More than 1500 people crammed View Point at 5.30am Thursday, braving drizzle and icy winds to hear emotionally-charged stories of massacre, pain, change and resilience - as well as an allegedly racist incident in Ballarat this week.

Mercy Clark (Meriam) and Bede Mercer (Waddawurrung) read out the names of every Aboriginal language group in Victoria.

"Our children don't know how to pronounce everything, and I told my daughter that this was not a performance," Mercy's mother Deb told The Courier after the service.

"It's about you standing strong and standing firm and being confident.

"Look at the beautiful modelling they had beforehand from other people who got up and spoke or sang.

"I want children like my daughter to see and hear that.

"Also, I was really proud of all the children dancing.

"People constantly question Aboriginal people about stereotypes, but in this space all you feel is strength and hope - and the belief that our culture and identity will define us now and into the future."

This is the fourth year the ceremony has been held at Lake Wendouree - with the crowd boosted by a strong Geelong contingent, whose own ceremony was cancelled due to flooding.

Shu Brown from the Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-operative said he had prepared a speech about Australia's black history - but binned it after a disturbing incident.

"On Tuesday my 13-year-old daughter and her three friends - who are all Aboriginal - decided to go shopping for something to wear to a BADAC youth group event," he said.

"The girls wanted to dress up in fairy costumes.

"When she got home she told me they had been escorted out the building for loitering - and she had overheard security talking about checking CCTV from where they had just been.

"They had done nothing wrong."

The girls were all at Thursday's ceremony, shedding tears and comforting each other.

"My daughter got a bit of a shock but just laughed it off at the time. She then had a deeper think about it when she got home," Mr Brown said.

"I told her it shouldn't stop her from going to the shopping centre.

IN THE NEWS

"She was not the one who had the problem.

"I felt upset for her.

"I knew at the ceremony people would talk about the past - but I wanted to bring up things that are happening in the present."

Mr Brown - who works as a cultural officer - also spoke of conservation students at Federation University.

"Our team did an Indigenous garden - and it sparked a conversation about Aboriginal stereotypes," he said.

"The students said they had never heard of those sorts of stereotypes before.

"What they are being taught in schools now is to respect and acknowledge Aboriginal culture.

"That made me feel positive about the future - that there's hope and change for the next generation."

Other people on stage included Sarah Jane Hall, who became emotional listing many of the known massacres of Indigenous people around Victoria; didgeridoo player Zane Harris, MC Belinda Duarte, Bonnie Chew, the Baarlinjaan Dancers, singer-songwriter Zarene Webster - and Auslan interpreter Tracey Steiner.

The large crowd meant all public parking within 600m of the venue was taken.

Have you tried The Courier's app? It can be downloaded here.