The lands around Casey were inhabited by the Bunurong/Boonwurrung Peoples. Today, Aboriginal people from all over Australia live in the City of Casey. The Bunurong/Boonwurrung People represent a number of Clans and/or Family groups.
The City of Casey lies within the boundary of the Mayone Bulluk Bunurong/Boonwurrung.
The Mayone Bulluk Bunurong/Boonwurrung
Mayone Bulluk Bunurong/Boonwurrung
The cultural, ceremonial, and spiritual life of the Mayone Bulluk was intricately linked to the seasons and the availability of natural resources. Over thousands of years, the Bunurong people learned to predict the availability of these resources by observing changes in plant growth and animal behaviour. For instance, when the first wattles flowered, they knew certain fish species were about to spawn, prompting them to travel to river and creek mouths to catch fish.
Summer at Coastal Camps
In summer, the Mayone Bulluk gathered at coastal camps in Mordialloc, Frankston, or Warneet on Westernport Bay to enjoy foods such as bird eggs, fish, shellfish, kangaroo, and possum. They also collected a variety of vegetables, including bulbs, shoots, and foliage like Warrigal Spinach. Meals were often accompanied by drinks made from the nectar of coastal banksia flowers.
The Mayone Bulluk lived in small huts called "Miam'mia," constructed from tree boughs or thatched with grasses and sedges. From these huts, they would forage for yams and hunt kangaroos and possums. Kangaroo and possum skins were used to make cloaks and rugs for winter and were valuable trade items. A possum skin cloak made from 50 hides was worth one Greenstone axe head blank.
Winter Inland
As winter approached, the Mayone Bulluk families moved inland to winter camps around present-day Dandenong, Cranbourne, and Moorooduc. During the coldest months, they joined neighbouring Bunurong/Boonwurrung clans for large-scale hunts and cultural ceremonies. They caught eels, collected shoots and mushrooms, and sometimes gathered seeds from ants’ nests to make bread. The sweet piths of tree ferns and grass trees were also a part of their diet.
The men taught boys snaring and tracking small game, while girls learned to make eel traps and baskets. They stayed warm in small houses made from tree bark, known as "Willam."
Spring and Travel
With the first blooms of the black wattle trees in spring, the Elders of the Mayone Bulluk led their people back to the swamp and then to the coast, where Port Phillip Bay’s resources awaited them. As the seasons changed, so did their movements.
The Landscape Today
Today, very little of the original landscape remains due to introduced land management practices and rapid development. The remaining sites of cultural, social, and spiritual significance to the Bunurong/Boonwurrung People are under threat from ongoing development. Despite being dispossessed of their traditional land, the Bunurong/Boonwurrung people actively work to protect, preserve, and promote awareness of their culture, heritage, and environment through the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation.