Hidden Histories tells the story of the region’s traditional land owners, the Wadawurrung people, through a website and application leading visitors through 12 stops around the outdoor museum using an interactive timeline, videos, games, audio files and a large collection of images and quotes from the mid-1800s. 

The initiative was launched at a Sovereign Hill event on Wednesday. 

Museums director Brett Dunlop said the tour was based on the recent book Black Gold: Aboriginal People on the Goldfields of Victoria, 1850-1870 by Federation University historian Dr Fred Cahir. 

He said it had become evident this was a side to the story the museum wasn’t telling, until now. 

“People can follow it on their tablets or phones through the museum, or even read about it online before they come.”

Traditional land owner Uncle Bryon Powell said few people knew the Indigenous history during the gold rush. 

“Sovereign Hill is doing a great service to the community by telling this story,” he said. 

“We, the Wadawurrung people, were at the Eureka Stockade.

“We were sitting over the back minding the children. 

“Without my family, there may not have been a gold rush. 

“It was us who took the diggers to find the gold, looked after them, supplied their food and made possum blankets to keep them warm.”

Education officer and Hidden Histories developer Alice Barnes said it provided the living museum with a way to communicate important stories to visitors that were not obvious at first glance.

Email sovereignhillhiddenhistories.com.au/ for more information.