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From our recording studio in Brooklyn, we make audio that celebrates human creativity, history and the spaces we live to learn about.

An evocative auditory journey exploring the iconic sites of Warrane (Sydney Cove), delving into its living cultures and layered histories through First Nations storytelling. Guided by narrator Bianca Hunt, experience three narrative vignettes from artist Alison Page, activist Cheree Toka, and cultural educator Jake Ferguson. Listeners will explore iconic sites, native plants, and public art, fostering a profound appreciation for the land, and the cultural mosaic of Gadigal ‘Sydney’.

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Priceless – Gadigal: Warrane (Sydney Cove)

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Sydney

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Bianca Hunt: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are advised that this audio walk may contain the names and descriptions of people who have passed. 


On behalf of Mastercard and Gesso, welcome to this priceless walk through Warrane, Sydney Cove. I'm your guide, Bianca Hunt.  You should be in Exchange Place, under the floating eagle rays.  Over the next couple of hours, we are going to learn about art, advocacy, sustainability, and culture.  We start our journey at Barangaroo, wind through the heart of Gadigal, Sydney, and end at the iconic Opera House at Bennelong Point. We'll hear from First Nations artists, activists, and archaeologists to tell us more about this storied walk. 


For those of you using the Gesso app, stories and directions will automatically play as you arrive at the next stop. Feel free to hit play and pause wherever you please and take as many detours as you like. If you ever find yourself wondering if you're in the right spot, don't worry. There's a map you can refer to.  


As we gaze up at the eagle rays hanging above and begin our journey together. I want to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians, the Gadigal people of the land on which we walk together today and pay my respects to elders past and present.  For millennia, First Nations people have been the custodians of these lands known today as Barangaroo. 


Alison Page: Sydney Harbour, 7,000 years ago was a valley, with a beautiful freshwater river running through it. And, headlands like Barangaroo were mountains in this valley. 


Bianca Hunt: That's Alison, a storyteller and creator of Wellama, a video installation permanently installed at the entrance to the cutaway at Barangaroo Reserve, one of our next stops.  


Alison Page: My name is Alison Page and I am a Dharawal and Yuin woman  


Bianca Hunt: She paints us a picture of Sydney Harbour from thousands of years ago, when it was the home of the Dharawal Fisherwomen.  Imagine this place, rolling lands of bush and sandstone, the Dharawal Fisherwomen reading the signs that Country provides, guiding them to their next catch. Now gaze up at the rays hanging above.  This work is Mermer Waiskeder: Stories of the Moving Tide by the Ghost Net Collective. Made from discarded fishing nets, this piece invokes themes of place, complex histories, living cities, and marine conservation. Each of the 11 eagle rays hold an important and distinct meaning. Raylene is the fourth eagle ray along between Tower 3 and the Escalator. The Ghost Net Collective explains that Raylene depicts the original tideline running through Barangaroo.  Historically, this area had seen many changes from a place where people fished in bark canoes, to wharfs, maritime industries, and now as an urban waterfront precinct. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Let's walk along this path away from the escalators, towards Barangaroo Avenue.   


Bianca Hunt: This area is now known as Barangaroo South. Since colonisation, this area has seen ebbs and flows of occupation and abandonment. Recently, it's been part of a rejuvenation initiative to transform this area into a bustling space of living, working, art, and culture with sustainability as a major focus. Not long ago, this area was filled with shipping infrastructure that was left behind as the industry moved to Port Botany south of here. As you look around, you'll see the influx of art and architecture with small businesses taking up residency.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we cross over Barangaroo Avenue, look up to your right, just above Rivareno Gelato. 

3 Sussex Street \|||// Bianca Hunt: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are advised that this audio walk may contain the names and descriptions of people who have passed. 


On behalf of Mastercard and Gesso, welcome to this priceless walk through Warrane, Sydney Cove. I'm your guide, Bianca Hunt.  You should be in Exchange Place, under the floating eagle rays.  Over the next couple of hours, we are going to learn about art, advocacy, sustainability, and culture.  We start our journey at Barangaroo, wind through the heart of Gadigal, Sydney, and end at the iconic Opera House at Bennelong Point. We'll hear from First Nations artists, activists, and archaeologists to tell us more about this storied walk. 


For those of you using the Gesso app, stories and directions will automatically play as you arrive at the next stop. Feel free to hit play and pause wherever you please and take as many detours as you like. If you ever find yourself wondering if you're in the right spot, don't worry. There's a map you can refer to.  


As we gaze up at the eagle rays hanging above and begin our journey together. I want to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians, the Gadigal people of the land on which we walk together today and pay my respects to elders past and present.  For millennia, First Nations people have been the custodians of these lands known today as Barangaroo. 


Alison Page: Sydney Harbour, 7,000 years ago was a valley, with a beautiful freshwater river running through it. And, headlands like Barangaroo were mountains in this valley. 


Bianca Hunt: That's Alison, a storyteller and creator of Wellama, a video installation permanently installed at the entrance to the cutaway at Barangaroo Reserve, one of our next stops.  


Alison Page: My name is Alison Page and I am a Dharawal and Yuin woman  


Bianca Hunt: She paints us a picture of Sydney Harbour from thousands of years ago, when it was the home of the Dharawal Fisherwomen.  Imagine this place, rolling lands of bush and sandstone, the Dharawal Fisherwomen reading the signs that Country provides, guiding them to their next catch. Now gaze up at the rays hanging above.  This work is Mermer Waiskeder: Stories of the Moving Tide by the Ghost Net Collective. Made from discarded fishing nets, this piece invokes themes of place, complex histories, living cities, and marine conservation. Each of the 11 eagle rays hold an important and distinct meaning. Raylene is the fourth eagle ray along between Tower 3 and the Escalator. The Ghost Net Collective explains that Raylene depicts the original tideline running through Barangaroo.  Historically, this area had seen many changes from a place where people fished in bark canoes, to wharfs, maritime industries, and now as an urban waterfront precinct. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Let's walk along this path away from the escalators, towards Barangaroo Avenue.   


Bianca Hunt: This area is now known as Barangaroo South. Since colonisation, this area has seen ebbs and flows of occupation and abandonment. Recently, it's been part of a rejuvenation initiative to transform this area into a bustling space of living, working, art, and culture with sustainability as a major focus. Not long ago, this area was filled with shipping infrastructure that was left behind as the industry moved to Port Botany south of here. As you look around, you'll see the influx of art and architecture with small businesses taking up residency.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we cross over Barangaroo Avenue, look up to your right, just above Rivareno Gelato. 

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Exchange Place

Tour Item

1. Start_ Exchange Place.mp3

Bianca Hunt: The large white sculpture hanging above is shell Wall 2015, a collaboration between Bidjigal Elder and artist Esme Timbery and Wiradjuri Kamilaroi artist Jonathan Jones.  Each panel of the enormous artwork is decorated with cast aluminium shells. Welded to a screen of cut-out shell shapes. This work celebrates the important Gameygul, La Perouse shell work tradition, and the contemporary practice of respected fourth generation shell artist, the late Esme Timbery. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Let's keep moving. If you're facing Shell Wall, turn left and head towards the water. 

35 Barangaroo Avenue \|||// Bianca Hunt: The large white sculpture hanging above is shell Wall 2015, a collaboration between Bidjigal Elder and artist Esme Timbery and Wiradjuri Kamilaroi artist Jonathan Jones.  Each panel of the enormous artwork is decorated with cast aluminium shells. Welded to a screen of cut-out shell shapes. This work celebrates the important Gameygul, La Perouse shell work tradition, and the contemporary practice of respected fourth generation shell artist, the late Esme Timbery. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Let's keep moving. If you're facing Shell Wall, turn left and head towards the water. 

