Beaumaris Motor Yacht Squadron recognises that the Boon Wurrung people are the traditional owners and custodians of the land that the Club now comprises.
Settlement of the Bayside area commenced in 1835 and by the 1850s the townships of Brighton, Elsternwick, Sandringham and Beaumaris had all been laid out. The traditional life ways of the Woi Wurrung and Boon Wurrung people were altered rapidly and almost irreparably. Native game animals were driven away, plant foods lost under grazing stock and fresh water supplies put under pressure.
Rapid population decline and displacement disrupted traditional oral history telling and by the time European settlers thought to record information about Indigenous people, it was already too late.
The Indigenous Trail
Bayside City Council has developed four affiliated trails stretching across the 17 kilometres of the coastline adjacent to Beach Road between Brighton and Beaumaris.
The indigenous trail includes works of contemporary Indigenous artists and is based on stories authored by Boon Wurrung Elder Carolyn Briggs. The trail outlines the close relationship between the Boon Wurrung culture and the coastal environment. Bayside's rich coastal history (epitomised by the colourful Brighton bathing boxes) and the significant local flora and fauna are also prominent.
Beaumaris Modern is a not-for-profit, incorporated community association that has more details of the history and settlement of Beaumaris.
