Indigenous Sydney

INDIGENOUS

Sydney

Australia’s Aboriginal community has a history stretching back more than 65,000 years, making theirs the oldest known civilisation on Earth. And Sydney is home to a variety of sites and attractions that showcase this incredible culture.

WORDs: Matilda Meikle

BENNELONG POINT

Now the site of the Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point was once a small tidal island with a beach on the western side. The island was a place of ceremony and feasting for the Gadigal people – they would also fish and harvest food from the area, leaving the island to build up with discarded shells from many years of gatherings.

The place takes its name from Woollarawarre Bennelong – a senior Eora man at the time of the First Fleet’s arrival. He was captured by early settlers in November 1789 and taken to Sydney Cove under the orders of Governor Arthur Phillip, who wanted to learn more about the natives’ customs and language. Bennelong quickly adapted to life among white men, dressed like them, and learned to speak English. In 1790, Governor Phillip built a brick hut for Bennelong at his request, on what then became known as Bennelong Point. Later, between 1818 and 1821, the tidal area between Bennelong Island and the mainland was filled in with rocks excavated from the peninsula to create a low platform, on which Fort Macquarie would be built. Today, the fine-dining restaurant at the Opera House, headed up by world-famous Executive Chef Peter Gilmore, is called Bennelong. 

THIS PAGE: Dreamtime Southern X Tour around Sydney Harbour with Illi Langi. Image from Destiantion NSW.

TOP TO BOTTOM: Bangarra Dance Theatre; Muru Mittigar Cultural Centre; Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park. Images from Destiantion NSW.

KU-RING-GAI CHASE NATIONAL PARK

There are thousands of examples of Aboriginal rock art in Sydney and its surrounds. Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, to the city’s north, is home to around 800 such sites. A 5km Aboriginal Heritage walk at West Head, within the park, takes visitors on a tour of the art and engravings made by the traditional custodians of this land. At the popular Red Hands Cave you can see ochre handprints estimated to be more than 2,000 years old.

BERRY ISLAND RESERVE: GADYAN TRACK

A short hop from Circular Quay, the Gadyan Track on Berry Island is a bush walk that offers insight into the story of the local Cammeraygal people. Artefacts found in the area suggest it was an important campsite for local tribes, providing hunting and fishing opportunities. Visitors will notice markings on the rocks where tools were sharpened, and rock carvings that reveal Aboriginal history and dreamtime stories.

GOAT ISLAND

Known as Me-mel by the local Gadigal people, Goat Island in Sydney Harbour was once a regular haunt of Eora elder Bennelong and his wife Barangaroo. This heritage-listed island – used to house convict work gangs and as a gunpowder depot since European settlement – is now an interpretation centre and education facility, with the state government working towards restoring it and returning it to its traditional owners. Visitors can explore the rich history of the island on a guided tour.

ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS: CADI JAM ORA – FIRST ENCOUNTERS GARDEN

An award-winning display, this 52-metre sculptural storyline interprets the Aboriginal history of Sydney, from the Gadigal Dreaming to the present day. It includes significant events

such as the Mabo case and Sorry Day, gathered from a range of sources including more than 40 interviews with local Indigenous people. Surrounded by native vegetation, the walk itself is beautiful, and leaves visitors educated about Indigenous cultural heritage.

AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM: FIRST NATIONS EXHIBITIONS

The Australian Museum houses two permanent exhibitions dedicated to First Nations peoples as well as offering a calendar of temporary exhibitions and events showcasing its huge Indigenous collection, which comprises more than 40,000 weapons, tools, paintings and body ornaments. Bayala Nura: Yarning Country celebrates both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, and includes the mahn installation, dedicated to Sydney’s first fisherwomen. Meanwhile Garrigarrang: Sea Country focuses on Australia’s salt water peoples, from Sydney Harbour to the Torres Strait. The exhibitions aim to share the traditional culture and living history of Australia’s First Nations peoples.

BANGARRA DANCE THEATRE

It’s only been on the performing arts landscape since 1989, but the Bangarra Dance Theatre draws from more than 65,000 years of culture. Based in the wharves of Walsh Bay, Bangarra’s company of professional Indigenous performers use contemporary dance, music and poetry to tell the story of their ancestors, sharing their culture and history with audiences in Australia and internationally.

MURU MITTIGAR CULTURAL CENTRE

Located on Darug land, in north-west Sydney, the Muru Mittigar Cultural Centre at Rouse Hill is run by the local Indigenous community. Visiting schoolchidlren and tourists will be educated on Aboriginal culture through engaging programs including talks, art lessons and bush tucker walks in the centre’s bush tucker garden.

DREAMTIME SOUTHERNX: THE ROCKS ABORIGINAL DREAMING TOUR (ILLI LANGI)

Created by Aunty Margret Campbell, Dreamtime SouthernX tours offer an introduction to the dreamtime cultural heritage of Sydney. Led by an Aboriginal guide, the tour begins at Circular Quay with the custom of ochre on hand, which acknowledges Mother Earth before her landscape is discussed and explored. The walkabout then heads into The Rocks to uncover the Indigenous people’s saltwater heritage within Sydney Harbour, and their spiritual connection to the land. TB

LEFT TO RIGHT: Berry Island Reserve, Gadayan Reserve; Royal Botanic Gardens from Destination NSW.

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