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shellwall 2015

2. shell wall 2015.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): We will continue by turning right and walking along the water by the fairy wharfs. As we reach wharf one, we'll head along Wulugul Walk. 


Bianca Hunt: This part of the walk will take about 15 minutes to get to our next stop.  Keep on this path as we reflect on the history of this place.  Wulugul is the Dharug Gadigal word meaning kingfish, a once abundant species in Warrane.  Wulugul Walk is a small section of an 11km walk called Walk of Many Lifetimes that begins at the Anzac Bridge and wraps around the harbour to Woolloomooloo. Alison reflects on the area, now known as Sydney Harbour, through the lens of Aboriginal stories of place.  


Alison Page: Our people occupied this place for 65,000 years. And of course, it was only inundated by water 7,000 years ago. So before that, Sydney Harbour was a beautiful freshwater valley that had a river running through it, and headlands like Barangaroo, islands like Cockatoo Island, they were all mountains that were occupied by our people. And Barangaroo, that headland, is one of the highest points of the harbour, so it would have been one of the highest mountains for surveillance.  


Bianca Hunt: Through her storytelling practice, she connects to the cultural landscape. 


Alison Page: Aboriginal people were weaving together, their ecological relationship to the cultural landscape with ceremony art and storytelling as a way of remembering all of the ecological and cultural data that they needed to remember in order to survive, because we didn't have the written word 


Bianca Hunt: Connecting place, tradition, and urban design, her multidisciplinary practice has evolved over time. 


Alison Page: My work really started in architecture and design.  I really started looking at this whole idea of telling stories about place, and thinking of ways in which storytelling from our traditions can be brought forward into the design of cities today. 


Bianca Hunt: As you head along the promenade, many of the buildings you pass, like the International Towers, employ renewable energy, solar, and water conservation through rainwater harvesting.  


Alison Page: We could be one of the most beautiful places on earth with the most vibrant cities that have Country around them that spiritually nourishes them, is honest with them about what happened to them, heals them and invites the world to design places in the same way. Cities are becoming much more homogenous, and we are the ones who are in charge of the culture here and how we drive that in the future.  


Bianca Hunt: The entire precinct of Barangaroo has initiatives including sustainable landscaping, stormwater management, waste reduction strategies and green spaces to protect biodiversity and restore habitat.  We'll explore this more at Barangaroo Reserve. Alison continues by reflecting on how we might repair and engage our relationship to nature and place across Country through the powerful role that designers and artists play in storytelling.  


Alison Page: An artist plays this really powerful role in engaging people's hearts and minds. In evoking the memory of place in truth telling. The thing that I have learnt from my culture is that we need to reinforce storytelling with lots of different mediums. So working in sculpture and art and architecture and film and design, it needs to be a holistic approach to storytelling that complements our approach to ecology and nature. Through this storytelling process, these artworks are not entertainment, these are critical works that will invite all people to have that relationship to nature once and for all.


Bianca Hunt: To our right, you'll see further evidence of the rejuvenation of contemporary Barangaroo from an industrial centre to a bustling hub. You may notice the towers rising into the sky, rotating artwork, community events, places of work, transit, exercise and leisure all appearing rapidly along the harbour line. These things are a far cry from what was here pre-colonisation, but through a coordinated effort from government, community, First Nations people, developers, the design of this area has been focused on creating a thriving new precinct that offers opportunities for gathering that have been missing from this place since colonisation. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): We'll be on this harbourside walk for a little while longer, so keep following this path, and I'll meet you around the bend, by the water, up ahead. 

33 Barangaroo Avenue \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): We will continue by turning right and walking along the water by the fairy wharfs. As we reach wharf one, we'll head along Wulugul Walk. 


Bianca Hunt: This part of the walk will take about 15 minutes to get to our next stop.  Keep on this path as we reflect on the history of this place.  Wulugul is the Dharug Gadigal word meaning kingfish, a once abundant species in Warrane.  Wulugul Walk is a small section of an 11km walk called Walk of Many Lifetimes that begins at the Anzac Bridge and wraps around the harbour to Woolloomooloo. Alison reflects on the area, now known as Sydney Harbour, through the lens of Aboriginal stories of place.  


Alison Page: Our people occupied this place for 65,000 years. And of course, it was only inundated by water 7,000 years ago. So before that, Sydney Harbour was a beautiful freshwater valley that had a river running through it, and headlands like Barangaroo, islands like Cockatoo Island, they were all mountains that were occupied by our people. And Barangaroo, that headland, is one of the highest points of the harbour, so it would have been one of the highest mountains for surveillance.  


Bianca Hunt: Through her storytelling practice, she connects to the cultural landscape. 


Alison Page: Aboriginal people were weaving together, their ecological relationship to the cultural landscape with ceremony art and storytelling as a way of remembering all of the ecological and cultural data that they needed to remember in order to survive, because we didn't have the written word 


Bianca Hunt: Connecting place, tradition, and urban design, her multidisciplinary practice has evolved over time. 


Alison Page: My work really started in architecture and design.  I really started looking at this whole idea of telling stories about place, and thinking of ways in which storytelling from our traditions can be brought forward into the design of cities today. 


Bianca Hunt: As you head along the promenade, many of the buildings you pass, like the International Towers, employ renewable energy, solar, and water conservation through rainwater harvesting.  


Alison Page: We could be one of the most beautiful places on earth with the most vibrant cities that have Country around them that spiritually nourishes them, is honest with them about what happened to them, heals them and invites the world to design places in the same way. Cities are becoming much more homogenous, and we are the ones who are in charge of the culture here and how we drive that in the future.  


Bianca Hunt: The entire precinct of Barangaroo has initiatives including sustainable landscaping, stormwater management, waste reduction strategies and green spaces to protect biodiversity and restore habitat.  We'll explore this more at Barangaroo Reserve. Alison continues by reflecting on how we might repair and engage our relationship to nature and place across Country through the powerful role that designers and artists play in storytelling.  


Alison Page: An artist plays this really powerful role in engaging people's hearts and minds. In evoking the memory of place in truth telling. The thing that I have learnt from my culture is that we need to reinforce storytelling with lots of different mediums. So working in sculpture and art and architecture and film and design, it needs to be a holistic approach to storytelling that complements our approach to ecology and nature. Through this storytelling process, these artworks are not entertainment, these are critical works that will invite all people to have that relationship to nature once and for all.


Bianca Hunt: To our right, you'll see further evidence of the rejuvenation of contemporary Barangaroo from an industrial centre to a bustling hub. You may notice the towers rising into the sky, rotating artwork, community events, places of work, transit, exercise and leisure all appearing rapidly along the harbour line. These things are a far cry from what was here pre-colonisation, but through a coordinated effort from government, community, First Nations people, developers, the design of this area has been focused on creating a thriving new precinct that offers opportunities for gathering that have been missing from this place since colonisation. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): We'll be on this harbourside walk for a little while longer, so keep following this path, and I'll meet you around the bend, by the water, up ahead. 

3WulugulWalk2.jpeg

Wulugul Walk

3. Wulugul Walk.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): Across the cove in front of you, you'll see a lush area of nature, bordered by sandstone blocks. That's Barangaroo Reserve, a key piece of the rejuvenation project. Keep walking around the water here while we learn about this place.   


Bianca Hunt: Prior to the start of the rejuvenation process, the entire area where the reserve sits was an empty concrete flat top. The last remains of a once bustling shipping industry that grew too big to be centred in the middle of a modern city. The reserve represents the efforts to re-nature and modernise the peninsula, a way to introduce people of our modern city to the native plants that once thrived here.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Head toward the outcropping. Tucked into the cliff to the right and will meet at the large screen. 

