The City of Sydney has installed eleven interpretive markers highlighting historically significant Indigenous people, and places, along the Sydney Harbour foreshore.
The signs are the first component of a 9km curated walk from Pirrama (Pyrmont) to Wallamool (Woolloomooloo) called Yananurala, a name from the Gadigal language that translates to “walk Country”.
A long-term project led by Indigenous curator Emily McDaniel, Yananurala is part of the Eora Journey: Recognition in the public domain program, curated by Hetti Perkins and guided by the local Indigenous community.
Yananurala will bring Indigenous histories and stories to life through public artworks and installations along the foreshore route.
“Yananurala is a harbour walk that weaves together the stories, memories and histories of this Country. These are the veins of Sydney – a living and breathing place,” Ms McDaniel said.
“An Acknowledgement of Country in its truest form, Yananurala reveals the ongoing relationship between the Aboriginal people of Sydney and the harbour.”
The people and places highlighted along the walk include:
- Tara (Dawes Point), where conversations between Patyegarang, a Gadigal woman, and Lieutenant William Dawes began. Dawes’ diaries have become central to the preservation of Indigenous language in Sydney
- Barangaroo, a senior and influential Cammeraygal woman who first met British officers in 1790
- Memel (Goat Island), an island historically attributed to Bennelong’s custodianship. Bennelong was a Wangal man remembered as an influential conduit between the British and the Eora in the early days of the colony. The island is visible from the Barangaroo headland, an area named after Bennelong’s wife. Today, the connection highlights the story of a couple renowned for their differing opinions and actions in relation to the British colony
- The Gadigal women who fished from nawi (canoes) in harbour waters at Pirrama (Pyrmont)
- The Indigenous people who worked on the wharves at The Hungry Mile, a section of Barangaroo
- How the expansion of Sydney in the 1800s forced Indigenous people to camp at the derelict Boatshed. People living there were relocated to La Perouse, the first Indigenous reserve in Sydney
City of Sydney, Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, said, “Yananurala continues our commitment to Aboriginal people that began in 2007 to ensure First Nations people, cultures and heritage are recognised in the city’s public spaces.”
“Carefully and respectfully realising Indigenous stories through art and interpretation, Yananurala highlights the way Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people know and experience Country.
“We’re grateful for the advice and support of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council and the City of Sydney Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel.
“The project has brought together New South Wales Government agencies and cultural institutions to work in collaboration and partnership to develop this project.”
Daniel Coe, member of the City of Sydney Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel, said, “I love Yananurala. The cultural walk along the foreshore will bring our local stories and our local artists to interpret and strengthen our connection to the harbour, land and sky. This is a great opportunity for our community and the many talented artists we have here in Sydney.”
Walkers can follow the route and find out more about each site using the Yananurala map on the City of Sydney’s Culture Walks app.
Future installations and artworks along the foreshore walk will highlight further hidden harbour histories and relationships between places of cultural significance in the area.
Indigenous artists and designers are currently invited to put forward proposals for the Sitelines and Conversations project, a series of audio and text installations that thread together and build on the stories highlighted on the walk’s newly installed signs. Submissions close at 11am Tuesday 22 November.
A major artwork is planned for Tara (Dawes Point), to recognise the young Aboriginal woman Patyegarang, who taught Lieutenant William Dawes Indigenous language.
The artwork could take many forms and the brief will be developed with the City of Sydney Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel, Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, Indigenous community members and the New South Wales Government.
The City of Sydney is commencing consultation with the community to guide the development of the project.
For more information on the walk, visit cityartsydney.com.au/yananurala
