Galileo Walking Tour

It’s the very first walking tour in Galileo this term. Over the past two years trails have been cancelled and opportunities have been lost. Students have aspired to be on these trails, and finally after the crisis of the pandemic we were privileged to be on this journey.

We took the 58 tram to Enterprise park, where we observed the magnificent totem poles scattered across the sandy earth. Dean Stewart, a proud Indigenous man, was waiting to take us for a tour through time. “I’ve taken doctors, lawyers, CEO’s on this walking tour, and now I’ve got you teenagers.” Stewart is a very confident and passionate person, and he enjoys challenging the world around him. “It will take us 2 hours to get over the other side of Queens Bridge, and by then your view of this place will have changed.” 

A century ago there used to be a magnificent waterfall that separated the land called ‘Birrarung’ meaning ‘river of mists’. The name ‘Yarra river’ was a centuries old miscommunication between an indigenous man and a settler. The colonists later destroyed the beautiful landmark to build ‘Queens bridge’.

Dean Stewart is now working with an architect to recreate the sound of the rushing waterfall to resurrect the sense of what used to be there.

The Immigration Museum was full of passionate incredible stories of people who endured the hardest challenges of racism and estrangement. From coming-out stories to a tram dilemma the museum was a treasure trove of discovery. There was an area with walls made of passports from every country, colour themed rooms and a maze of mirrors leading to new corridors.

The Galileo trails are something we all look forward to in year 9, and there are only more to come in the following weeks.

Aly F 8J3