47 Hickson Road \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): Across the cove in front of you, you'll see a lush area of nature, bordered by sandstone blocks. That's Barangaroo Reserve, a key piece of the rejuvenation project. Keep walking around the water here while we learn about this place.   


Bianca Hunt: Prior to the start of the rejuvenation process, the entire area where the reserve sits was an empty concrete flat top. The last remains of a once bustling shipping industry that grew too big to be centred in the middle of a modern city. The reserve represents the efforts to re-nature and modernise the peninsula, a way to introduce people of our modern city to the native plants that once thrived here.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Head toward the outcropping. Tucked into the cliff to the right and will meet at the large screen. 

4BarangarooReserve.jpg

Barangaroo Reserve

4. Barangaroo Reserve.mp3

Bianca Hunt: As we arrive at Barangaroo Reserve, we are greeted by Wellama, a film and contemporary re-imagining of A Welcome to Country by Alison Page, who you met earlier, and Nik Lachajczak.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Find a comfy place and enjoy Wellama while we hear from its creator. 


Alison Page: Wellama is a Gadigal word meaning to come back. What Nik Lachajczak, and I wanted to achieve with the film was to really use this as an opportunity to amplify the memories of Barangaroo and this place.  


Bianca Hunt: Barangaroo is named after a Cammeraygal woman who occupied this area in the 1700s. She was a hunter and provider for her clan in the North Harbour.  


Alison Page: Through Wellama, we wanted to tell a story of women. We wanted to show the transfer of knowledge through how these women relate.  


Bianca Hunt: The film, explains Alison, shows movement of cultural data between generations of women and explores indigenous concepts of non-linear time. 


Alison Page: It's a film that has no beginning, middle, or end, it just plays round and round, from dawn till dusk. In the film, these women dive in and out of time. So sometimes they appear in traditional times and then they dive forward and appear in contemporary times.  What I really wanted to evoke was this idea that 65,000 years of ceremony, of thousands of generations of knowledge being passed on, is present right here, right now, and will be present in the future as well.  


Bianca Hunt: She speaks of the expansive ways in which Aboriginal people relate to time. 


Alison Page: That is one of those cultural gifts, that Aboriginal and Indigenous people have to give all people is this idea that your time on the planet is a tiny dot in the big scheme of things, but it is a critical piece because you have to understand the responsibility that you have to care for Country in that time and the responsibility that you have to pass on that knowledge accurately for the next generation. 


Bianca Hunt: Alison embodies this responsibility to knowledge sharing in her filmmaking and storytelling practice. Engaging her community, and family, in the creation of Wellama.  


Alison Page: We wanted to show how it was 250 years ago when my ancestors occupied Sydney Harbour and allow my family––who are all part of this film, they're the co-creators, they're the cast of this film––to occupy the skin of their ancestors.  And through the process of filmmaking, really evoke the memories of their own culture and to bring that spiritual potency forward into this metropolis that we now call Sydney, which is still their home and still contains the memories of our people.  And to me, to come back, the word Wellama, that is the coming back. The coming back of my people to their ancestral lands. 


Bianca Hunt: To your left, the excavated space is called The Cutaway. This space has been created to hold cultural events and meetings. The sandstone excavated from here was repurposed for the creation of the Reserve. This place also acts as a reminder of how the physical environment has been changed by urban infrastructure. Let's get a closer look at what this sandstone has been used for.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): If you're facing Wellama, turn around. We're going up above.  Head outside, turn right and take the first staircase, Girri Girri Steps.

5010 Munn Street \|||// Bianca Hunt: As we arrive at Barangaroo Reserve, we are greeted by Wellama, a film and contemporary re-imagining of A Welcome to Country by Alison Page, who you met earlier, and Nik Lachajczak.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Find a comfy place and enjoy Wellama while we hear from its creator. 


Alison Page: Wellama is a Gadigal word meaning to come back. What Nik Lachajczak, and I wanted to achieve with the film was to really use this as an opportunity to amplify the memories of Barangaroo and this place.  


Bianca Hunt: Barangaroo is named after a Cammeraygal woman who occupied this area in the 1700s. She was a hunter and provider for her clan in the North Harbour.  


Alison Page: Through Wellama, we wanted to tell a story of women. We wanted to show the transfer of knowledge through how these women relate.  


Bianca Hunt: The film, explains Alison, shows movement of cultural data between generations of women and explores indigenous concepts of non-linear time. 


Alison Page: It's a film that has no beginning, middle, or end, it just plays round and round, from dawn till dusk. In the film, these women dive in and out of time. So sometimes they appear in traditional times and then they dive forward and appear in contemporary times.  What I really wanted to evoke was this idea that 65,000 years of ceremony, of thousands of generations of knowledge being passed on, is present right here, right now, and will be present in the future as well.  


Bianca Hunt: She speaks of the expansive ways in which Aboriginal people relate to time. 


Alison Page: That is one of those cultural gifts, that Aboriginal and Indigenous people have to give all people is this idea that your time on the planet is a tiny dot in the big scheme of things, but it is a critical piece because you have to understand the responsibility that you have to care for Country in that time and the responsibility that you have to pass on that knowledge accurately for the next generation. 


Bianca Hunt: Alison embodies this responsibility to knowledge sharing in her filmmaking and storytelling practice. Engaging her community, and family, in the creation of Wellama.  


Alison Page: We wanted to show how it was 250 years ago when my ancestors occupied Sydney Harbour and allow my family––who are all part of this film, they're the co-creators, they're the cast of this film––to occupy the skin of their ancestors.  And through the process of filmmaking, really evoke the memories of their own culture and to bring that spiritual potency forward into this metropolis that we now call Sydney, which is still their home and still contains the memories of our people.  And to me, to come back, the word Wellama, that is the coming back. The coming back of my people to their ancestral lands. 


Bianca Hunt: To your left, the excavated space is called The Cutaway. This space has been created to hold cultural events and meetings. The sandstone excavated from here was repurposed for the creation of the Reserve. This place also acts as a reminder of how the physical environment has been changed by urban infrastructure. Let's get a closer look at what this sandstone has been used for.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): If you're facing Wellama, turn around. We're going up above.  Head outside, turn right and take the first staircase, Girri Girri Steps.

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Wellama

5. Wellama.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): Stop on this first landing with the glass structure ahead of you. 


Bianca Hunt: Just next to the stairs, you should see a small stone structure with a cute little house nestled into it. If you're lucky, you might see some native bees inside, Tetragonula Carbonaria. These bees have been living and evolving for hundreds of millions of years without a stinger. Their size makes them exceptional pollinators for the small blossoms of native flowers. They've been an important addition to the Reserve and its 75,000 native plants. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): If you're facing the hive, turn right and we'll head down the path with the rust coloured fence on the right. This is Boot Boot Path. 


Bianca Hunt: Bootboot is a Dharug Gadigal word meaning heart or heartbeat.  This tranquil path features some of those 75,000 native plants that we mentioned earlier. These were once abundant in Warrane. Native plants are an important part of maintaining a balanced ecosystem, but also offer inspiration to those who visit the reserve to be mindful of their surroundings.  


Jake Ferguson: Once we get back to looking after the environment, with greater education on Australian native plants, people in Australia will naturally want to care about the environment. 


Bianca Hunt: Meet Jake Ferguson, archaeologist and cultural educator.  


Jake Ferguson: My name's Jake. I'm from different areas in Sydney, so I pay my respects to the Gadigal people as I'm talking about their land, and their culture 


Bianca Hunt: Jake has a diverse background that guides his work as an educator.  


