Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Culture in Sydney
Attractions
Cadigal Place
Museum of Sydney
Cnr Phillip & Bridge Streets, Sydney 2000
Cadigal Place is a gallery dedicated to the original people of the Port Jackson region, on whose land the Museum of Sydney stands. It explores the traditional lives and colonial contact experiences of the Cadigal, while acknowledging the continuing culture of Aboriginal Sydney. The gallery is an important space for education groups, international and local visitors wishing to learn about the pre and post-contact Aboriginal experience in Sydney.
For more information on Cadigal Place see www.hht.net.au/museums/mos
Edge of the Trees (public art)
Museum of Sydney
Cnr Phillip & Bridge Streets, Sydney 2000
Edge of the Trees is an award winning public artwork by indigenous artist Fiona Foley and non-indigenous artist Janet Laurence, located in the forecourt of the Museum of Sydney on the site of first Government House.
It evokes the natural and cultural histories of this place, where first contact took place between Aboriginal people and newly arrived Europeans in 1788; where locals peered from the edge of the tree-line at bedraggled convicts coming ashore from the First Fleet. The installation’s 29 giant pillars of sandstone, wood and metal, represent the 29 clans of the Sydney region. They are engraved with the names of people and places and the botanical and Aboriginal names of native flora now long gone. Shell, bone and feathers are embedded in the poles evoking indigenous ways of life prior to 1788, enhanced by a soundscape of Aboriginal voices.
For more information visit www.hht.net.au/museums/mos
Yiribana Gallery of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art
Art Gallery of NSW
Art Gallery Road, The Domain
The Yiribana Gallery, located within the Art Gallery of New South Wales, is one of the largest permanent displays of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.
Representing artists from communities around Australia, Yiribana celebrates the diversity of indigenous culture. Through the timeless tradition of paintings on bark, to sculpture and contemporary installation, the artists convey a strong connection to country, and provide social commentary on Australia’s recent history.
Yiribana Gallery - Lucy Yukenbarri Napanangka Marpa
Lucy Yukenbarri Napanangka Marpa 2001, synthetic polymer paint on linen canvas, 180 x 120cm, Mollie Gowing Acquisition Fund for Contemporary Aboriginal Art 2003 © Estate Lucy Yukenbarri Napanangka. Warlayirti Artists.
Time: Open daily 10am - 5pm, Wednesdays until 9pm (closed Christmas Day and Good Friday).
Admission: Free general admission
Infoline: 1800 679 278
Website: www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au
Yaama Dhiyaan
Eveleigh Railyard
255 Wilson St Darlington NSW 2008
Yaama Dhiyaan is a truly unique opportunity for people to experience the friendly service and high standards of food offered by Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo, an Aboriginal Elder, and exciting young Aboriginal chef Mathew Cribb, who has over ten years industry experience.
Yaama Dhiyaan is an exciting new venture offering on site function services as well as off site catering. It is located in the new North Eveleigh cultural precinct. Yaama Dhiyaan also provides quality hospitality training in a commercial environment, to ensure students gain industry experience.
For more information see www.redfernwaterloo.nsw.gov.au/yaama/
In Living Memory
State Records Gallery
Sydney Records Centre
2
Globe Street (off George Street), The Rocks
An exhibition of surviving photographs from the records of the NSW Aborigines Welfare Board, from 1919 to 1966. Along with the Board's correspondence, reports and ledgers, there were approximately 1000 loosely stored black and white photographs of Aboriginal people taken between 1919 and 1966.
The Board photographs do not provide a complete picture of Indigenous life from the 1920s to the 1960s. Some people and places are represented by many photographs; others by a few or none at all. However, the process of meeting with Indigenous communities to research, develop and present the exhibition has begun to bring new life to those historical records that have survived. In Living Memory is helping to create a new purpose and place for the photographs within contemporary Indigenous life.
