We envision a world where Boonwurrung ancestors are acknowledged and respected. We strive to ensure that the good work of N'Arweet Dr Carolyn Briggs AM and Caroline Martin is upheld and continued. Our mission is to ensure that future generations of the Boonwurrung are understood and accepted as the First People of Birrarung-ga (Melbourne), and all of Boonwurrung Country.
We invite all visitors to proudly share in Boonwurrung history, culture, and connection to Country. Our vision is to share Boonwurrung culture as a foundational part of our ongoing story.
July 2023
Senior Boon Wurrung Woman Caroline Martin gave a Welcome to Country at the event; and spoke about the timber screen design featured in the garden, which continues the legacy of her ancestors through the design of the garden being inspired be her possum skin cloak artwork.
Boonwurrung Storyteller Jaeden Williams performed a smoking ceremony, dance and story to celebrate with the children from the Alfred Child Care Centre and to cleanse the garden and people of negative energy, and promote the protection and wellbeing of visitors.
2019 / Albert Park Preschool
We helped to develop Australia's First Carbon Neutral Kindergarden through embedding Boonwurrung language and culture in the Kindergarten's philosophy, in 2019.
We engaged with and shared Boonwurrung language to students at Haileybury Brighton ELC who then entered and won the Name ExoWorlds competition name a star and exoplanet. The Haileybury entry used Boonwurrung words; Australia’s star HD 38283 in the constellation Mensa is named Bubup (child) and the exoplanet is named YanYan (boy).
City of Melbourne - 2018
Led the Welcome to Country with the Mayor of Melbourne to celebrate the opening of the Visitors Hub at the Town Hall for the City of Melbourne in August 2018.
Biik Bundjil is a cultural organisation focused on embedding Boonwurrung culture into modern society, founded in 2018, Biik Bundjil has worked with many Kindergartens & Schools across Boonwurrung country and have developed long lasting relationships with many collaborators and partners.
Biik Bundjil has recently begun a new component of its organisation called Djindibik Murrup, whose main focus is to work towards healing the collective trauma in our First Nations communities. This is through a variety of one on one therapy sessions and Emotional Intelligence Seminars. Our seminars bring awareness to how individuals see and discuss trauma, and they help build tools for trauma prevention and healing, teaching the understandings of our personal connection to Country and Spirit.
Jaeden Williams-Briggs
Jaeden Williams is a proud Yalukit Willam man of the Boonwurrung, founder and director of Biik Bundjil.
Deeply connected to his heritage, Jaeden has dedicated his life to preserving and sharing Boonwurrung culture through education, storytelling, and community engagement. Through Biik Bundjil, Jaeden integrates traditional stories, language, and cultural practices into modern education, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of Boonwurrung heritage.
Jaeden is also a certified hypnotherapist and trauma-informed coach, with over seven years of experience in the emotional wellbeing sector. His holistic approach to healing and education emphasises the importance of emotional resilience and cultural identity.
As a gifted storyteller, Jaeden weaves Boonwurrung stories with personal truth, showing how pain can become wisdom and wounds can become teachings. His storytelling not only educates, but inspires deep connection to the land, history, and healing. Alongside his educational work, Jaeden is also an active advocate for environmental preservation.
Through his multifaceted roles, Jaeden Williams continues to be a leading voice in the preservation and celebration of Boonwurrung culture, ensuring that the stories, language, and traditions of his people are passed on to future generations.
Ngarra Kulin
Ngarra Kulin is a proud Boonwurrung and Wiradjuri man based in Birrarrung-ga (Melbourne), the home of his Boonwurrung Ancestors.
Ngarra Kulin has been honing his creative skills in acrylic paint on canvas and conceptual design. Originally a Carpenter, he has combined both skills and sees his art from start to finish, from creating to stretching and framing his own work, as well, carving his Ancestral iconography on selected pieces at the request of the collector.
His intricate art style is both spiritual and symbolic, his art practice is a stunning mix of the old ways of being, and is at one with the present.