Jake Ferguson: My family is from the Bundjalung and Biripi people of the far north coast, the Wailwan people, which is very central western New South Wales, almost touching northern territory, and the Bidjigal and the Dharawal people that's the tribe, south of the Gadigal people and we extend all the way down to the far south coast of New South Wales.  As a whole, not just with Indigenous people, our environment is providing us with so much, medicines, food, just everything. 


Bianca Hunt: Jake offers tours to teach the ways the land has provided for humankind for tens of thousands of years. 


Jake Ferguson: And, even, environment is still providing. We're just not looking after the environment.  


Bianca Hunt: There are over 80 different plant species at Barangaroo, Including the iconic Sydney Red Gum (Angophora Costata), Kangaroo Grass (Themeda Triandra), and Coastal Banksia (Banksia Integrifolia).  Jake's message is that the more people know about Country, the greater responsibility we will share in caring for it.  


Jake Ferguson: After hearing stories and knowledge from, an Indigenous person explaining our land, our culture, our plants, our environment, you wouldn't be able to walk away without wanting to go and do something about it.


Bianca Hunt: Caring for Country is part of First Nations culture. Alison reflects on how indigenous people care for Country.  


Alison Page: The way that Aboriginal people care about Country, that is sea, sky and land, and all the plants and animals in it as well, is we care for it like it's a family member. We sing to it, we long for it, we worry about it. It is a living entity that is very much a part of our immediate family, that we'd do anything for. Aboriginal people will put the life of Country above their own life. 


Bianca Hunt: Along the shoreline, you can see the sandstone blocks that were taken from The Cutaway. Following colonisation, sandstone became the main building material due to its abundance across the region. At Barangaroo, the recreation of the shoreline is the first step toward healing habitat and culture.  


Alison Page: When I started talking to my family about making Wellama, we were talking about accepting that this was ground zero for the destruction of culture, then we need to make this ground zero for the healing of culture. 


Bianca Hunt: Prior to invasion, this area was a habitat for birds, seals, and the native Badangi, or Sydney rock oyster, that are now re-inhabiting the area.  The regeneration efforts being led by First Nations custodians of this land celebrate living cultures alongside their historical cultural contexts.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Stay straight on this path as it opens to the lawns and we'll meet at the top of the hill. 

5010 Munn Street \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): Stop on this first landing with the glass structure ahead of you. 


Bianca Hunt: Just next to the stairs, you should see a small stone structure with a cute little house nestled into it. If you're lucky, you might see some native bees inside, Tetragonula Carbonaria. These bees have been living and evolving for hundreds of millions of years without a stinger. Their size makes them exceptional pollinators for the small blossoms of native flowers. They've been an important addition to the Reserve and its 75,000 native plants. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): If you're facing the hive, turn right and we'll head down the path with the rust coloured fence on the right. This is Boot Boot Path. 


Bianca Hunt: Bootboot is a Dharug Gadigal word meaning heart or heartbeat.  This tranquil path features some of those 75,000 native plants that we mentioned earlier. These were once abundant in Warrane. Native plants are an important part of maintaining a balanced ecosystem, but also offer inspiration to those who visit the reserve to be mindful of their surroundings.  


Jake Ferguson: Once we get back to looking after the environment, with greater education on Australian native plants, people in Australia will naturally want to care about the environment. 


Bianca Hunt: Meet Jake Ferguson, archaeologist and cultural educator.  


Jake Ferguson: My name's Jake. I'm from different areas in Sydney, so I pay my respects to the Gadigal people as I'm talking about their land, and their culture 


Bianca Hunt: Jake has a diverse background that guides his work as an educator.  


Jake Ferguson: My family is from the Bundjalung and Biripi people of the far north coast, the Wailwan people, which is very central western New South Wales, almost touching northern territory, and the Bidjigal and the Dharawal people that's the tribe, south of the Gadigal people and we extend all the way down to the far south coast of New South Wales.  As a whole, not just with Indigenous people, our environment is providing us with so much, medicines, food, just everything. 


Bianca Hunt: Jake offers tours to teach the ways the land has provided for humankind for tens of thousands of years. 


Jake Ferguson: And, even, environment is still providing. We're just not looking after the environment.  


Bianca Hunt: There are over 80 different plant species at Barangaroo, Including the iconic Sydney Red Gum (Angophora Costata), Kangaroo Grass (Themeda Triandra), and Coastal Banksia (Banksia Integrifolia).  Jake's message is that the more people know about Country, the greater responsibility we will share in caring for it.  


Jake Ferguson: After hearing stories and knowledge from, an Indigenous person explaining our land, our culture, our plants, our environment, you wouldn't be able to walk away without wanting to go and do something about it.


Bianca Hunt: Caring for Country is part of First Nations culture. Alison reflects on how indigenous people care for Country.  


Alison Page: The way that Aboriginal people care about Country, that is sea, sky and land, and all the plants and animals in it as well, is we care for it like it's a family member. We sing to it, we long for it, we worry about it. It is a living entity that is very much a part of our immediate family, that we'd do anything for. Aboriginal people will put the life of Country above their own life. 


Bianca Hunt: Along the shoreline, you can see the sandstone blocks that were taken from The Cutaway. Following colonisation, sandstone became the main building material due to its abundance across the region. At Barangaroo, the recreation of the shoreline is the first step toward healing habitat and culture.  


Alison Page: When I started talking to my family about making Wellama, we were talking about accepting that this was ground zero for the destruction of culture, then we need to make this ground zero for the healing of culture. 


Bianca Hunt: Prior to invasion, this area was a habitat for birds, seals, and the native Badangi, or Sydney rock oyster, that are now re-inhabiting the area.  The regeneration efforts being led by First Nations custodians of this land celebrate living cultures alongside their historical cultural contexts.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Stay straight on this path as it opens to the lawns and we'll meet at the top of the hill. 

6BootBootPath.jpeg

Boot Boot Path

6. Boot Boot Path.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we come around the path and into the open, let's pause for a minute. Have a seat on a bench or in the grass and take in the view of the harbour. 


Bianca Hunt: As we look out into the harbour, we see the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Australian and Aboriginal flags fly atop the Aboriginal flag was only permanently flown starting in 2022, following a relentless campaign led by Gomeroi activist, Cheree Toka.  


Cheree Toka: My name is Cheree Toka. I'm a proud Gomeroi woman with family ties to Northwestern New South Wales in Moree and Gunnedah.


Bianca Hunt: That's Cheree, a passionate advocate for Indigenous livelihood, working across national campaigns like Free the Flag, Change the Date, and key government initiatives like Aboriginal Data Sovereignty and Closing the Gap. 


Cheree Toka: When international visitors come to Australia and see the flag on one of Australia's most iconic structures, I hope it influences them to learn more about the culture, which is so, so important when you come to Australia.  Having the representation of the flag being on the bridge, hopefully, it sparks conversation about, what is the flag, who does it represent, and about the nuances of the culture. It provides Aboriginal people a sense of belonging in the country they call home and hopefully influences the younger generations to fight for change. 


Bianca Hunt: Cheree reminds us of the impact of respecting and acknowledging the land and history of the oldest living culture on the planet. 


Cheree Toka: The Aboriginal flag on the bridge is a powerful reminder that the nation was built on Aboriginal land and our history is acknowledged and will always be remembered.  Indigenous people have a rich history of culture and I believe we should all respect and celebrate it every day given that it is the oldest living culture.


Bianca Hunt: From our vantage point at the base of Walumil Lawns, you can see a sandstone building close to the water's edge––this is Marrinawi Cove. You can take a dip in this harbour swimming spot that opened in 2023 or head toward the Hotel Palisade as we continue on toward the historic Tallawoladah, The Rocks, our next stop.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): If you've gotten comfortable on the grass or a bench, head back to the path we were on before. If you're facing the bridge, turn right, and further down this path, you'll see the two sets of stairs in front of you. Take the first set on the right, go up the two flights toward Stargazer Lawn. We'll stay on this path until we see the other side of the glass structure with the elevator.

