Australia’s Indigenous community has a history stretching back over 65,000 years, making them the oldest known civilisation on Earth.
There are roughly 29 clan groups that make up the Sydney metropolitan area, known collectively as the Eora Nation. However, the territory of the Gadigal people stretches from Sydney Harbour to Petersham, covering most of the CBD.
For the Gadigal people, whales were highly significant. In fact, the word Gadigal means ‘whale people’, and many traditional ceremonies include the ‘song of the whale’. It’s no surprise that the whale is the totem species for the Gadigal clan, signifying their connection to land and coast.
Read on to discover the best Indigenous sights and attractions in Sydney to help you learn more about our Traditional Owners.
Step back in time at Bennelong Point
Now known as the site of the Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point was once a small tidal island with a beach on the western side. For Indigenous Australians, the island was a place for ceremony and feasting – they would also fish and harvest food from the area, leaving the island to build up with discarded shells from many years of gathering.
Bennelong point gets its name from Woollarawarre Bennelong – a senior Wangal man at the time of the colonists’ 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 of the First Peoples’ customs and language. Bennelong quickly adapted to life among white men, dressed like them, and learned to speak English.
In the period from 1818 to 1821, the tidal area between Bennelong Island and the mainland was filled with rocks excavated from the peninsula to create a low platform on which Fort Macquarie would be built and, in 1790, Governor Phillip built a brick hut for Bennelong at his request, on what then became known as Bennelong Point. Bennelong was also one of the first Aboriginal people to travel to London, arriving in 1792 and returning to Sydney in 1795.
Today, the fine dining restaurant at the Opera House, headed by world-famous Executive Chef Peter Gilmore, is called Bennelong.
Art and animals abound in Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park
While there are many thousands of examples of rock engravings around Sydney, Ku-Ring-Gai National Park is home to one of the largest collections, with around 1,500 pieces of Indigenous rock art.
On the Indigenous Heritage walk, you’ll trek four kilometres as you take in rock art and engravings of great cultural significance. Keep an eye out for the historic occupation shelter, where families would light fires and warm themselves during the colder months, and make sure to be respectful on your visit.
Located on Guringai soil, Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park is actually the largest concentration of Indigenous sites in Australia, with over 800 burial sites, marriage areas, and engravings. Standouts include the popular Red Hands Cave, which displays ochre handprints estimated to be over 2,000 years old, and the Basin Aboriginal Art Site, where you can make out the shapes of animals and humans on the rock, as well as axe grinding groves.
Goat Island is an exclusive slice of history
Known as Me-Mel by the local Cadigal people, Goat island was once home to Eora elders Bennelong and Barangaroo. Since European settlement, this heritage-listed island has served time as a home for convict work gangs and a gunpowder depot, and later the site of the first water police station and harbour fire brigade in Sydney.
Today, Goat Island is an interpretation centre and education facility only available to the public on a guided tour, as the government works towards returning it to its Traditional Owners.
Get closer to nature at the Royal Botanic Gardens: Cadi Jam Ora display
The Cadi Jam Ora – First Encounters Garden is an award-winning 50-metre display that shares the Indigenous history of Sydney, from Cadigal Dreaming to the present day.
When the First Fleet arrived with seeds and plants from Europe, they cleared nine acres of land to plant these crops (in the area where the Cadi Jam Ora garden can now be found). Despite being named the First Farm, the area proved difficult to cultivate. The convicts struggled to clear the native forest, and the ancient soils were nutrient deficient. Today, visitors are invited to take a seat surrounded by native plants and imagine that the colonisers once tried to plant bananas, cotton and wheat here.
The 50-metre display also includes depictions of significant events such as the Mabo case and Sorry Day, gathered from a range of sources including over 40 interviews with local Indigenous people. In the middle of the garden, a large sandstone meeting area indicates where Aboriginal groups met and shared their stories.
While visiting the Royal Botanic Gardens, you can also join a First Nations guide on a bush tucker tour. Over one hour, you will wander through Cadi Jam Ora garden to discover traditional medicines and taste native foods.
Set your imagination alight at the Australian Museum
Located in the Australian museum, Garrigarrang: Sea Country is a permanent exhibition celebrating the cultures of Australia’s Salt Water Peoples.
Garrigarrang nura is an Eora phrase meaning sea country. It encompasses all aspects of the coastal landscape, including oceans, plants, animals, beaches, seasons and skies. Drawing on the longstanding spiritual connection between the Salt Water People and the land, this exhibition explores how different groups lived sustainably for thousands of years. It tracks these communities from Dreamtime to first contact with Europeans and their ongoing struggle to preserve cultural identity.
The ghost net sculptural installation is an exhibition standout. Made from discarded trawler nets, it depicts the Dreamtime story of Erub Island, in which a crab, Dauma, and a fish, Garom, fell in love.
For those travelling with children, Burra is an immersive exhibition following the journey of burra (eel) through estuaries, rivers and out to sea. Along the way, kids will learn about the importance of caring for Country, with sensory walls and interactive play zones to keep them engaged.
Bangarra Dance Theatre turns culture into movement
Drawing on more than 65,000 years of culture, Bangarra Dance Theatre is a company of professional Indigenous performers who tour a new work across the country each year. Using modern dance, they tell the story of their ancestors, sharing their culture and history with audiences in Australia and internationally.
This year, the program includes a collaboration with the Australian Ballet titled Flora, which traces the impact of major historic and environmental events on the landscape and its people with 35 impressive dancers. In the second half of the year, Bangarra Dance Company will tour three powerful works with an intergenerational thread that honour Bangarra’s past.
Dreamtime Southern X tours redefine an iconic Sydney destination
Dreamtime Southern X is an Aboriginal owned and operated tour company operating all across Sydney. On The Rocks Aboriginal Dreaming Tour (Illi Langi), visitors are taken on a leisurely walk of The Rocks while a knowledgable guide shares knowledge from the world’s oldest ecologists, conservationists and wildlife carers.
The tour begins with the tradition of Ochre on hand, which acknowledges Mother Earth before her landscape is discussed and explored. Along the way, you will discover Dreamtime stories including the sun-moon creation stories, learn about the uses of ochre, and visit important Indigenous sites.
This experience is all about celebrating Indigenous people’s saltwater heritage within Sydney harbour, and their spiritual connection to the land.
Set sail on a Tribal Warrior tour
For a tour that takes to the seas, book a cultural cruise with Tribal Warrior. This weekly two-hour adventure invites visitors aboard the Mari Nawi (or ‘big canoe’) to explore the harbour while learning about 60,000 years of culture and history.
While cruising along Sydney Harbour, Aboriginal guides will share Dreamtime stories and point out sacred sites. Then, your group will tour a harbour island to learn about uses for Indigenous plants and traditional fishing techniques, before watching an authentic cultural performance. The experience offers plenty of chances to ask questions, encouraging a deeper understanding of Aboriginal culture and identity.
Of course, this list only scratches the surface of the many amazing Indigenous sights and attractions in Sydney, and across Australia. To read about what’s on offer in Melbourne, click here.
Travel to Sydney
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