Hours: Mon - Fri 9am - 5pm, Sat 10 am — 4pm
Closed public holidays
Admission: FREE
For exhibition details and other information held by State Records NSW see: Resources for Indigenous people
Warrane (pre-1788) Exhibition
The Rocks Discovery Museum
Kendall Lane, The Rocks NSW
Four permanent exhibitions at The Rocks Discovery Museum have been developed in close consultation with the Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council to tell the story of the area and the impact of European settlement.
‘Warrane’ is the name the traditional landowners, the Cadigal people, gave to the area known as Sydney Cove today. This exhibition examines the Cadigal people and their relationship with the environment, identity, community and spirituality before the arrival of Europeans. The changing natural environment of the area is illustrated in a unique audio visual presentation which shows how the Sydney basin has transformed over the past 50,000 years from a small river to the harbour we see today.
Hours: 10am - 5pm daily
Closed Good Friday and Christmas Day
Tel: 9240 8680
Admission: FREE
Bangabaoui – Aboriginal cultural harbour cruise
Sydney Learning Adventures
Step aboard the Deerubbun with the crew from The Tribal Warrior and explore the environment and history of Sydney Harbour from an Aboriginal perspective. The tour includes a visit to Sydney Harbour’s Clark Island, a traditional welcoming ceremony and the opportunity to learn a traditional dance.
Bangabaoui is a partnership between Sydney Learning Adventures and The Tribal Warrior Association—a non-profit community group initiated and directed by Aboriginal Australians.
For more information, visit www.shfa.nsw.gov.au/sla or call 02 9240 8552.
Note: this cruise is intended for student groups. Please see the Tribal Warrior listing below for cruises available to the general public.
The Rocks Dreaming
Sydney Learning Adventures
Discover how modern Sydney and the Aboriginal Dreaming remain connected. Learn how the natural world of Sydney's one billion-year-old harbour, marine environment, sandstone strata, waterways, flora and fauna have influenced how the Aboriginal people of the Sydney basin, and European settlers, have lived and used these environments.
Be amazed as you uncover how ancient beliefs are still relevant to Sydney's contemporary Aboriginal society and the connections they have to The Rocks.
This tour is led by an Aboriginal guide who has the permission of elders to tell these stories. The tour is available for primary and secondary students groups and for exclusive groups bookings.
For more information, visit Sydney Learning Adventures or call 02 9240 8552.
Tribal Warrior
Aboriginal Cultural Cruise
Departures; from No. 6 Jetty, Circular Quay at 1:00pm, Wednesday to Sunday. Returns at 2.45pm.
Explore Sydney Harbour through the eyes of our region’s Aboriginal people: The Eora, Gadigal, Guringai, Wangal, Gammeraigal and Wallumedegal. Discover where Sydney’s original inhabitants live, fished, hunted and gathered food; our ceremonial places and the customs and rituals, which defined Aboriginal culture.
Come ashore on an island in Sydney Harbour National Park for:
- Authentic Aboriginal cultural performance
- Internationally-acclaimed performers
- Boomerang throwing, dancing, storytelling and/or Didjeridu performance
For bookings and further information about the Tribal Warrior call (02) 9206 1111 or visit Web: www.captaincook.com.au/tribal
Waterloo Library Koori Collection
City of Sydney Library – Waterloo
770 Elizabeth Street, Waterloo
The Koori Collection comprises over 1250 fiction and non-fiction items on Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander related subjects such as politics, art, sport, and history. Items in the Koori Collection can be borrowed by Library members and are included in the City of Sydney Library Network web catalogue. Visitors, browsers and enquiries are welcome.
Hours: Monday – Thursday: 10.00am – 6.00pm;
Friday: 10.00am – 5.00pm; Saturday: 11.00am – 4.00pm.
Tel: (02) 9288 5688
Email: Library@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
Public Transport: The 343 bus runs regularly from Castlereigh Street (Sydney) and Central Station (Sydney) to Waterloo Library.
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