Barangaroo Avenue \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we come around the path and into the open, let's pause for a minute. Have a seat on a bench or in the grass and take in the view of the harbour. 


Bianca Hunt: As we look out into the harbour, we see the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge, The Australian and Aboriginal flags fly atop the Aboriginal flag was only permanently flown starting in 2022, following a relentless campaign led by Gomeroi activist, Cheree Toka.  


Cheree Toka: My name is Cheree Toka. I'm a proud Gomeroi woman with family ties to Northwestern New South Wales in Moree and Gunnedah.


Bianca Hunt: That's Cheree, a passionate advocate for Indigenous livelihood, working across national campaigns like Free the Flag, Change the Date, and key government initiatives like Aboriginal Data Sovereignty and Closing the Gap. 


Cheree Toka: When international visitors come to Australia and see the flag on one of Australia's most iconic structures, I hope it influences them to learn more about the culture, which is so, so important when you come to Australia.  Having the representation of the flag being on the bridge, hopefully, it sparks conversation about, what is the flag, who does it represent, and about the nuances of the culture. It provides Aboriginal people a sense of belonging in the country they call home and hopefully influences the younger generations to fight for change. 


Bianca Hunt: Cheree reminds us of the impact of respecting and acknowledging the land and history of the oldest living culture on the planet. 


Cheree Toka: The Aboriginal flag on the bridge is a powerful reminder that the nation was built on Aboriginal land and our history is acknowledged and will always be remembered.  Indigenous people have a rich history of culture and I believe we should all respect and celebrate it every day given that it is the oldest living culture.


Bianca Hunt: From our vantage point at the base of Walumil Lawns, you can see a sandstone building close to the water's edge––this is Marrinawi Cove. You can take a dip in this harbour swimming spot that opened in 2023 or head toward the Hotel Palisade as we continue on toward the historic Tallawoladah, The Rocks, our next stop.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): If you've gotten comfortable on the grass or a bench, head back to the path we were on before. If you're facing the bridge, turn right, and further down this path, you'll see the two sets of stairs in front of you. Take the first set on the right, go up the two flights toward Stargazer Lawn. We'll stay on this path until we see the other side of the glass structure with the elevator.

7WalumilLawn.jpeg

Walumil Lawn

7. Walumil Lawn.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): In front of you, you'll see the glass structure holding the elevator down to the cutaway.  Just before you reach the structure, make a left and leave the reserve. You'll see a tall red brick building up ahead. That's the Hotel Palisade. Head down the street toward it.  

1 Merriman Street \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): In front of you, you'll see the glass structure holding the elevator down to the cutaway.  Just before you reach the structure, make a left and leave the reserve. You'll see a tall red brick building up ahead. That's the Hotel Palisade. Head down the street toward it.  

8TurnLefttoLeave.jpeg

Turn left to leave the Reserve

8. Turn left to leave the reserve.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): On your right is the Hotel Palisade. Up ahead we'll continue past the park to your right. Keep on this side of the street for now. We'll head down Argyle Place toward our next stop. 


Bianca Hunt: As we walk down Argyle Place, we pass some of Sydney's oldest buildings. Hotel Palisade, constructed in the early 1900s, and the Lord Nelson Hotel, Sydney's oldest hotel, established in 1841. Think about how the history of this area since colonisation has shaped the city and its people today. The lasting impacts of colonisation are pervasive, but campaigns like Fund the Flag provide hope for our future. 


Cheree Toka: When the campaign started, there were a lot of people who didn't realise the flag wasn't on the bridge and believed it should have equal status to the Australian flag.  


Bianca Hunt: In response to this, businesses, schools, councils, and organisations all around Sydney started flying the Aboriginal flag in solidarity with the campaign and Indigenous rights. 


Cheree Toka: Which I thought was just so respectful and they planted the seed of, "Yeah, that makes sense. That's respectful. The Aboriginal flag is a Commonwealth flag. We should have it flying at equal status." 


Bianca Hunt: But respect and advocacy are just the beginning of the ongoing fight for Indigenous rights in Australia. 


Cheree Toka: Advocacy is a slow burning process and there are many campaigns out there that don't get enough attention. Campaigns such as black deaths in custody. Raising the age of incarceration for minors and the change the date campaigns have all failed in terms of being implemented or for change occurring. Given Australia is such an advanced society, it's wild that we have to fight for basic human rights.


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Keep heading down Argyle Place. As it turns into Argyle Street, you'll see a bus stop on the footpath in front of you. We'll meet up just past there. 

35 Bettington Street \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): On your right is the Hotel Palisade. Up ahead we'll continue past the park to your right. Keep on this side of the street for now. We'll head down Argyle Place toward our next stop. 


Bianca Hunt: As we walk down Argyle Place, we pass some of Sydney's oldest buildings. Hotel Palisade, constructed in the early 1900s, and the Lord Nelson Hotel, Sydney's oldest hotel, established in 1841. Think about how the history of this area since colonisation has shaped the city and its people today. The lasting impacts of colonisation are pervasive, but campaigns like Fund the Flag provide hope for our future. 


Cheree Toka: When the campaign started, there were a lot of people who didn't realise the flag wasn't on the bridge and believed it should have equal status to the Australian flag.  


Bianca Hunt: In response to this, businesses, schools, councils, and organisations all around Sydney started flying the Aboriginal flag in solidarity with the campaign and Indigenous rights. 


Cheree Toka: Which I thought was just so respectful and they planted the seed of, "Yeah, that makes sense. That's respectful. The Aboriginal flag is a Commonwealth flag. We should have it flying at equal status." 


Bianca Hunt: But respect and advocacy are just the beginning of the ongoing fight for Indigenous rights in Australia. 


Cheree Toka: Advocacy is a slow burning process and there are many campaigns out there that don't get enough attention. Campaigns such as black deaths in custody. Raising the age of incarceration for minors and the change the date campaigns have all failed in terms of being implemented or for change occurring. Given Australia is such an advanced society, it's wild that we have to fight for basic human rights.


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Keep heading down Argyle Place. As it turns into Argyle Street, you'll see a bus stop on the footpath in front of you. We'll meet up just past there. 

9Palisade3.jpeg

Hotel Palisade

9. Hotel Palisade.mp3

Bianca Hunt: Above us and to the right is Observatory Hill. Home to the Sydney observatory built in 1858.  It served as an astronomical and meteorological observatory, playing a crucial role in Australia's scientific history. Today, educational programs, tours, and events are run here, focused on astronomy, science, and history.

Bianca Hunt (Directions): If you'd like a side quest, you can walk up the hill here or take the stairs for an amazing view of the Harbor for a longer walk on your own. You can access the footbridge entrance and walk across the Harbor Bridge for free. Otherwise, when you see the church across the street. Take the crosswalk leading to it, and keep moving down Argyle Place for a good view of our next stop, Argyle Cut.  

17 Argyle Street \|||// Bianca Hunt: Above us and to the right is Observatory Hill. Home to the Sydney observatory built in 1858.  It served as an astronomical and meteorological observatory, playing a crucial role in Australia's scientific history. Today, educational programs, tours, and events are run here, focused on astronomy, science, and history.

Bianca Hunt (Directions): If you'd like a side quest, you can walk up the hill here or take the stairs for an amazing view of the Harbor for a longer walk on your own. You can access the footbridge entrance and walk across the Harbor Bridge for free. Otherwise, when you see the church across the street. Take the crosswalk leading to it, and keep moving down Argyle Place for a good view of our next stop, Argyle Cut.  

