First Nations man Brett Leavy creates virtual worlds showing Australia before European arrival

It’s a painstaking operation, but Brett Leavy hasn’t stopped “chipping away” for the last 25 years.

And during that time, the goal hasn’t changed.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Virtual project shows life and land in Brisbane before European arrival.

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“The goal’s always been about how to communicate cultural heritage,” Leavy told 7NEWS.com.au.

Leavy, a Kooma man from Queensland, has made it his life’s work to create an “Indigenous metaverse”.

That is, a virtual rendering of the Australian continent before European arrival.

Through the one-of-a-kind project named “Virtual Songlines”, Leavy leads a team that has now created renderings showing the life and land of First Nations people in places including Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Newcastle, Townsville, Barcaldine and Uluru.

While the project has a strong educational element, he said the idea initially came about as a “practical application of cultural heritage” during his people’s Native Title application process.

That heritage would normally be represented in documents such as archaeological and anthropological reports and mapping.

“I started thinking about what’s a better way of representing it,” Leavy said.

“A lot of people have said, ‘wow, this is a great learning tool’.

“Yes, but is it not a great recording tool? Is it not a great repository of knowledge?

“I think so, so that’s what I want to work towards.

“I want to build an interactive and immersive temporal, spatial cultural mapping system.”

Leavy’s work has been displayed in train stations, museums and government buildings.

It’s a slow process, with about 75 per cent of the build dedicated to research as he follows “cultural protocol, co-design and oversight”, while the programming and development aspects are painstaking.

But Leavy’s motivation - to “give substance” to the concept of First Nations sovereignty - holds strong.

“Where were our suburbs? Where were our supermarkets? Where were our law courts, our butchers, all these things that we have in the modern day,” he said.

“You’re tying the past to the present and leaning into the future.”

What is National Reconciliation Week?

National Reconciliation Week is an annual event for Australians to celebrate and learn about First Nations History, culture and achievements.

The week is being held from May 27 to June 3.

To mark National Reconciliation Week, 7NEWS.com.au is taking a look at the issues impacting First National people in Australia and their stories.