This year marks the 200th year since the arrival of Governor Lachlan Macquarie and his exploration party to Goulburn.
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It paved the way for the European settlement in this area.
To mark Macquarie's exploration of the Goulburn Plains in 1820, 'Goulburn 2020' is being held in October.
A play written by former Goulburn Regional Art Gallery director, Jennifer Lamb, which is based on Macquarie's journals, will also be a part of the event.
"'Journey Through Country' was written specifically for 'Goulburn 2020'. The year 1820 marks the opening up of the European settlement in the region. Macquarie travelled on the eastern side rather than the western side of the Goulburn Mulwaree and wrote a journal of that trip. I have based the play on it," Miss Lamb said.
"Through the play, we want to highlight that there were people living here before the arrival of European settlers.
"Goulburn 2020 is not a celebration. We are recognising that the rapid change had started 200 years ago and want to look at what the area was like before that period, consider the people who were living here before that time and what has happened since then.
"...The commemoration acknowledges and respect that Aboriginal people were living and thriving here and had been for millennia..."
The first reading of the play took place online in March as COVID-19 restrictions were enforced.
"We are yet to finalise the venue. The location could be on the route taken by Macquarie while he travelled through the area," Miss Lamb added.
"Unless more restrictions are put in place due to COVID-19, we plan to go ahead with Goulburn 2020 event."
Bruce Pascoe, author of Dark Emu, a 2014 book about early Aboriginal farming and land management through 'cool burns,' is the keynote speaker.
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