10ObservatoryHill2.jpeg

Observatory Hill

10. Observatory Hill.mp3

Bianca Hunt: We are headed towards Tallawoladah through the Argyle Cut.  This sandstone tunnel began its construction with convicts using only basic tools like picks and shovels. The whole project spanned a gruelling 25-year construction period between 1843 and 1867. As time went on, the need for this corridor was too great and eventually was completed by switching to paid labour and dynamite.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Keep moving down the street as we move under the Argyle. Cut. 


Bianca Hunt: Above us is the roadway leading to the iconic Harbour Bridge. Cheree describes the immense obstacles and bureaucratic red-tape she overcame in her five year fight to free the flag, with staunch commitment, passion, and determination. 


Cheree Toka: I overcame obstacles through research and knowledge of government structures. I taught myself about flag protocol and gained an understanding of the decision makers and that process. I was dealing with bureaucrats built to oppose these kinds of ordeals. Yeah, it shouldn't have went on for five years.  


Bianca Hunt: Cheree explains the bureaucratic opposition she faced, and that the support of the nation was crucial.  


Cheree Toka: I knew their arguments against wouldn't be substantial or valid and my strategy was designed from the foundation of allowing the government to actively demonstrate how prejudiced they were against Aboriginal people. 


Bianca Hunt: The excuses she faced from government were numerous. 


Cheree Toka: First, it was an issue of, “having a third flagpole would compromise the structural integrity of the bridge.” Great. We'll get an independent engineer’s report and ruled that out. They were concerned about flag protocol. I reached out and asked whether or not flag protocol was a matter of the law and it actually wasn't. 
Bianca Hunt: One of the most outrageous excuses her campaign faced was the claim that the cost to install and permanently fly the Aboriginal flag on the Harbour Bridge would be a massive 25 million dollars. 


Cheree Toka: And the Premier had no excuse as to why it was going to cost that much. I didn't really need to do anything there, because the whole nation was up in arms saying how ridiculous it was.  


Bianca Hunt: Eventually the campaign was successful, with the Aboriginal flag permanently replacing the New South Wales state flag with no new infrastructure required. 


Cheree Toka: I think my campaign is a true reflection of anyone fighting for injustice. It has not changed the status quo of indecision and red-tape, but I hope it has given people the strength and resilience to fight for something they are truly passionate about. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): After you've passed through the cut, keep heading down Argyle Street. You'll see a pedestrian area and our next stop is just beyond that. 


Bianca Hunt: The rocks from the Argyle Cut were used as an infill for the creation of Circular Quay, and they can be seen across the foreshore. Look out for them when we get closer. Notice some of the similarities between Argyle Cut and the Cutaway at Barangaroo, and consider how history can tell the same stories. or provide a pathway to healing through change. 


Cheree Toka: I think as a nation, we've come quite far over the last six years, in terms of recognition, which is fantastic, and I won't discredit that it's important, but in terms of matters affecting the livelihood of Aboriginal people needs a little bit more improvement. And, I believe that may or may not come and we need to be prepared for that as Aboriginal people. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): At the end of the pedestrian section of Argyle street, we reach George street. We’ll be headed across George street and making a right onto it. 

1 Bradfield Highway \|||// Bianca Hunt: We are headed towards Tallawoladah through the Argyle Cut.  This sandstone tunnel began its construction with convicts using only basic tools like picks and shovels. The whole project spanned a gruelling 25-year construction period between 1843 and 1867. As time went on, the need for this corridor was too great and eventually was completed by switching to paid labour and dynamite.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Keep moving down the street as we move under the Argyle. Cut. 


Bianca Hunt: Above us is the roadway leading to the iconic Harbour Bridge. Cheree describes the immense obstacles and bureaucratic red-tape she overcame in her five year fight to free the flag, with staunch commitment, passion, and determination. 


Cheree Toka: I overcame obstacles through research and knowledge of government structures. I taught myself about flag protocol and gained an understanding of the decision makers and that process. I was dealing with bureaucrats built to oppose these kinds of ordeals. Yeah, it shouldn't have went on for five years.  


Bianca Hunt: Cheree explains the bureaucratic opposition she faced, and that the support of the nation was crucial.  


Cheree Toka: I knew their arguments against wouldn't be substantial or valid and my strategy was designed from the foundation of allowing the government to actively demonstrate how prejudiced they were against Aboriginal people. 


Bianca Hunt: The excuses she faced from government were numerous. 


Cheree Toka: First, it was an issue of, “having a third flagpole would compromise the structural integrity of the bridge.” Great. We'll get an independent engineer’s report and ruled that out. They were concerned about flag protocol. I reached out and asked whether or not flag protocol was a matter of the law and it actually wasn't. 
Bianca Hunt: One of the most outrageous excuses her campaign faced was the claim that the cost to install and permanently fly the Aboriginal flag on the Harbour Bridge would be a massive 25 million dollars. 


Cheree Toka: And the Premier had no excuse as to why it was going to cost that much. I didn't really need to do anything there, because the whole nation was up in arms saying how ridiculous it was.  


Bianca Hunt: Eventually the campaign was successful, with the Aboriginal flag permanently replacing the New South Wales state flag with no new infrastructure required. 


Cheree Toka: I think my campaign is a true reflection of anyone fighting for injustice. It has not changed the status quo of indecision and red-tape, but I hope it has given people the strength and resilience to fight for something they are truly passionate about. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): After you've passed through the cut, keep heading down Argyle Street. You'll see a pedestrian area and our next stop is just beyond that. 


Bianca Hunt: The rocks from the Argyle Cut were used as an infill for the creation of Circular Quay, and they can be seen across the foreshore. Look out for them when we get closer. Notice some of the similarities between Argyle Cut and the Cutaway at Barangaroo, and consider how history can tell the same stories. or provide a pathway to healing through change. 


Cheree Toka: I think as a nation, we've come quite far over the last six years, in terms of recognition, which is fantastic, and I won't discredit that it's important, but in terms of matters affecting the livelihood of Aboriginal people needs a little bit more improvement. And, I believe that may or may not come and we need to be prepared for that as Aboriginal people. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): At the end of the pedestrian section of Argyle street, we reach George street. We’ll be headed across George street and making a right onto it. 

11ArgyleCut.jpeg

Argyle Cut

11. Argyle Cut.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): We're headed to the Museum of Contemporary Art on the left. Walk through the main entrance sliding glass doors towards the visitor desk and into the lobby. 


Bianca Hunt: The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia was established in 1991, housed in a former maritime warehouse, the museum features a diverse collection of contemporary art. Their collection of over 4,500 artworks is the only public collection in Australia dedicated to the work of living artists. With over a third represented by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): We're going to walk inside the MCA, and if you'd like, you can pause the tour now and take some time to explore the galleries. When you're finished, I'll meet you at the top of the large staircase in the museum lobby with the mural on the left wall. 



Bianca Hunt (Directions): If you're done exploring the MCA, we'll head outside to the water in a moment, but first, turn your attention to the mural that covers the wall along the stairs at the Circular Quay-side entrance to the building. 


Bianca Hunt: This space has been designed to commission a rotating selection of Australian and First Nations artists. From 2021 to early 2024, it featured APY Lands and Western Arrernte man Vincent Namatjira's P.P.F., Past-Present-Future. Namatjira's commission was a work for Indigenous people. He says, “I'm trying to bring my neck of the woods to the city, to the big smoke, for everyone to see. I painted this for the Indigenous people of Australia. I'm proud to be Aboriginal.” The piece showcased five Aboriginal men that were important to Namatjira and Australia's history.  Today, you may see a new piece of work here from another amazing Australian or First Nations artist. To see and learn more about Namatjira's piece, look for the Circular Quay Foyer Wall Commission section on the MCA's website.  Let's head outside on the Circular Quay side of the museum toward the large silver sculpture, a Lindy Lee artwork. I'll meet you there.

