“There have been various popular and political forces at work to discourage a real understanding,” said Amanda Stone, the mayor of Yarra. “There’s still a strong belief that Aboriginal people have done well out of colonial settlement.”

Yarra, a council region that includes one of Melbourne’s earliest suburbs, covers about 7.5 square miles, and is culturally and socially diverse, with about 30 percent of its residents born outside of Australia.

The area, and greater Melbourne, has been the heartland of the country’s left and union movement, as well as progressive Aboriginal politics going back to the start of the 20th century.

For many Indigenous Australians, Fitzroy in particular carries a special significance: it is the birthplace of many modern Aboriginal organizations.

Jason Tamiru, grandson of the Sir Doug Nicholls, former governor of South Australia and the first Aboriginal Australian to have held a vice-regal post in the country, said that from the 1920s to 1940s, a local fig tree was one of the most important Aboriginal meeting places, where “pioneers” including his grandfather addressed gatherings and “rallied the troops.”

The tree, known as the Moreton Bay Fig Tree, is still alive today.

“Under this tree,” Mr. Tamiru said, standing beneath its wide green leaves, “our great people formed a community, had a vision and a dream. My grandfather taught me and my people to fight for our human rights.”