Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Trail

Overview

Spanning 145 hectares of land, there's a lot more to the Australian National University campus than just lecture halls and libraries. To help students, locals and visitors best experience everything this corner of Canberra has to offer, the university has developed a series of self-guided walking trails covering everything from outdoor art to significant architecture.

If you only have time to do one, we suggest making it the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Heritage Trail. ANU worked with the four Representative Aboriginal Organisations in the ACT to develop this trail, which passes through Ngunnawal, Ngambri, Ngunawal and Ngarigu Country.

Start at the National Centre for Indigenous Studies, which works with local communities to preserve Indigenous knowledge and experiences. You can then pass through to South Oval, an area that was used for hunting, camping or ceremony by Aboriginal people.

Other stops include the Sullivans Creek, Black Mountain, Acton Grassy Woodlands and Union Court (the site of much student activism in the 60s and 70s). Along the way, you'll see native animals, scarred trees and a number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artworks within the ANU Art collection.

Image: Stephen Dann, Flickr