5040 George Street \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): We're headed to the Museum of Contemporary Art on the left. Walk through the main entrance sliding glass doors towards the visitor desk and into the lobby. 


Bianca Hunt: The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia was established in 1991, housed in a former maritime warehouse, the museum features a diverse collection of contemporary art. Their collection of over 4,500 artworks is the only public collection in Australia dedicated to the work of living artists. With over a third represented by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): We're going to walk inside the MCA, and if you'd like, you can pause the tour now and take some time to explore the galleries. When you're finished, I'll meet you at the top of the large staircase in the museum lobby with the mural on the left wall. 



Bianca Hunt (Directions): If you're done exploring the MCA, we'll head outside to the water in a moment, but first, turn your attention to the mural that covers the wall along the stairs at the Circular Quay-side entrance to the building. 


Bianca Hunt: This space has been designed to commission a rotating selection of Australian and First Nations artists. From 2021 to early 2024, it featured APY Lands and Western Arrernte man Vincent Namatjira's P.P.F., Past-Present-Future. Namatjira's commission was a work for Indigenous people. He says, “I'm trying to bring my neck of the woods to the city, to the big smoke, for everyone to see. I painted this for the Indigenous people of Australia. I'm proud to be Aboriginal.” The piece showcased five Aboriginal men that were important to Namatjira and Australia's history.  Today, you may see a new piece of work here from another amazing Australian or First Nations artist. To see and learn more about Namatjira's piece, look for the Circular Quay Foyer Wall Commission section on the MCA's website.  Let's head outside on the Circular Quay side of the museum toward the large silver sculpture, a Lindy Lee artwork. I'll meet you there.

12MCA1.jpeg

Museum of Contemporary Art Australia

12. Museum of Contemporary Art.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): Standing at the silver sculpture, take a moment to gaze back at the original MCA building before heading through the bustling Circular Quay. With the MCA behind you, you'll see the ferry wharves and train station overpass to the right. Stay along the water and head toward those wharves and the overpass.  


Bianca Hunt: As we step out into the bustling exchange now known as Circular Quay, with the views of the iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House, take a moment to reflect on the many histories of this place. This region holds a traumatic past, and by learning about the history of this land that we live, work and walk on, we begin a journey toward healing through reconciling with the past.  


Alison Page: The next big chapter for Australia is going to be shocking and painful, because we have to go through a process of truth telling. And it all starts at Circular Quay and I think that there will be healing that comes from that, actually. I think we're a country with generational trauma. Black, white, and for people who come here and occupy this land, they're coming to a land that is in trauma. And so I think as artists and storytellers and design practitioners and decision makers, I think the next 10, 20 years should be a deep dive into the true history of this country. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Keep heading closer to the overpass. I'll be waiting with more instructions to walk us through the bustling Circular Quay.  

 \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): Standing at the silver sculpture, take a moment to gaze back at the original MCA building before heading through the bustling Circular Quay. With the MCA behind you, you'll see the ferry wharves and train station overpass to the right. Stay along the water and head toward those wharves and the overpass.  


Bianca Hunt: As we step out into the bustling exchange now known as Circular Quay, with the views of the iconic Harbour Bridge and Opera House, take a moment to reflect on the many histories of this place. This region holds a traumatic past, and by learning about the history of this land that we live, work and walk on, we begin a journey toward healing through reconciling with the past.  


Alison Page: The next big chapter for Australia is going to be shocking and painful, because we have to go through a process of truth telling. And it all starts at Circular Quay and I think that there will be healing that comes from that, actually. I think we're a country with generational trauma. Black, white, and for people who come here and occupy this land, they're coming to a land that is in trauma. And so I think as artists and storytellers and design practitioners and decision makers, I think the next 10, 20 years should be a deep dive into the true history of this country. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Keep heading closer to the overpass. I'll be waiting with more instructions to walk us through the bustling Circular Quay.  

13CircularQuay1.jpeg

Circular Quay

13. Circular Quay.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): From here, you should see Wharf 6. If you continue past, you'll get to Wharf 4. There, make a right to walk under the train overpass. 

Alfred Street \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): From here, you should see Wharf 6. If you continue past, you'll get to Wharf 4. There, make a right to walk under the train overpass. 

14ThroughtheWharves.jpeg

Through the Wharves

14. Through the Wharves.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we pass under the overpass, walk across the plaza to the left of the big sandstone building with the clock, and continue straight up Young Street. We're headed toward Bridge Street. 

 \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we pass under the overpass, walk across the plaza to the left of the big sandstone building with the clock, and continue straight up Young Street. We're headed toward Bridge Street. 

15ContinueupYoung.jpeg

Continue up Young Street

15. Continue up Young Street.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): Up ahead, we'll cross over Bridge Street and head left, continuing up the hill and pausing at the Museum of Sydney. Which you should be able to see when you reach the corner. 

44 Bridge Street \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): Up ahead, we'll cross over Bridge Street and head left, continuing up the hill and pausing at the Museum of Sydney. Which you should be able to see when you reach the corner. 

16LeftonBridge.jpeg

Left on Bridge Street

16. Left on Bridge Street.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): On your right is the Museum of Sydney. In the forecourt, you'll see a sculpture that resembles a forest made up of 29 vertical pillars constructed from wood, steel, and sandstone. 


Bianca Hunt: This artwork is called Edge of the Trees, a collaborative artwork by artist and descendant of the Badtjala people, Fiona Foley, and artist Janet Laurence. The artwork invites viewers to reflect on the layered history of this site, symbolising interactions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, and the memories and stories embedded in this land.  I encourage you to spend some time with this work, which incorporates written and sound elements, and reflect on the layered history of Warrane as a significant site of first contact. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): As you leave this artwork, continue up the hill, staying on Bridge Street, you'll cross over Phillip Street, and I'll meet you on the other side of Macquarie Street at the entrance to the Royal Botanic Garden. 

Phillip Street \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): On your right is the Museum of Sydney. In the forecourt, you'll see a sculpture that resembles a forest made up of 29 vertical pillars constructed from wood, steel, and sandstone. 


Bianca Hunt: This artwork is called Edge of the Trees, a collaborative artwork by artist and descendant of the Badtjala people, Fiona Foley, and artist Janet Laurence. The artwork invites viewers to reflect on the layered history of this site, symbolising interactions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, and the memories and stories embedded in this land.  I encourage you to spend some time with this work, which incorporates written and sound elements, and reflect on the layered history of Warrane as a significant site of first contact. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): As you leave this artwork, continue up the hill, staying on Bridge Street, you'll cross over Phillip Street, and I'll meet you on the other side of Macquarie Street at the entrance to the Royal Botanic Garden. 

17MoSEoT.jpg

Edge of Trees, Museum of Sydney

17. Edge of the Trees, Museum of Sydney.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): We'll enter the gardens via the Conservatorium Gate by the big tree and continue straight down the path in front of you. 


Bianca Hunt: These gardens house a diverse collection of plants from Australia and around the world, serving as a living repository for biodiversity conservation and supporting scientific research in plant sciences, horticulture, ecology, and biodiversity, aiding the study and preservation of plant life. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): We're headed to the Cadi Jam Ora Garden. So continue on this path , and we'll meet up further ahead. 


Bianca Hunt: Remember Jake? He is one of many First Nations cultural educators who lead native plant and bush food tours throughout the Botanic Gardens. He tells us about some of these amazing plants, of Australia breaking away from the mega continents, and the enduring expertise of first nations people. 


