The Port Phillip Association records are of historic significance as the foundation documents of European settlement in the Port Phillip and Melbourne region. They are important records of contact between European settlers and the local Kulin people, and in particular, the 'treaty' signed between John Batman and the Kulin remains relevant to on-going debates on land rights and reconciliation. The papers also record the cross-cultural experience of the escaped convict William Buckley, with rare insights into Aboriginal culture before white settlement.