On a clifftop at the end of the Great Ocean Road in Warrnambool, Eastern Maar people on Tuesday welcomed the Federal Court of Australia to hand down a native title decision they'd petitioned for since 2012.
The significance of the occasion could not be overstated for the traditional owners who had fought for their rights since whalers and sealers first arrived on the beaches in the early 1800s.
A temporary courtroom was packed full of Indigenous family groups as the presiding judge, Justice Bernard Murphy, and lawyers representing Eastern Maar people took their places.
The mood was electric, with ceremonial dancers performing an impassioned cry in Peek Whurrong language before the landmark proceedings began.
The determination acknowledged Eastern Maar's ongoing connection and intrinsic relationship with their country in south-western Victoria, which included much of the coastline of the Great Ocean Road and part of the Great Otway National Park.
The decision recognised Eastern Maar people's rights to access and use, as well as protection of public land in accordance with their traditional law and custom.
It also included their right to be consulted on the use and development of land or its natural resources for the protection and preservation of places and areas with cultural importance.
National Native Title Council chief executive Jamie Lowe, who is a Gundjitmara Djabwurrung man, paid respect to his ancestors who fought the original occupation of Eastern Maar country, and to the elders who began the claim in 2012, but had since died.
"Back when we were invaded by the colonies, we fought hard to survive," Mr Lowe said.
"Our old people have fought hard to keep our culture alive, and native title is recognition of that.
"I'd like to pay respect to our original applicants, none of our original applicants are alive today."
He said it was a significant determination in Victoria, where a history of Indigenous people being forcibly moved onto missions, sometimes across the state, had made gathering uninterrupted proof required by native title determinations difficult.
"It wasn't that long ago, back in the mid 2000s, when people across the nation and particularly here in Victoria, were saying that native title was extinguished," Mr Lowe said.
The previous most recent native title decision in Victoria was made on this day in 2013, when the state and Dja Dja Wurrung people of Central Victoria entered a recognition and settlement agreement after 18 months of negotiations.
Hope, tears, culture
While the central reason for the day was to hand down a decision about native title, the emotional impact rippled much wider.
Kirrae Whurrong elder and Eastern Maar member, Aunty Lee-Anne Clarke, said the day held a promise of hope.
"I'm in hope that we can take away the sorrow and oppression that we've actually felt and replace that with some joy and happiness, with who we are," she said.
"We are Kirrae Whurrong peoples and we are Eastern Maar peoples, and we are warriors."
Eastern Maar citizen Jodie Sizer and her daughter Chloe travelled from Torquay and were painted up with the symbol for "woman".
Chloe was able to articulate the significance of the day.
"We're here because the the highest of judges is here to confirm that we were the first people on this land," she said.
Ms Sizer said she hoped the decision would pave the way for further self-determination for Eastern Maar people.
"It's important for the generations to come," she said.
"It's a recognition of rights that provides a platform for all things; from economic development to meaningful recognition, so we can ensure that we have the self-determination to secure our rightful place in the future."
