🦎 Do you have gold buried on your property?

Plus Gippsland First Peoples on Victoria's historic treaty.

Author

Jacob Wallace
November 12, 2025

⏱️ This midweek edition of our newsletter is a six-minute read.

👋 Hello Gippslanders, it’s Jacob here.

🙌 I hope everyone had a great weekend, despite the wet and windy weather. In this week’s newsletter we’re covering a bunch of topics. Here’s the rundown:

  • I spoke to Troy McDonald, Chair of Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC), about what the Victorian government’s historic treaty legislation means for the First Peoples of Gippsland.

  • Kernot residents have been left waiting months to find out if federal government funding will be provided to fix a nearby bridge. I spoke to Bass Coast Mayor Rochelle Halstead and councillor Jon Temby about the community’s frustration.

  • The Monitor has compiled a list of events, gigs, family-friendly activities and local markets to keep you entertained this weekend.

  • I put together a video detailing the history of an 1877 theft of 5,000 gold sovereigns from a boat heading from Australia to Sri Lanka. Some of the gold might still be hidden somewhere in South Gippsland.

🎤 Chair of GLaWAC Troy McDonald told me Victoria’s treaty will mean the First People’s Assembly (an elected body of Aboriginal Victorians) will be able to provide advice to the state government on any law that impacts them. McDonald is hopeful the treaty will lead to tangible improvements in closing the gap between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Victorians.

❝

We know that treaties are not going to make changes to anyone's life in a year. This is intergenerational work that needs to happen to shift the dial on a whole bunch of things.

Troy McDonald, Chair of Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation

🎥 For years there have been rumours about a panther or a lion living in the wilderness of Gippsland. I asked Traralgon locals if they thought the myth of Gippsland’s big cat was true or a hoax. Take a look at what they had to say below.

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🎊 WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK 🎟️

🧺 FARMERS MARKETS 🥧

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🚀 Alright, let’s jump into the Monitor’s latest yarns, local interviews and silly videos!

🔍 HEARD THIS WEEK👂

In 2016, Victoria’s treaty process began with the formation of the Aboriginal Treaty Working Group. Nine years later, the Statewide Treaty Bill has passed parliament and will lead to a historic agreement between the First Peoples of Victoria and the state.

What happened: Last Thursday, the Victorian state government passed legislation to enshrine a democratically elected body for First Peoples, the Gellung Warl, into existence.

  • The Gellung Warl has several functions but it will primarily be consulted on laws and policies affecting Indigenous people throughout the state.

Troy McDonald, member of the First People’s Assembly and Chair of GunaiKurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation, told the Monitor: “The statewide treaty is really about setting broad principles such as recognition, governance and rights into legislation.”

🗣️ “The treaty is about how to hold the government to its promises,” said McDonald. “The key features of this framework are truth telling, healing, teaching our true history and upgrading our community infrastructure.”

  • Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said the “treaty gives Aboriginal communities the power to shape the policies and services that affect their lives”.

How will the treaty work? The treaty sets up a primary body, the Gellung Warl, which is made up of three distinct arms:

  • The First Peoples’ Assembly: Established in 2016, this group is an independent elected body that negotiated the treaty between First Peoples and the government, and will now act as the decision making arm of the Gellung Warl.

  • Nyerna Yoorrook Telkuna: A truth-telling body.

  • Nginma Ngainga Wara: The accountability arm.

When laws are put forward to Victorian parliament that directly impact First Peoples, the Gellung Warl will be able to advise on that legislation.

🗣️McDonald said: “It’s about creating a real framework for self determination, which is going to allow First Peoples to make decisions about their lands, water, culture and communities.”

The people of Kernot will soon learn whether federal Labor has managed to find a spare $1.7 million to fix - and then reopen - their bridge.

What happened: On Friday November 7, around 80 South Gippsland residents gathered in Kernot to protest the lack of an announcement on federal grant funding for Stewart Road Bridge.

The protesters were joined by Bass Coast Mayor Rochelle Halstead and councillors Mat Morgan and Jan Thompson.

What’s wrong with the bridge?

Due to its age and concerns that heavy vehicle use was wearing down supports, the Stewart Road bridge (west of Kernot) underwent several assessments between January and March this year.

In late March, an engineer’s assessment deemed the bridge unsafe and it was closed.

LOOKING NATIONALLY 👀

My colleague Archie Milligan from The National Account put this story together on a recent report the Nationals put out justifying their decision to dump a net zero target. Take a look at a video explaining some discrepancies in the report below.

Instagram Reel

🎥 Watch: Could there be thousands of gold sovereigns buried in South Gippsland?

💰 A boat heist, buried treasure, a daring escape and an unfortunate end - this has to be one of Gippsland’s most intriguing historical tales. Take a look at the video I made about Martin Wiberg and the theft of 5,000 gold sovereigns below.

Thanks for catching up with us this week at the Monitor. I’ll be back in your inbox on Friday with more local stories, event guides, entertaining videos and interviews with Gippslanders.

If you have something you’d like to share with the Gippsland Monitor team, whether it’s an upcoming event, a bit of local history or a story you think is worth reporting on, then shoot us an email at [email protected].

Have a great week everyone.

Cheers,
Jacob & the Gippsland Monitor team