Southern Gariwerd & the Black Range

Symbolic, spiritual, healing

Vision: A living, cultural landscape cared for by Traditional Owners and the community to protect its values, heal and build resilience

Traditional Owners of the Greater Gariwerd are represented by Barengi Gadjin Land Council, Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation. Together, they form a Strategic Partnership Committee of Traditional Owners.

Greater Garwierd has been home to the Djab Wurrung and Jadawadjali language groups and ancestors for more than 22,000 years and contains the densest concentration of rock art and the largest assemblage of Aboriginal art motifs in Victoria.

This local area aligns with the southern portion of the Greater Gariwerd (Grampians) Landscape – including Gariwerd (Grampians), Black Range State Park, Cherrypool Highway Park, Brady Swamp State Game Reserve and Rocklands Reservoir. 

Gariwerd is the generic name for a pointed mountain or mountain range. More specifically, in Jadawadjali language, ‘gar’ means ‘pointed mountain’; ‘i’ means ‘the’ and ‘werd’ means ‘shoulder’.

In addition to rock art across the broader Gariwerd landscape, Aboriginal places include burials, mounds, stone arrangements, freshwater middens, rock quarries, artefact scatters, archaeological layers and scar trees, and larger areas that also include intangible values such as creation stories.  

Local Government Authorities include Ararat Rural City, Horsham Rural City Council, Northern Grampians Shire Council and Southern Grampians Shire.