Ngarra Kulin is solely dedicated to his creative practice, and his works are largely shaped by spending time on and with Country, seeing, feeling and listening to what can’t be seen but stunningly capturing all those moments in between.
Caroline Martin
Caroline Briggs-Martin, a Sovereign Boonwurrung and Wemba Wemba Woman, is a leading advocate for the recognition and amplification of First Nations voices while transforming systems for lasting change. With over 35 years of impact across arts, education, tourism, and policy, she led Museum Victoria’s Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre for 12 years, where she advocated for and managed the development of the internationally acclaimed First Peoples exhibition — renowned for its pioneering community-led approach.
As Founder and Managing Director of Yalukit Marnang, she drives transformative Cultural Safety initiatives, reshaping institutions nationwide. Her leadership as Creative Director of YIRRAMBOI (2019, 2021) showcased over 350 First Nations creatives, elevating the festival as a defining force of cultural excellence.
Caroline’s unwavering commitment to advocacy and cultural understanding continues to challenge systems, reinforce First Nations leadership, and shape Australia’s cultural landscape.
PhD Candidate, Griffith University – Transformative Cultural Safety: Unveiling Structural Oppression and Identity Fraud within Institutional Frameworks & Enabling Trauma-Informed Systemic Reform
Affiliate, Centre for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Monash University
Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly is a proud Gunditjmara ~ Kirrae Wurrong man from southwest Victoria, celebrated for his mastery of the Yidaki (Didgeridoo) and his ability to weave story through sound. With a career spanning major festivals, AFL grand finals, and countless cultural gatherings, Paul has become one of the most respected Yidaki performers in the country.
His performances are more than music, they are an invitation to feel Country. Each note carries the pulse of story, spirit, and place, offering audiences a profound connection to the world’s oldest continuous culture. Whether performing solo or leading workshops and ceremonies, Paul’s presence is grounding, powerful, and deeply moving.
Through his work, Paul shares the cultural and spiritual significance of the Yidaki, an instrument of healing, ceremony, and connection, inspiring understanding, respect, and unity wherever he performs.
Brent Watkins
Brent Watkins is a Gunai Kurnai man with Noongar Yamatji ancestry, a visionary artist, dancer, and cultural educator reshaping how ceremony and storytelling are experienced in modern Australia. As the founder of Culture Evolves, Brent fuses traditional dance with contemporary hip-hop and theatre, creating performances that are at once ancient, political, and powerfully healing.
Through movement, sound, and language, Brent reconnects audiences with the stories, seasons, and knowledge systems that have shaped his people for millennia. His work, from reviving the Bogong Moth Ceremony to exploring cross-cultural collaborations, is driven by a mission to heal Country and community through truth-telling and creative expression.
Guided by Elders and inspired by his Nan, the late Rita Watkins, Brent’s leadership continues a legacy of cultural strength and advocacy. Culture Evolves has united First Nations and West Papuan artists on international stages, bridging communities and celebrating the enduring heartbeat of Aboriginal culture.
Brent’s art embodies resilience, relationship, and renewal, keeping ceremony alive for generations to come.
We had such an amazing workshop with Jaeden Williams. There were nearly 70 people who attended the workshop, with children as young as 10 months old. Jaeden skillfully held the attention of all the young Bubups for a whole hour of storytelling, language, acknowledgement, interactive stories and ritual. The children loved Jaedens engaging stories and larger than life energy. Everyone was particularly moved by the smoking ceremony and we could tell that it touched the hearts of the children. An experience they won't ever forget. We are very excited to have Jaeden guide us on our learning journey into Boonwurrung culture and look forward to his next visit.
- Jake, Yarraville Sacred Place Family Day Care
Thank you, Jaeden! Your presentation was amazing. I really enjoyed it when you shared your intriguing knowledge. The way you teach is incredibly fun, calling us bubups was my favourite part. It was interactive, fun and listening to stories is fantastic. I really recommend it for all kids. It also changed my mindset, and now I am going to do many things differently to make me and others happier.
- Coco, Year 7 Student