I, Foteini Hatzimihail, acknowledge, the Yalukit Wilum Clan of the Boon Wurrung people as the traditional custodians of the land. I pay respect to their Elders, both past and present. 

How many times do we visit a place, wondering how this place changed overtime, which people occupied the land years ago, what is this land’s history and what are its events? Not many times. I personally try to engage with places, however, living a busy life in the city, connecting with nature, and exploring as well as engaging meaningfully with places, is sometimes difficult. This unit, gave me a great opportunity, to take a deep breath. It gave me the opportunity, to research about the history of the city of Port Phillip, acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land, engage with the place and most of all, take a break from a very stressful and busy daily routine. The city of Port Phillip is a beautiful area, with a rich history. Before the colonisation in 1835, this beautiful land was occupied by the Yalukit Wilum, one of the five clans of the Boon Wurrung people, members of the Kulin nation. The area had an abundance of natural elements, river, creeks, lagoons, sea, which beautifully surrounded the area, creating a flourished flora and fauna around. All these beautiful elements altered after the colonisation of Europeans and their occupation on the land. Today, city of Port Phillip remains a beautiful area, thanks to the beautiful sea and the soft sand. Many buildings, altered it’s natural form, however it is still in my point of view, a great place to visit, have a nice walk and engage with the area’s beautiful sea, sky and of course get some vitamin D, on those sunny days! I really enjoyed my walk; Port Melbourne beach is my favourite place in Melbourne and is also my old neighbourhood, in which I used to live for 3 years.