An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history of Gertrude St, Fitzroy (Ngár-go) as told by notable Elders and artists such as Uncle Jack Charles and Uncle Archie Roach.

Yalinguth means “yesterday” in the Woi Wurrung language, the new augmented app is designed to connect past accounts from our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, to provide today’s generation insight and context of this popular Melbourne meeting place.

Due to the recent lockdown, Yalinguth Launch Events are being postponed, but that’s not putting a stop to things! While we wait for the launch events and celebrations to be rescheduled you can preview the App in the following two ways.

If Fitzroy is within your 5km zone and you are adhering to restrictions, download the app from the App Store & Google Play from this Friday 23rd July. You need to be at Gertrude St, Fitzroy to use the app. If you’re local, it’s a great COVID safe activity while you’re out getting some exercise. Download and have a test run.

If Fitzroy is beyond your 5km zone, follow Yalinguth on facebook.com/yalinguth/. The Yalinguth team will be releasing sneak peaks of the App – beautiful stories, poems, songs – until the rescheduled Public Launch Event. 

Project partners include Aboriginal Elders, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, community arts organisation Storyscape, RMIT and the University of Melbourne. They created the app over the past eight years, having won local and state government grants which helped them employ 20 young people to interview and record the stories of their Elders. Two talented young Aboriginal artists, Larna Massari and Graham (BJ) Braybon have also been central to the look and feel of Yalinguth.

In keeping with oral traditions, and to minimise screens, Yalinguth is expressed entirely through sound. The app reveals a map of one’s location that points to areas to access stories, historical events and songs. Within the spatialised sound environment, the user is largely navigated by audio cues. Some stories and soundscapes recreate pre-colonial times, whilst others walk users through a ‘Black GST’ protest or an intimate personal reflection on finding family and community on the streets and in the pubs of Fitzroy (Ngár-go). This immersion in the past encourages us to think about our own history and identity, and how we relate to the people and places around us.

For more information, people can access the Yalinguth website from 23 July yalinguth.com.au

Supported through a Yarra City Arts Annual Grant.