Parks ranger Marcus Antonopoulos cherishes Aboriginal and Greek roots

Marcus Antonopoulos, 30, may have grown up in the Hampton area of Melbourne but beach life held little interest for him. He is animated by a love of the land and it was the reason why he qualified as a landscaper and is now in training with Parks Victoria to become a parks ranger team leader in Kinglake.

“Subconsciously, I don’t think I enjoyed the beach but as soon as I saw country with its waterfalls, forests and lagoons, I felt at home,” Mr Antonopoulos told Neos Kosmos.

His love of land also links to his aboriginal inheritance from his mother Sherryn’s links to the Taungurung people of Central Victoria. Kinglake falls under their territory which stretches from the upper reaches of the Goulburn River in the north to include the Campaspe River through to Kilmore in the west and east towards Mount Beauty.

“Taungurung Country is about 11 per cent of Victoria and 45 per cent of that is forest or National Park,” said Mr Antonopoulos.

“I knew I was Indigenous in prep-school, but because I was so young, when the school had an Indigenous day, I didn’t even know which flag to stand under. I didn’t end up going on Taungurung culture camps until I was Year 10 or so. Now, every member of the family works with Taungurung Land and Water Council, which means a lot.”

This includes his mother, Sherryn, as well as younger silblings, Brieane, and brothers Christopher and Matthew.

He also works with the council but under an agreement with Parks Victoria, he applied at the start of the year to a position as parks ranger and was accepted.

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“Under the agreement, I get paid by the council, but I am trained by and work for Parks Victoria. I’m excited to learn all I can with Parks Victoria on how to manage and care for the land, and then pass that knowledge on to future generations.” he said.

“This agreement is an opportunity to assert ourselves on our Country and our own people can play an active role in managing the land,” he said. “It is a great step forward in leadership with this training and it is also an opportunity to understand how my ancestors used the land hundreds of years ago.”

“I am absolutely loving this job, going to beautiful places and working with experienced people who are teaching me all they can to pass on the knowledge. I sit, watch, listen and learn,” he said.

Last week Mr Antonopoulos was in Creswick on a three-day course on using chainsaws. With this knowledge, he will be able to work alone and play his part in clearing many of the paths still blocked by fallen trees in the June storms.

Another aspect of his work is lagoon management in Seymour where he is part of a project that is pumping fresh water from the rivers and re-planting the area to attract turtles back to the lagoon. He is also taking part in the management of feral deer and foxes in the area.

“I am always outdoors, I love Taungurung Country and caring for the land,” he said.

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The deep ties to family are a common link between his aboriginal and Greek lineage. The family come together for the big family events like Greek Easter and other Greek celebrations.

“We celebrate the traditional Greek holidays and enjoy the loving and being connected to each other as family. I went to Greek school but I did not pay much attention – it is something I regret but I can still fix that.”

His grandparents on his father George’s side came from the Peloponnese. Papou Marco, now aged 92, and Yiayia Soula, 88 came to Australia on board the SS Oransay in 1959.

“The ship had 2,000 passengers and anyone who died on board was buried at sea. They settled in Melbourne, where dad was born,” said Mr Antonopoulos. His grandfather was to work as a welder while his grandmother look after the family.

George Antonopoulos, a hair dresser by trade, met and married Sherryn to settle in Hampton where they raised their family.

It was after young Marcus was born, that his mother began to look into her family background and uncovered her aboriginal ancestry. A former bank worker, today she works for the Taungurung Land and Waters Council in Yay which is north of Kinglake.

Part of his training includes reconnecting with sustainable Aboriginal land management practices.

“I am learning about ‘scar trees’ and how the Aborigines could axe a section of the tree to make canoes, or shields or even plates without killing the trees. I am learning how when they carried out cultural burns they could identify the tree that could grow again after the burns.

His training is wide-ranging. After the chainsaw course, he will be embarking on an emergency medical course. He will be required to complete a three-kilometre course with weighted backpack in a set time to qualify to be a firefighter.