At Spotswood Trailers, we respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which we operate — 7 Cullen Court, Spotswood — as being part of the unceded lands of the Bunurong people of the South-Eastern Kulin Nation.
We pay our deepest respects to Elders past and present, and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We honour their enduring spiritual, cultural and physical connection to Country — a connection that long predates zoning overlays, legal titles, or modern planning schemes.
The land at 7 Cullen Court, Spotswood lies on the unceded Country of the Bunurong people of the South-Eastern Kulin Nation.
The Bunurong are the Traditional Owners of the inner-western and bayside suburbs of Melbourne, including Spotswood, Williamstown, Yarraville, Altona, and Werribee. Their cultural authority extends across the coastline and waterways of Port Phillip Bay, stretching into the Mornington Peninsula and South Gippsland.
Just metres from our site runs Stony Creek — a traditional waterway used by the Bunurong for food gathering, ceremony, and travel. Waterways like this are not just ecological features in Bunurong culture, but living entities — places of memory, message, and sacred connection.
Before colonisation, the Spotswood area was part of a rich ecosystem of swamplands, red gum woodlands, and grasslands. It supported seasonal travel routes, community gatherings, and access to key food sources including eels, native plants, and small marsupials.
“We acknowledge that the Bunurong people have cared for this land for countless generations — long before zoning overlays, transport schemes, or industrial development ever existed.”
Our proximity to Stony Creek deepens our commitment to operate respectfully, and where possible, invite cultural guidance from the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation. We believe respectful land use includes acknowledging past custodianship and creating space for continued cultural presence today.
If you represent the Bunurong community or are connected to local Aboriginal groups, we would be honoured to hear from you and explore ways to align this site with culturally respectful practice.
Learn more about the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation at www.bunuronglc.org.
We believe that lawful land use should also be respectful land use. As such, we are exploring opportunities to invite Traditional Owners to:
“To ensure that even the smallest parcels of land in Victoria are treated with respect, dignity, and historical awareness.”
If such a blessing or dialogue takes place, we will document it here — not as a token gesture, but as part of a genuine commitment to coexistence, acknowledgment, and civic-minded site activation.
We recognise and respect the enduring legacy of Aboriginal custodianship and the continuous connection to land, water, and culture that defines true planning integrity.
At Spotswood Trailers, our commitment to respectful land use goes beyond acknowledgment. As part of our dedication to environmental and cultural stewardship, we’ve planted 48 different species of Australian native flowers and shrubs across the front of the site — carefully selected for their ecological resilience, visual beauty, and cultural relevance.
These native plantings:
Species include (but are not limited to):
We believe that land use should be lawful, respectful, and regenerative — helping restore even modest spaces to their rightful rhythm with the land. Our floral contribution is small in size but immense in spirit.
“To restore even a small corner of Country to its natural rhythm is to acknowledge that the land has memory — and dignity.”
“If we don’t care for Country, Country won’t care for us.”
— Zena Cumpston (Barkandji/Wotjobaluk, Kulin Nation)
“When Indigenous plants are reinstated … cultural stories are reactivated.”
— Kulin Nation perspective via The Living Pavilion
Tread lightly on this land, it holds all our stories … May their strength and wisdom be with us today.”
— Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation
“It is not about our right to own land, it is about our right to protect that land … a deeply imprinted sense of connection and responsibility.”
— On custodial ethic (Kulin nation perspectives)
“The land is my mother… When the land is taken from us or destroyed, we feel hurt because we belong to the land, and we are part of it.”
— Indigenous wisdom
These perspectives remind us that Country—in Kulin law—is not a commodity, but a sacred trust. As we challenge zoning over this Country, we do so in the spirit of custodianship, not ownership; stewardship, not extraction.
In the spirit of respect and reciprocity, Spotswood Trailers would like to extend a standing offer to the Bunurong people of the South-Eastern Kulin Nation — the Traditional Owners of this land.
If any Elders, cultural leaders, or Bunurong organisations ever require assistance transporting equipment, tools, or materials for cultural events, clean-ups, workshops, or community activities, we are honoured to provide our trailers free of charge.
This offer is made not as a token, but as a practical gesture of respect for Country and its continuing custodians. We make no assumptions and place no expectations — the offer simply stands, should it ever be useful.
To get in touch:
Clarke Towson
📧 clarke@spotswoodtrailers.com.au
📞 0432 359 166