Deep Creek Micro Tutorial

Acknowledgement to country: I’d like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of

the land on which we meet today. I would also like to pay my respects to Elders past and
present. 

Note for submission: This is a Word formatted version of the pamphlet I intend to hand out
on the day of my micro tutorial. I will be treating the ‘teaching moment’ as an opportunity
to pay my respects to the Karuna peoples of which the region of Deep Creek was
traditionally owned by. It is also an opportunity to inform my peers of the culture, history
and wildlife of Deep Creek and the Fleurieu Peninsula.

Where are we?

The land we stand on is
known as the Fleurieu
Peninsula. The Fleurieu
Peninsula is located south
of Adelaide, approximately
60km from the city centre
and takes close to 1 hour
and 30 minutes to reach
Inman Valley (85km south
of Adelaide). Despite being
known as the Peninsula of
Wine, the Fleurieu
Peninsula was not always
known as this. It was
previously and still is
recognised as a part of the Figure 1 Retrieved from Google Maps: Features Deep Creek
vast land owned by the and the Fleurieu Peninsula
Kaurna people, who are
also the traditional owners of the Adelaide plains. The towns that form the Fleurieu
Peninsula include Victor Harbor, Normanville, Yankalilla and Rapid Bay. All of which is also a
part of the original territory owned by the Karuna people.   

Flora and Fauna of Deep Creek

More specifically, Deep Creek is a conservation park and is the largest portion of natural
vegetation on the Fleurieu Peninsula. It is the home of a diverse array of native wildlife
including the Western Grey kangaroo, short-beaked echidnas and 100 different species of
birds. Additionally, whales are often spotted during their annual migration which takes place
from June to October.
History of Deep Creek (Fleurieu Peninsula)
The Indigenous people of the Fleurieu Peninsula fall between two different language groups
or tribes, the Kaurna people and the Ngarrindjeri people. The area we stand in today, Deep
Creek, has quite an interesting historical past. Stemming back thousands of years, both the
Kaurna people and Ngarrindjeri people have occupied, shared, enjoyed and looked after the
lands and waters of the peninsula.

The Kaurna people’s connection to the area

The Kaurna people roamed most of the land
area of the Fleurieu Peninsula for thousands of
years. Their specific area stretched from the
bottom of Cape Jervis and extended as far north
as Port Wakefield along the eastern shore of St
Vincent’s Gulf and to the east at Mt Barker.

Fact: In 1842 there were only 650 true Kaurna

people left in the colony and the last surviving
full-blood Karuna person was a woman named
Ivaritji, who since died in 1931.

The Ngarrindjeri people’s connection to the

area
The Ngarrindjeri people lived closer to Lake
Albert and Lake Alexandria. Their lands also
included the areas surrounding Goolwa,
Hindmarsh Island, Point Macleay and others. It is
known that many Ngarrindjeri people may still
be found in various regions of the state, and
many live in Murray Bridge, Point Macleay and Point Sturt.

Small sighting checklist of Fauna in the area:

Short-beaked Echidna: ___________

Western Grey Kangaroo: _________