Senator Lidia Thorpe’s uncle sets up camp in Melbourne’s Kings Domain vowing he won’t leave until the government returns the land to Aboriginal people

An indigenous activist has set up an indefinite camp in a public park and is refusing to leave until the government returns it.

Robbie Thorpe, the uncle of independent senator Lidia Thorpe, established Camp Sovereignty at Kings Domain in Melbourne on Tuesday.

Mr Thorpe is joined by others who say they will stay there ‘forever’, or at least until the large park, 1km south of the city’s CBD, is returned to the people of the Kulin Nation.

They hope to build a stone house there as a cultural interpretation center for education and healing while removing all traces of the ‘Windsor crime family’.

The Kings Domain Resting Place is the burial ground for 38 Aboriginal people and Mr Thorpe held a similar demonstration there for 60 days in 2006.

The group claims they will be there “forever,” or at least until the land is returned to the indigenous community

Mr Thorpe, a Gunaikurnai man, said “nothing has changed” since his last demonstration.

‘They are exactly the same problems then as they are now… wWe are making people aware of the problems as peacefully as possible,” he said told the Herald Sun.

If the group is successful, they plan to rename the park to “Yalukit Willam,” its traditional name, and hold ceremonies at the cultural interpretation center.

Melbourne’s sanctuary of memory, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl and the area around the Royal Botanic Gardens are all within Kings Domain.

Senator Thorpe visited the site on Wednesday afternoon to show her support in ‘any way’ she could.

“It’s a peaceful sit-in on Country, where we share stories and exercise our sovereign rights on our own land,” she said.

“The movement has been around for almost 250 years… This is the 2024 version, and a statement to say: we’re not going anywhere.”

Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Palestinian flags circle a fire the group has maintained in the center of their camp.

Mr Thorpe wants to open a cultural interpretation center at the site and remove all traces of the ‘Windsor crime family’

His niece, Senator Lidia Thorpe, visited on Wednesday and gave her full support to the group

The fire has been raging since January 26 and is referred to as a ceremonial ‘fire of peace’ first lit by protesters on Invasion Day.

Mats, sleeping bags, chairs and pillows are all the group needs to keep them comfortable.

They call themselves ‘the real custodians’ of the country and their numbers have steadily increased since Senator Thorpe’s visit.

While there, she went live on community radio station 3CR to call on others to join her uncle.

Mr Thorpe said if his group doesn’t ‘win’ they will have nothing left and he is trying to work with the City of Melbourne to help promote an ‘Aboriginal culture close to the CBD’.

Police have visited the camp several times and Mr Thorpe has so far complied with requests to remove tents and marquees from outer space.

Camp Sovereignty organizers held a meeting with council members Wednesday morning to map out a path forward for their protest.

Greens MP Tim Read also visited the camp on Wednesday to talk to Thorpe about his ambitions and to call on others to get involved.

Greens MP Tim Read (left) also visited Mr Thorpe (centre) on Wednesday afternoon and asked others to join the protest group.

Mr Thorpe claimed Victorian police played games with the group after they seized his tents and mattresses

“When (I) arrived, police and municipal officials were pressuring the First Nations campers to put out their very small and harmless fire. It seemed like unnecessary harassment to me,” Read wrote online after his visit.

‘There is strength in numbers, go to the camp if you can, everyone is welcome.’

Mr Thorpe explained to the MP that the site was a cemetery for Aboriginal people on display in museums and that police were ‘fighting dirty’.

“We had these arguments with the police and the city council (in 2006), but exactly the same arguments as today,” he said.

‘It’s a kind of game they’re playing, they’ve taken all our tents and our parasol and now they want us to put out the fire.

“We at least want to be able to light the fire for our sunset ceremonies.”