MYSTERIOUS: William barak | Mind Blowing Facts

William Barak’s missing art: Wurundjeri Elders lead the search to reclaim lost cultural treasures

Esteemed ngurungaeta (headman) William Barak is well-known to Victorians as a leader and artist who witnessed the signing of the controversial Batman Treaty in 1835.

The Conversation · Oct 14, 2025

Friday essay: crimes, redemption and rebellion – the truths told in 65,000 years of Australian art are essential for national healing

The third section of the Uluru Statement from the Heart is Truth. Without knowing the truth of the history of Australia’s Indigenous people, and how the European invasion continues to impact on them, it is hard to understand the pain behind the loss of The Voice referendum and the ongoing…

The Conversation · Oct 17, 2024

Gallery opens with Barak artworks that have come home

Two artworks by Wurundjeri leader William Barak bought at a New York auction are the centrepiece of the State Library of Victoria's Indigenous Gallery.

AAP · Dec 12, 2023

Wurundjeri people crowdfunding to buy rare Aboriginal artworks, return them to country

Two rare Aboriginal artworks go under the hammer at Sotheby's in New York tonight – and William Barak's descendants want to buy them.

ABC News · May 24, 2022

‘Bring them home’: Australian crowdfund campaign seeks to buy Wurundjeri art at New York auction

Aboriginal heritage council says it will need to raise $1m to secure bid for two works by artist William Barak in Sotheby’s auction

The Guardian - AU · May 20, 2022

The book that changed me: I'm a historian but Tony Birch's poetry opened my eyes to confronting truths about the past

In this series, writers nominate a book that changed their life – or at least their thinking.

The Conversation · Mar 28, 2022