Budj Bim Cultural Landscape becomes first in Australia to receive world heritage protection solely for its Aboriginal cultural importance

The Budj Bim Cultural Landscape in south-west Victoria has become the first in Australia to receive world heritage protection solely for its Aboriginal cultural importance. It has been added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list at a meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan on 6th July 2019. The site was created about 6,600 years ago by the Gunditjmara people and is considered one of the world’s oldest freshwater aquaculture systems. The site features the remnants of about 300 round stone huts that are the only remaining permanent houses built by an indigenous community in Australia – challenging the common perception that all Aboriginal people were nomadic.