PEOPLE CENTRED HERITAGE // EPISODE 14 – Dandenong Ranges

“It’s really important to remember that heritage doesn’t just stop at the red line boundary of your study area. Unless we put people’s stories at the centre, we miss most of what matters.” - Steve Skitmore
 
About 35 kilometres east of Melbourne’s CBD you’ll find the Dandenong Ranges, a peaceful stretch of temperate rainforest of special significance to Victorians.
 
Steve Skitmore, Senior Associate at Extent Heritage, has been working in the Ranges on heritage assessments for the RidgeWalk project, a planned 26km-long series of linking trails that joins up the communities in the ranges. It incorporates educational, sculptural and tourism elements to tell the story of the area.
 
It may seem odd to undertake a heritage assessment in the middle of a forest. But heritage isn’t just about built structures. “Heritage is about the stories and the values that people hold dear about their lives and the lives of their ancestors,” says Steve. “It could be about the mountains themselves. It could be about the light coming through the trees. It could be about the way you can stand on the mountaintop and look out and see certain places.”
 
Scattered throughout the Ranges there are old huts, mills, and railways, but there’s also the intangible side of heritage: Steve has been meeting with Traditional Owners to record information on the history that stretches long before European settlement, including the Ranges’ life as a hunting ground.
 
“What we’re hearing from the Elders here are the stories about why the ranges are so important,” says Steve. “It’s really powerful how you can stand here and hear these stories in and of this place… while all around you are these incredible vistas.”

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