Key Facts:
- New book NARM-JAAP explores Flinders Street Station from Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung cultural perspective
- Reframes Melbourne's iconic transport hub as a site of enduring cultural significance
- Emphasises Indigenous connection to the land predating colonial structures
- Highlights continuing presence of Traditional Owners' voices and ancestral connections
- Contributes to broader dialogue about Melbourne's landmarks and First Nations history
New Book Reframes Flinders Street Station Through Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Perspectives
Melbourne, Australia
NARM-JAAP: A Flinders Street Station History, a new book by Melissa-Jane Fogarty, offers a powerful re-framing of one of Melbourne's most recognisable landmarks.
Centred on the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung understanding of place, the book invites readers to reconsider Flinders Street Station not simply as a transport hub, but as a site of deep cultural and historical significance, one where stories, presence, and connection long predate the built environment.
For the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people, the Traditional Owners of the land on which the station stands, this is and has always been Country. Their voices, spirit, and ancestors remain embedded in this place and continue to shape its meaning today.
NARM-JAAP brings this perspective to the forefront, offering a layered narrative that both sits alongside and challenges more familiar colonial histories. We witness Narm-Jaap through its evolution and many forms, but through it all, it remains a bustling epicentre of community and a place of meeting.
Fogarty, a Mununjali author, illustrator, and writer, is part of a new generation of First Nations voices reshaping how Australian stories are told. Her work centres culture, place, and connection, inviting younger audiences in particular to engage with history in more expansive and meaningful ways.
Timely and thought-provoking, NARM-JAAP opens up broader conversations about place, memory, and how Melbourne understands its most iconic landmarks.
'An important book . . . Both the story and the illustrations are warm and inviting, giving us an understanding of how a place of Indigenous life and gathering transformed to feature one of the most recognised buildings in the world' GOOD READING MAGAZINE 'Both an interesting part of Australia's history that is rarely considered, and an inspiring reflection of the cultural importance of sharing music, art and culture' READINGS
