kept in mind and will continue to develop.

BIRD OBSERVATORY

Josh and Uncle Johnny also encouraged us to consider the birds themselves on a deeper level and teach ourselves about the stories and significance each one has.

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

20

BIRD OBSERVATORY

FINAL DESIGN

POD SYSTEM

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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BIRD OBSERVATORY

BIRDS

POD SYSTEM | WETLAND

Wetland Bird Study - Brolga + Magpie Lark KUROUT + THULIRM/GILLIN GILLIN

Wetland Bird Study - Reedwarbler KUULIN KUULIN TARK

Directly related to youth > Feature in creation story about creating waterholes during a drought > Belief that eating a magpie-lark as a child - hair would turn grey > Children would develop sores if they consumed the brolga

Kuulin Kuulin tark directly translates to hidden in the reeds.

Aims for hide: > Clearly differentiate the difference between child and adult > Only allow two children and an adult to enter relating to one of the Brolga creation stories where the Brolga was tricked by the Emu and now only has two chicks at one time. > Relate to the birds flapping their wings

Aims for hide: > Represent the reeds and being hidden in something > Interactive hide centred around fun and play

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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PRELIMINARY IDEAS

POD SYSTEM | WETLAND

KUROUT + THULIRM/GILLIN GILLIN

KUULIN KUULIN TARK

- Pod is for one adult and two children where the children are further away from the birds than the parent

- rope hides the supports and gives impression of floating roof

BIRD OBSERVATORY

- Height of lookout indicates who it is for

- rope represents the reeds, where kids can dance in the reeds like the bird

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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RESOLUTION

POD SYSTEM | WETLAND

KUROUT + THULIRM/GILLIN GILLIN KEY POINTS - Use for two children and one adult and indicates children need to be placed further back from these birds to protect them from the grey hair and sores

lake

con

dah

- Shape of the hide slightly represents the birds when they are flying and flapping their wings - directly relates to the birds flapping their wings and bringing water to the country

BIRD OBSERVATORY

elevation 1:50 @ A4

plan 1:50 @ A4 We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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RESOLUTION

POD SYSTEM | WETLAND

KUULIN KUULIN TARK KEY POINTS - Ropes hide the structure - Ropes used to indicate the reeds and mimic the birds movements - Interactive hide for kids

lake

con

dah

BIRD OBSERVATORY

elevation 1:50 @ A4

plan 1:50 @ A4 We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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BIRDS

POD SYSTEM | WOODLAND

Woodland Bird Study - Magpie + Kookaburra KIRRAEAE + GUNIT/WARWHARKEET

Woodland Bird Study - Wedge-Tailed Eagle KNEEANGAR

> Kookaburras warned of danger, particularly the closeness of snakes

> Feared due to their habit of attacking young children.

> Magpies flying in flocks brought strong winds with them from the north west

> Men collected eggs in pairs and waited for the eagle to leave its nest. One would then go and climb up to the nest and take the eggs by taking a hole out of the base.

Aims for hide: > Hide will become centred around the idea of warning > Elements of the hide should directly translate to what these birds warn

> Any chicks found in the nest were burned using a lighting stick

Aims for hide: > Protect children > Fire element

BIRD OBSERVATORY

> Idea about climbing and going in a pair

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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PRELIMINARY IDEAS

POD SYSTEM | WOODLAND

KIRRAEAE + GUNIT/WARWHARKEET

- structure

KNEEANGAR

- rope will indicate winds

- pod opens up and invites to sit under

BIRD OBSERVATORY

- fire pit can be removed

- see snakes crawling past

- climb under and into it

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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RESOLUTION KIRRAEAE + GUNIT/WARWHARKEET

POD SYSTEM | WOODLAND KEY POINTS - North-West corner is rope to indicate wind coming from this direction alerted from the magpie - 360 degree views and adjustable sides to hide from the birds - Opening in one corner of ground to see ground if kookaburra alerts snakes

BIRD OBSERVATORY

elevation 1:50 @ A4

plan 1:50 @ A4 We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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RESOLUTION KNEEANGAR

2 - POD SYSTEM | WOODLAND KEY POINTS - Fire pit can be removed - 3 sides can open up for people to sit under and around the hide - Circular opening represents the hole that would be cut into the nest to collect the eggs - Hide is too tall for children to poke their heads out - This is for perceived protection from the dangerous eagle

BIRD OBSERVATORY

elevation 1:50 @ A4

plan 1:50 @ A4 We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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MATERIALITY

POD SYSTEM

Precedents

BIRD OBSERVATORY

White Extension Sasa Ciabatti 2014

Forest Shadow Tomohiro Hata + Takashi Manda 2011

Wilson St MA Architects 2014

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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MATERIALITY

POD SYSTEM

Base Drop Leg Jack Stand Price: avg $200

Treated Pine Price: $19/m

Floor Mesh Steel Price: Unknown

Size: 280mm closed height, 60x60mm width

Size: 240x45

Size: width of 900mm

Use: Create a base for the bird hides

Use: Flooring

Use: Act as the feet of the structure.

Benefits: Outdoor timber, natural base, cheap, light

Benefits: relatively light, strong, robust, good for outdoors

Thin steel poles Price: Unknown

Shade Cloth Price: $7/m

Rope Price: Unknown

Size: 25mmx25mm preferred

Size: Comes in 1.8m widths

Size: 5mm

Use: Becomes the structure of each hide

Use: Creates a transparent wall

Benefits: extremely light, prefabricated

Benefits: extremely light, sun protection, cheap and easy to use

Benefit: Can change heights on uneven ground, heavy and will hold hide down

BIRD OBSERVATORY

Top

Use: Rope wall and interaction Benefits: extremely light, water resistant

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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BIRD OBSERVATORY

Kneeangar

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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BIRD OBSERVATORY

Kirraeae + Gunit/Warwharkeet

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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BIRD OBSERVATORY

Kurout + Thulirm/Gillin Gillin

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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BIRD OBSERVATORY

Kuulin Kuulin Tark

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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CONCLUSION

BIRD OBSERVATORY

We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to work with the Gunditjmara people and thank them for sharing their knowledge with us. To briefly summarise, we are proposing a series of pods which are light and can be moved easily by hand or vehicle. Each pod will have a connection to a bird or group of birds and will hopefully become a conversation point for the community to share with each other stories related to the birds.

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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REFERENCES Bureau of Meteorology (2010) Indigenous Weather Knowledge: Gariwerd Calender http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/calendars/gariwerd.shtml Ezban, M. (2019). Aquaculture landscapes : fish farming and the public realm. Routledge.

Foley, B. (2017) Part-Parti mirring-yi [mobile app]. App Store. https://apps.apple.com/au/ app/part-parti-mirring-yi/id1218642005 Portland Tourist Association (n.d.) Birds of the Budj Bim Landscape. http://www. visitportland.com.au/indigenous-history/ Rose, D., Bell, D., & Crook, D. A. (2016). Restoring habitat and cultural practice in Australia’s oldest and largest traditional aquaculture system. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 26(3), 589. doi:10.1007/s11160-016-9426-1 Trailer Made (n.d.) Tiny House Trailers. https://www.trailermadetrailers.com/tiny-housetrailers/

BIRD OBSERVATORY

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (2019) Budj Bim Cultural Landscape. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1577/

We acknowledge the Gunditjmara people, the Traditional Owners of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past and present

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