Illuminated address presented by William Barak and 15 Coranderrk residents to Graham Berry, 1886

On 24 March 1886 a group of Kulin men from Coranderrk, led by William Barak, travelled to Melbourne to farewell former Premier Graham Berry (1822-1904) who was returning to England. They presented him with gifts of spears, boomerangs and other artefacts, including this illuminated address. The gifts were offered as thanks for his assistance in maintaining the station against the advice of the Aboriginal Protection Board. Like so many of Barak's public gestures, the illuminated address perfectly bridged the two cultures in which he lived, finding the symbolic voice they shared and thus demonstrating his great talent as a mediator. It also demonstrates the Coranderrk resident's sophisticated engagement with the colony's political structure.