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Sovereign Hill acknowledges the Wadawurrung people as the Traditional custodians of the land on which we operate. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and to all of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who live and work on Wadawurrung Country. We acknowledge their unceded sovereignty over Wadawurrung Country, and the ongoing hardship and trauma as a result of colonisation. The history and continuous culture of the Wadawurrung people is an important part of our shared story.

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Regular Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-5pm | Mondays: Pre-booked school groups only.King's Birthday: We are open Monday 9 June, 10am-5pm for the public holiday.Gold Rush Centre &amp; Rare Trades Centre: Open for pre-booked workshops &amp; tours only.

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Wadawurrung Cultural Precinct

Title of artwork: All Nations Artist: Aunty Marlene Gilson, OAM, Wathaurung/Wadawurrung Elder Year: 2024 Medium: Acrylic on linen (original). Reproduced as print on aluminium Size: 150 x 120cm (original) 160 x 200cm (print) 
Artist Statement
"My painting depicts the Ballarat goldfields, a place I love. It was hard for our ancestors as the food source began to disappear after settlement. The new arrivals, consisting of many different nations, came for gold and made Ballarat their home."

Aunty Marlene Painting for website 1 1

About the Artist 
Gilson’s multi-figure paintings work to overturn the colonial grasp on the past by reclaiming and re-contextualising the representation of historical events.
Learning her Wathaurung history from her grandmother, Gilson began painting while recovering from an illness. The artist’s meticulously rendered works display a narrative richness and theatrical quality akin to the traditional genre of history painting.
Gilson, however, privileges those stories relating to her ancestral land, including Ballarat, Werribee, Geelong and Skipton.
Often including her two totems, Bunjil the Eagle and Waa the Crow, Gilson’s paintings not only reconfigure historical narratives, but display her spiritual connection to country.
In 2024, a career highlight for Gilson was exhibiting as one of only three Aboriginal artists invited to represent Australia in the Venice Biennale. The Biennale is the pinnacle of the worldwide artworld. After which, she was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia, included in the King’s birthday honours list.

Aunty Marlene Gilson is a Wadawarrung Elder and visual artist known for her paintings. She resides on Wadawurrung Country in Gordon, near Ballarat.