Ramahyuck Mission is located on Gunaikurnai country, specifically along Lake Wellington near the Avon River.
To learn more about Aboriginal stations check out our history timeline entry Creation of reserve system.
Opening
Ramahyuck mission was established in 1863 by Reverend Friedrich August Hagenauer, a Moravian Missionary who had previously helped to establish Ebenezer Mission. ‘Ramah’ is Hebrew for ‘home’ and ‘yuck’ was the local word for ‘our’.
It was originally supposed to be located in the Green Hills near Maffra and despite the support he received from the Central Board for the Protection of Aborigines the government rejected his application as a result of strong resistance from local squatters.
Rev. Hagenauer remained persistent on reserving land and on the 9th of June 1863, after much negotiation his application for 2,356 acres of land on the shores of Lake Wellington was approved.
Ramahyuck Aboriginal Camp, Avon River (Lake Wellington) Gippsland. Image source: State Library Victoria.
Life at Ramahyuck
Rev. Hagenauer was a strict manager of Ramahyuck, his word was law and his goal was to ‘civilise’ our people. While the mission provided protection for those who lived there, they were forced to abandon their culture and traditions. It was forbidden to have corroborees, or to participate in any cultural traditions or rituals. Rev. Hagenauer actually instructed the mob who lived at Ramahyuck to pile their spears, boomerangs and other tools and weapons together and set them alight to destroy them.
The community aimed to be self-supporting and learned how to cultivate crops and to tend to sheep and dairy cattle. Rev. Hagenauer was awarded a Medal of Merit after he displayed samples of their produce at the Vienna Exhibition.
Rev. Hagenauer preaching to congregation at church service, Ramahyuck Mission. Image source: State Library Victoria.
Closure
Ramahyuck Mission closed as a result of the 1886 Aborigines Protection Act that stated all those that were considered to be ‘half-caste’ were removed from the missions and reserves. After the implementation of this act, numbers at Ramahyuck continued to drastically decline as residents were removed. The school had to be shut down and the funds that the mission received were reduced. You can read ore about the protection legislation in our history timeline entry "Protection" legislation introduced in Victoria.
Ramahyuck operated for almost 50 years before it was officially shut down in 1908, those who remained were relocated to other missions and reserves.
Group standing in front of Church and State School, Ramahyuck Mission. Image source: State Library Victoria.
Sources
- Ramahyuck District Aboriginal Corporation, RAMAHYUCK: A HISTORY
- Ramahyuck District Aboriginal Corporation, our history, our future