Abstract dark blue pattern with curved and geometric lines and shapes, resembling stylised waves or leaves, on a matching dark blue background.

Archaeology

mubaya – speak an unknown language

yuridyuwa – sit near (to sit near anyone)

berewalgal – people from a distant place

Aboriginal people have always lived in Sydney. Following the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, the British encountered Aboriginal people around the coves and bays of Port Jackson. The Aboriginal communities here were both generous and combative towards the colonisers. Many places around the harbour remained important hunting, fishing and camping grounds long after Europeans settlement, and continue to be culturally significant today.

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  • Blackwattle Creek

    Blackwattle Creek

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward Blackwattle Creek was originally a tidal watercourse that flowed from swampy lands that are now within the grounds of the University of Sydney. The…

  • Aboriginal sites on Goat Island

    Aboriginal sites on Goat Island

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward Goat Island is a small rocky landmass in the waters of Sydney Harbour. It was inhabited by early colonial Aboriginal identity Bennelong and his…

  • Moore Park Campsite

    Moore Park Campsite

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward An Aboriginal campsite was discovered in 2014 beneath the car park of the Moore Park Tennis Centre. It was unearthed during archaeological excavations brought…

  • Tinker’s Well

    Tinker’s Well

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward All people depend on fresh water to live, and so it is usually the case that reliable sources of water known to Aboriginal people…

  • Moores Wharf Midden

    Moores Wharf Midden

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward In the late 1970s, the NSW Maritime Services Board began to redevelop the Moores Wharf area at Millers Point on the end of the…

  • Moore Park Engraving

    Moore Park Engraving

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward On a slab of sandstone just outside Centennial Park there were once some Aboriginal engravings. Rock engravings were produced when Aboriginal people carved them…

  • Yurong Cave and Yurong Midden

    Yurong Cave and Yurong Midden

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward Yurong Point is known today as the site of Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, a seat carved from stone in the 1810s so Governor Lachlan Macquarie’s…

  • William Street

    William Street

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward In 1925, a stone axe was found more than five metres below the surface during construction work at the corner of William and Riley…

  • St Mary’s Cathedral Hatchet

    St Mary’s Cathedral Hatchet

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward An Aboriginal stone axe head, also called a ‘ground-edge hatchet’, was found in a road cutting behind St Mary’s Cathedral in 1876. The hatchet…

  • The KENS Site

    The KENS Site

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward In 2003, archaeologists discovered a large Aboriginal campsite in the western part of central Sydney. It was named the KENS Site after the surrounding…

  • Junction Lane Campsite

    Junction Lane Campsite

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward In 1997, an Aboriginal campsite was discovered at Junction Lane in Woolloomooloo during archaeological excavations ahead of the construction of the Eastern Distributor motorway.…

  • Conservatorium of Music

    Conservatorium of Music

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward In 1998, some Aboriginal stone artefacts were found during archaeological excavations ahead of the redevelopment of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music on Macquarie Street.…

  • Wynyard Walk campsite

    Wynyard Walk campsite

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward During archaeological excavations associated with the construction of the Wynyard Walk pedestrian link in mid-2014, a small Aboriginal campsite was located. The campsite consisted…

  • Darling Walk Midden

    Darling Walk Midden

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward In 2009 archaeologists found an Aboriginal campsite, or ‘midden’, on the eastern side of Cockle Bay (Darling Harbour) in an area known as the…

  • Dawes Point / Tar-Ra

    Dawes Point / Tar-Ra

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward The Aboriginal name for the peninsula on the western side of Sydney Cove is Tar-Ra. It is also known as Dawes Point because it…

  • The site of First Government House

    The site of First Government House

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward Sydney’s first Government House overlooking Sydney Cove was built for Governor Arthur Phillip in 1789. The building and its grounds were an important place…

  • Lilyvale Campsite

    Lilyvale Campsite

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward The Rocks area is mainly known as a place of early European history, but it was also used by Aboriginal people for many years…

  • Sheas Creek (Alexandra Canal) Alexandria

    Sheas Creek (Alexandra Canal) Alexandria

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward At Beaconsfield in the 1890s, workers on the Alexandra Canal began cutting through the sediments of Shea’s Creek and made some remarkable discoveries. The…

  • Tank Stream Sydney

    Tank Stream Sydney

    Author: Paul Irish and Tamika Goward Central Sydney is built in the Tank Stream valley. The Tank Stream now runs underneath the city, but its fresh water was one of…