Featured in Farrago 2025 - Volume 101, Edition 3.

When I was preparing to start my undergraduate degree, I was honestly scared shitless. Suddenly, I felt that all the support systems I had taken for granted during my previous schooling would fall away and leave me treading water during my first years of uni. I wasn’t aware at that time that as a First Nations student, I was able to access an incredible community of academic, cultural and social support through Murrup Barak.  

Murrup Barak, the University of Melbourne’s centre for Indigenous students, is located on Level 6 of Building 168 (the same building stop-off for Farrago-ians and Ida Bar-flies alike). This is a new location in 2025, featuring upgraded and expanded facilities for students and staff. The community at Murrup Barak is something that every First Nations student should be aware of and utilising in their university life. 

Murrup Barak has been instrumental in many Indigenous students’ transitions to UniMelb, including myself, with support starting from before first semester.  

A few weeks before my first semester began, I attended Murrup Barak’s Dhumbali orientation camp. These few days allowed me to settle into a community and find my place in the university before I was flung into the deep end, and I cannot understate how invaluable that opportunity was.  

I still lean on the connections I made during that camp, and I learnt skills that allow me to ask for help effectively at the university and feel confident in my place as a student.  

There are regular events and opportunities like this which truly foster a sense of home for me at the university. Even just passing through in-between classes, I know that I have a place where I can always chat to someone and make a cup of tea on the go. Particularly in an environment like university, where it’s easy to feel lonely in a crowd, having a place where community lives and thrives is transformative to the campus experience. 

As part of the community, Murrup Barak employs a group of Indigenous students as Student Ambassadors to support their peers and facilitate programs for students. I spoke to Liv Ward, a second-year student and one of the 2025 Student Ambassadors, about her experience in the role and her perspective on Murrup Barak as a student resource. 

“MB offers a lot to Indigenous students, including ITAS, which is our tutoring program, and food support, whether it's at lunch on a Tuesday or food support like pasta and sauces to go make dinner tonight if you haven't got the resources,” she says.  

But the support of Murrup Barak isn’t just about the services themselves, but also the atmosphere. 

“It's a homely environment that people can come to and escape the stress of uni.” Liv explains. “For me, especially, I find that coming up here, away from the rest of uni, makes me feel back at home.” 

One of the major components of this homely environment is the staff.  

“The staff really push you to get to know them and find ways to make sure that everyone feels included.” She says there is always someone to say “hey” to when you come into the space. 

Liv tells me that she was motivated to become a student ambassador by the incredible ambassadors she was supported by in her first year.  

“Honestly, without MB, the transition would have been really, really, hard for me.”  

She wants to make sure that new students feel listened to and welcome at uni. 

"I really try to get around the fresh first years as much as they can, because I know that that was what helped me last year.” 

One of the new initiatives to help First Nations students this year has been the introduction of Mentor Groups, in which new students are assigned in small groups to a Student Ambassador.  

“I think it's helping a lot of first years to have someone that they know they can go to, someone that will organize events for them to go to and make connections,” Liv says.  

The Student Ambassadors are not just there for new students, though. Their role helps to bridge the gap between students and staff for all year levels, and to foster an inclusive space at Murrup Barak. 

Mob lunch on Tuesday afternoons is a great way for Indigenous students to connect at Murrup Barak, particularly as social opportunities shift intensely between high school and university. 

“Having that secure group that I can come to every Tuesday and feel like I connect to something, was really helpful.” Liv shares. 

If you’re a First Nations student, come on down to Murrup Barak and utilise the amazing new space and resources available for mob! I hope to see you at Tuesday lunches for great yarns and great food.  

Liv says that although it might be scary in the moment, “taking the first step into MB means you'll be greeted by a bunch of people who are lovely and will want to support you and make friendships with you.” 

If you know any First Nations people who may be interested in starting a degree at UniMelb, direct them towards the team at Murrup Barak so that they can help facilitate a smooth transition for mob starting on campus.