For two decades people have gathered in Naarm to remember the lives and the unjust killing of Aboriginal freedom fighters Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner.
On January 20, 1842 the two Tasmanian Aboriginal men were the first people hanged in what is now known as Melbourne.
Tunnerminnerwait, a Parperloihener clansman from North-West Tasmania, and Maulboyheenner — also known as Timmee — a Pairrebeenne/Trawlwoolway man from Cape Portland in the state's North-East, were brought to Naarm/Melbourne as guides by then-'Protector of Aborigines', George Augustus Robinson.
Historical records indicate they travelled as part of what was described as an expedition a group 16 - some of the 89 Aboriginal Tasmanians who had already been displaced and taken to Flinders Island.
Per accounts, early in their time in Victoria Robinson and Tunnerminnerwait travelled to the 'Western District' of Victoria to 'assist' in an investigation into the massacre of 60 to 200 Gunditjmara people by whale-hunters.
Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner were later found guilty of the murder of two whale hunters in the Western Port area, South-East of Melbourne.
Neither were permitted to give evidence in their defence before the public execution took place.
Three women were charged alongside the pair, with the case against them dismissed.
Remembered as freedom or resistance fighters, Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner are understood to be buried below the Queen Victoria Market.
"The idea was to create a ceremony that highlighted there was a history — this is the history of this Country," Joe Toscano told a gathering on the corner of Victoria and Franklin Streets in Naarm's CBD on Tuesday.
The commemoration took place at the marker 'Standing by Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner' opened in 2016 and understood to be near the site where the two men were hanged.
Later, the group was led on a peaceful walk to what is understood to be the pair's burial site at the markets for further reflection.
Mr Toscano, the husband of the late Torres Strait artist and activist Ellen José, helped found the recognition events for Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner as a result of a campaign by the Anarchist Institute in 2004.
There are efforts to see January 20 recognised more widely as 'National First Nations Freedom Fighters Day', he said.
More recently, an annual ceremony has also been held to honour Tunnerminnerwait by the Circular Head Aboriginal Corporation at Robbins Passage on Tasmania's far north west coast.
Bass Coast South Gippsland Reconciliation Group also hosts a yearly Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner commemoration nearer to the Western Port area.
"The idea was to create a ceremony that highlights history - this is the history of this country," Joe Toscano told the gathering in Naarm this week.
"We chose these two men for one reason — because of people at the time who refused to acknowledge what happened," adding even now very few people in the wider community are unaware of what occurred.
"They weren't slaughtered in the middle of the night...they were tried...they were charged with the crime of resisting white colonisation," Mr Toscano said.
Circular Head Aboriginal Corporation chair, Selina Maguire-Colgrave, made the journey from North-West Tasmania to the interstate gathering.
She spoke of the beautiful, rich custom and history of Aboriginal Tasmanians from the North-West, an approved wind farm on Robbins Island — their "most significant site" — and how now is the time to bring Tunnerminnerwait home.
Ms Maguire-Colgrave said January 20th is a date "to remember all Aboriginal freedom fighters", acknowledging Tunnerminnerwait's significance in her community.
Camp Sovereignty fire-keeper, Wotjobaluk senior lore man and respected local Elder, Uncle Crow, said the event remembers "shameful history, which doesn't get much public acknowledgement".
"But all of us Blackfellas over here (Naarm), and affiliated supporters, we honour them every year," Uncle Crow said at the understood burial site.
"I always do a smoking for them. They're off Country, and hopefully that smoke takes them home when the wind blows that way."
On the day, City of Melbourne Councillor and its Aboriginal Melbourne portfolio head, Dr Olivia Ball, described the events of 1842 as "appalling violence" after a "sham trial".
"On 20 January we mark the anniversary of their execution and much more - we acknowledge historical and ongoing injustices faced by First Peoples and the importance of truth-telling," she told National Indigenous Times.
"This artwork (Standing by Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner) and the annual commemoration are a solemn reminder of the violence of colonisation, and the thousands of men, women and children killed while protecting their lands, families, and way of life."
Boon Wurrung Elder, Aunty Janet Galpin, pointed to all the murder, rape and violence committed by settlers during the colonial period, with many not made to face consequences.
Another speaker on the day, Uncle Robbie Thorpe, asked those gathering to reflect on "what these two men were put through" and for others to continue the fight of their ancestors.
Bass Coast South Gippsland Reconciliation Group describe's their event as "a solemn act of remembrance and truth-telling, acknowledging the deep injustices faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples during colonisation" attended by over 100 people each year.
"By gathering together, we honour Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner and reaffirm our commitment to truth-telling and justice for all," group representative Mary Mutsaers said ahead of this year's event.
Boon Wurrung Elder Uncle Anthony Egan said: "Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner were the first people to be hanged by the Government in the District of Port Phillip in 1842. This injustice was abhorrent.
"These freedom fighters were protecting their people, culture and their Country. We honour them each year and acknowledge all who suffered. Now, with ancestors in peace, we continue the journey toward justice," he added.
