Must close Friday 5 February 2021 -

Curated by Lenore Frost. Before European settlers arrived in the Port Phillip district, a large wetland that lay between the Yarra River and the Moonee Ponds Creek sustained the indigenous people and the cultural traditions of the Kulin nation. It was known by the new settlers as Batman’s Swamp. In less than 20 years that important wetland had been despoiled by European settlers, who turned into a receptacle for sewage and rubbish. While the wetland had initially been described in terms of beauty, within a few short years the swamp was noisome and reviled, and talk began of draining and reclamation. ‘This exhibition traces the how a significant wetland vanished from sight.