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Wednesday, 24th October 2007 (1937 views)

The role of indigenous Australian's in the Sovereign Hill gold rush has been acknowledged, it has been reported.

Gold was first discovered in Victoria's Ballarat-based Sovereign Hill in the 19th century and this week a memorandum of understanding was signed by the chief executive officers of the Sovereign Hill Museums Association and Kirrit Barreet Aboriginal Art and Cultural Centre to pay more attention to the role aboriginal people played in the precious metal's extraction in the area, reports ABC Ballarat.

Sovereign Hill Museums Association's chief indigenous education officer Richard McLean told the news provider that roles played by the indigenous population included acting as guards or "native police" to help the miners' on their journeys.

He added that the memorandum of understanding signifies a new collaborative approach between the museums association and the aboriginal centre.

"To have an interpretation up at Sovereign Hill now will be fantastic...having the expertise and the knowledge of the tourism industry will be great for Kirrit Barreet's future as well," he told the publication.

Sovereign Hill museum operates school camps and environmental activities as well as being home to permanent exhibitions exploring the gold rush.

 

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