On the windswept coast of Eastern Maar Country, Tower Hill (Koroitj) stands as a place where geology, culture and ecology are deeply interconnected.
One of Australia’s largest and most significant volcanic formations, this vast ancient maar erupted 37,000 years ago, shaping a landscape home to Aboriginal people at that time. Tower Hill holds profound geological, cultural and social significance and remains a powerful testament to the enduring relationship between people and Country.
This short documentary explores the deep connections between land and community through the voices of Traditional Owners, historians and environmentalists. Artefacts such as the Bushfield Axe, discovered beneath layers of volcanic ash, reveal human presence that predates the eruption. Ancient middens along the Belfast Coast speak to lives sustained by the sea and land, and to an unbroken cultural continuity.
The film follows Tower Hill’s transformation from a thriving ecosystem to a degraded landscape following colonisation, and its extraordinary restoration. Inspired by Eugene von Guérard’s detailed 1855 painting, a community-led conservation effort in the 1960s began to regenerate the forests, wetlands and native wildlife. Today, native wildlife including koalas, kangaroos, emus, gliders and birdlife have returned to this renewed landscape.
Geologist Mike Raetz reflects that the rocks tell the story of a world that was, in a land still in the making. Musician and activist Shane Howard recalls how local school children helped replant the forest, leaving a legacy for future generations.
Tower Hill is a story of resilience. It is about land, culture and community. It invites us to honour the past, care for the present and imagine a future where nature and history grow together.
