Aboriginal Sydney: History, Culture and Annual Events

Sydney offers authentic ways to connect with Australia’s Aboriginal heritage without leaving the city. The area has been home to the Gadigal people and neighbouring clans for over 60,000 years, and their culture remains vibrant today through museums, cultural sites, guided tours and community events.

This guide covers who the traditional owners of Sydney are, the history behind the place names you will see, what happened at Redfern, and the annual events that are open to visitors.

Related: Discover the best Aboriginal Tours and Experiences in Sydney

Whose land is Sydney on

Before the British arrived, Sydney was home to somewhere between 4,000 and 8,000 Aboriginal people, organised into around 29 clan groups. Three language groups sat above those clans: the Dharug, Kuringgai and Dharawal. The British came to call these people the Eora, from a local word meaning “here” or “from this place”.

The Gadigal, whose Country covers much of the city centre, are the clan most visitors will hear about. Move across the city and you pass through the Country of different groups. Local signage will often tell you where you are.

The Aboriginal names behind Sydney’s places

There is no single Aboriginal name for Sydney. Instead there were many names for individual places of significance.

Bennelong Point, where the Opera House now stands, was known as Dubbagullee. Sydney Cove was Warrane. Some names have survived into modern use in changed forms, including Woolloomooloo, Coogee and Bondi.

Several councils have started restoring Aboriginal names, either replacing the European one or placing both together, as at Dawes Point (Ta-Ra). The Australian Museum has a full list of Aboriginal place names if you want to go deeper.

Two figures worth knowing

The most well known Aboriginal person of the early colonial period was probably Bennelong. Abducted under the orders of Governor Phillip, Bennelong came to act as a kind of conduit between the colonists and Sydney’s indigenous people, adopting aspects of English culture and encouraging other Aboriginal people to do the same, albeit with little success.

Bennelong is today closely associated with the place where he lived, now called Bennelong Point, and the site of the Sydney Opera House.

But while Bennelong took a more conciliatory approach to the invaders, Pemulwuy did not, and although long marginalised in the history books he has recently begun to re-enter the public imagination as one of the first great leaders of the Aboriginal resistance to colonisation.

From 1790 until his death in 1802 Pemulwuy led a guerrilla war against the burgeoning colony at Sydney that at times seriously threatened its existence. After he was killed his skull was taken as a trophy to London, and despite extensive lobbying it has yet to be returned.

Redfern

For most of the 20th century, Redfern was the centre of Aboriginal life in Sydney.

As Sydney industrialised, and particularly in the post-war periods, Redfern became a hub for Aboriginal internal migrants, coming from rural areas to work in the factories, railways and shipyards of the inner city.

Inspired by the developments in the United States to a very similar marginalisation, Australia’s very own Black Power movement began in the 1970s and was largely centred on Redfern. Institutions like Aboriginal legal services, health services, housing collectives and theatres were formed, many of which were the first of their kind. Redfern came to be compared to a kind of Sydney Harlem.

Using law and order as a justification, the government worked with property developers in an urban renewal project designed to gentrify Redfern, at the time surrounded by some of the most valuable real estate in the country.

That process is now all but complete, with the Aboriginal population of the area mostly pushed out. In many ways, Redfern is now indistinguishable from the rich and trendy suburbs that surround it, with only the vestiges of its cultural heyday.

Redfern still holds cultural significance, and you can see it in the public art. The 40,000 Years Mural at Redfern Station is the best known.

Aboriginal Sydney today

According to the 2021 census, 90,939 people living in Sydney declared themselves to be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, making up 1.7% of the population, which is well under the national average of 3.2%. The highest concentration of Aboriginal people (5.0%) live in the outer western suburb of Penrith, with similar numbers (4.1%) in the south-western suburb of Campbelltown.

Aboriginal people have also been prominent in coastal La Perouse almost continuously from before colonisation, but for most of the 20th Century, the real centre of Aboriginal life in Sydney was Redfern.

Annual events

Several Aboriginal cultural events run through the year and are open to everyone. They are a good way to see both Aboriginal Australia and Sydney’s cultural life at the same time.

NAIDOC Week

NAIDOC celebrates Aboriginal history, culture and achievement over a week starting the first Sunday in July. Sydney hosts performances, exhibitions, workshops and talks across the week.

Check the City of Sydney NAIDOC programme for this year’s events.

When: A week starting the first Sunday in July
Where: Venues across Sydney
Cost: Most events free

Invasion Day and the Yabun Festival

Held on January 26th, a date many Australians consider their national day but which many Aboriginal people and supporters recognise as the beginning of British invasion.

While some events on this day are solemn in nature, the Yabun Festival in Victoria Park offers family-friendly music and cultural celebrations, making it one of the most important events on Invasion Day in Sydney.

When: 26 January
Where: Victoria Park, Camperdown
Cost: Free

Blak Markets

Blak Markets sell Aboriginal art, crafts and bush foods direct from First Nations artists and small businesses. More than 20 stalls carry original artworks, homewares, jewellery, fashion, textiles and native plants.

There are also Welcome to Country and smoking ceremonies, dance performances, live music and free weaving workshops. All profits go back to Aboriginal communities.

When: Quarterly, check the website for dates
Where: Mostly Bare Island, La Perouse, occasionally The Rocks
Cost: Usually $2.50 per person at Bare Island, children under 5 free

National Indigenous Art Fair

Artists from remote community-owned art centres across Australia come to Sydney Harbour for two days. You can buy artworks, textiles, fashion and homewares direct from the artists, with all proceeds going back to the art centres.

There are also bush tucker cooking demonstrations, weaving workshops, dance performances, live music and activities for children. More details on the National Indigenous Art Fair website.

When: Usually early July, alongside NAIDOC Week
Where: Overseas Passenger Terminal, The Rocks
Cost: Free

Where to see Aboriginal culture in Sydney

If you want to visit somewhere rather than read about it, Sydney has plenty within reach of the city. The Australian Museum and the Yiribana Gallery at the Art Gallery of NSW are both free.

The Royal Botanic Gardens run guided tours with First Nations guides.

There are rock engravings at Berry Island in North Sydney and at Jibbon Head near Bundeena, and Aboriginal cultural tours at Barangaroo Reserve.

All of these, with current prices, days and times, are covered in Aboriginal Tours in Sydney.

Want more?

If you want to learn more before you visit, this website by the Sydney City Council called Barani: Indigenous History of Sydney City is a great starting point.