Mapping the Georges River

During the 1790s the New South Wales colony rapidly expanded. Fertile land near Sydney and Parramatta was settled for farming and stock grazing. Until the 1820s most European settlements were coastal or inland on river flats. The Georges River was mapped by Captain James Cook in 1770 and was subsequently mapped by John Hunter in 1789, who was a Royal Naval Officer and surveyor of Sydney’s rivers and harbours. He surveyed the Georges River from Botany Bay to Salt Pan Creek, which was initially called the West River.

With the hunger for land by Europeans, the impact on Aboriginal communities was severe, resulting in ‘social disruption, physical displacement and eventual social dislocation’1. Despite this, land along the Georges River remained sparsely populated by Europeans for some fifty years after the establishment of Sydney. The river, with its rocky escarpments and sandy soils, forced settlers to ‘farm in some areas but not others’, while the varied use of the land and waterways led to different histories and stories by Aboriginal People along the river2. The movement of Aboriginal People in and around Sydney during the early 19th century mostly occurred within the coastal areas, south of Sydney to Port Hacking, inland from Botany Bay and to ‘the tidal limits of the Georges River at Liverpool3. During this time, Aboriginal People ‘used old ways to respond to new realities4. They continued to fish and trade but also sometimes cultivated relationships with Europeans, ensuring their survival in the early colony.

1 Tropman and Tropman, Kogarah Heritage Study Volume 1: Report, Tropman and Tropman Architects, Sydney, October 1994, p. 20

2 Goodall, H. and Cadzow, A., ‘Aboriginal people on Sydney’s Georges River from 1820’, The Dictionary of Sydney, online, accessed 29 August 2022

3 Irish. P., Hidden in Plain View: The Aboriginal people of Coastal Sydney, UNSW Press, Sydney, 2017, pp. 5-6

4 Irish, P., ibid., p. 8

(left) Made by Ancestors, Three trimmed flakes, date unknown

Various stone types, found at Rocky Point, Sans Souci Australian Museum collection, reproduced with permission from Uncle David Ingrey and the Australian Museum

(right) Made by Ancestors, Ground-edge Axe, date unknown

Volcanic rock from Kiama, found at Sans Souci Australian Museum collection, reproduced with permission from Uncle David Ingrey and the Australian Museum