Jake Ferguson: Australia is one of the oldest evolving ecosystems on the planet. We broke off first from Gondwana land, and we've learnt, managed, and looked after the environment for thousands and thousands of years  


Bianca Hunt: For millennia, these plants have been cultivated by First Nations people, and their properties harnessed beyond their use as food.  


Jake Ferguson: And being here for so long, we've obviously learnt every single plant has a purpose, a story behind it, and importance to our culture  


Bianca Hunt: Jake reminds us of Indigenous connection to Country, and a spiritual connection to the environment. 


Jake Ferguson: We are the land. The land is us. We are inseparable from it.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Continue straight on this path. You should be coming up to two white statues on either side of the path up ahead. We'll meet up over there. 

5010 Conservatorium Road \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): We'll enter the gardens via the Conservatorium Gate by the big tree and continue straight down the path in front of you. 


Bianca Hunt: These gardens house a diverse collection of plants from Australia and around the world, serving as a living repository for biodiversity conservation and supporting scientific research in plant sciences, horticulture, ecology, and biodiversity, aiding the study and preservation of plant life. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): We're headed to the Cadi Jam Ora Garden. So continue on this path , and we'll meet up further ahead. 


Bianca Hunt: Remember Jake? He is one of many First Nations cultural educators who lead native plant and bush food tours throughout the Botanic Gardens. He tells us about some of these amazing plants, of Australia breaking away from the mega continents, and the enduring expertise of first nations people. 


Jake Ferguson: Australia is one of the oldest evolving ecosystems on the planet. We broke off first from Gondwana land, and we've learnt, managed, and looked after the environment for thousands and thousands of years  


Bianca Hunt: For millennia, these plants have been cultivated by First Nations people, and their properties harnessed beyond their use as food.  


Jake Ferguson: And being here for so long, we've obviously learnt every single plant has a purpose, a story behind it, and importance to our culture  


Bianca Hunt: Jake reminds us of Indigenous connection to Country, and a spiritual connection to the environment. 


Jake Ferguson: We are the land. The land is us. We are inseparable from it.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Continue straight on this path. You should be coming up to two white statues on either side of the path up ahead. We'll meet up over there. 

18RBGConservGate.jpeg

Royal Botanic Garden

18. Royal Botanic Garden.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): We'll continue down this path, walking down the stairs with the two statues as we learn more about connection to Country. 


Jake Ferguson: We believe our ancestors, the spirits from the Dreamtime, have all created and shaped the environment. The Dreamtime stories give you an insight into the environment. How animals and plants came to be, and how my ancestors and spirits shaped the environment for me.


Bianca Hunt: The Dreaming is the Aboriginal philosophy of the interrelation of all people and things.  


Alison Page: In the dreaming, the ancestral beings created all of the landforms. And they left behind them these energies in different locations. And they were part plant, part human, and part animal, and at some point in time, they all split.  The energies of the plants and animals stayed in the human. and the energies of the human state in some of the animals and the plants. And that's how our spirituality works. It's based on this holistic order that human beings have with nature. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we contemplate our relationship to nature, look out for the footbridge just up ahead beyond the Palm Grove. Cadi Jam Ora is just on the other side.  


Bianca Hunt: Cadi Jam Ora means “Welcome to Gadigal Country.” This is a dedicated area of the garden showcasing the unique Native, Indigenous and endemic plants of this region. 

 \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): We'll continue down this path, walking down the stairs with the two statues as we learn more about connection to Country. 


Jake Ferguson: We believe our ancestors, the spirits from the Dreamtime, have all created and shaped the environment. The Dreamtime stories give you an insight into the environment. How animals and plants came to be, and how my ancestors and spirits shaped the environment for me.


Bianca Hunt: The Dreaming is the Aboriginal philosophy of the interrelation of all people and things.  


Alison Page: In the dreaming, the ancestral beings created all of the landforms. And they left behind them these energies in different locations. And they were part plant, part human, and part animal, and at some point in time, they all split.  The energies of the plants and animals stayed in the human. and the energies of the human state in some of the animals and the plants. And that's how our spirituality works. It's based on this holistic order that human beings have with nature. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we contemplate our relationship to nature, look out for the footbridge just up ahead beyond the Palm Grove. Cadi Jam Ora is just on the other side.  


Bianca Hunt: Cadi Jam Ora means “Welcome to Gadigal Country.” This is a dedicated area of the garden showcasing the unique Native, Indigenous and endemic plants of this region. 

19DowntheStairs.jpg

Head down the stairs

19. Head down the stairs.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we cross the footbridge, look for a sandstone block on your right with a plaque that says, “The First Peoples.” We'll enter Cadi Jam Ora here.  


Bianca Hunt: Just behind it. Keep an eye out for Acacia Longifolia, Sydney Coastal, or Golden Wattle, as Jake shares the significance of this plant as a calendar and resource for sustainability. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): While you listen, turn right onto the path next to the stone and do a loop of this native garden, taking in the smells and sounds. 


Jake Ferguson: Our Sydney Coastal Wattle, Acacia Longifolia, that's one of the most brilliant plants. The Acacia wood itself is strong, resilient. The beautiful flowers that spring up during the spring months–bright yellow. 


Bianca Hunt: Jake explains that this plant is used by his people as a seasonal marker for fishing and hunting. 


Jake Ferguson: With the wattles blooming, they indicate that whales, my people call them buriburi in Dharawal, they are moving up the east coastline and they push fish closer to the shore.  With the wattles falling off, we have the end of kangaroo breeding season.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): We're coming up to a break in the pathway. Turn right to follow the timeline signage that weaves through Cadi Jam Ora. Follow it along as you explore the garden or take it in from a bench. 


Bianca Hunt: Jake continues telling us that the Sydney Wattle is not only a calendar, but a teacher, providing solutions for hunting and opportunities for learning in harmony with the cycles of the plants and animals that the calendar depicts. 


Jake Ferguson: The cool thing about the wattle though, is the plant actually provides a way in which you hunt kangaroos as well. If you get a bit of water, and rub it around, and it'll make a green soap. It's got a very strong smell of nature. So when you rub the soap on yourself, it's really good for you, moisturising, antiseptic, antibacterial, you put it under your armpits or throughout your hair, and you'll smell like nature and kangaroos won't be able to smell you when you go and hunt for them. 


Bianca Hunt: The wattle is crucial to ensuring a harmonic relationship with nature. 


Jake Ferguson: So, you can see why the rules of my culture ensures sustainability in this process. 


Bianca Hunt: Notice the plants in this garden. Have you seen any of these before?  As you get to know some of their names and learn about their uses, consider their cultural significance from the dreaming to today and consider why their protection is so important.  We are reminded of the diversity of flora and fauna in this region and the harmonious relationship between the custodians of this land and the environment. 

Bianca Hunt (Directions): As you exit the native garden, the footbridge will be to your left.  To your right, we'll keep following the same path, passing the plaque again, and heading toward the historic Wollemi Pine Tree, in the centre of the path. 

Mrs Macquaries Road \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we cross the footbridge, look for a sandstone block on your right with a plaque that says, “The First Peoples.” We'll enter Cadi Jam Ora here.  


Bianca Hunt: Just behind it. Keep an eye out for Acacia Longifolia, Sydney Coastal, or Golden Wattle, as Jake shares the significance of this plant as a calendar and resource for sustainability. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): While you listen, turn right onto the path next to the stone and do a loop of this native garden, taking in the smells and sounds. 


Jake Ferguson: Our Sydney Coastal Wattle, Acacia Longifolia, that's one of the most brilliant plants. The Acacia wood itself is strong, resilient. The beautiful flowers that spring up during the spring months–bright yellow. 


Bianca Hunt: Jake explains that this plant is used by his people as a seasonal marker for fishing and hunting. 


Jake Ferguson: With the wattles blooming, they indicate that whales, my people call them buriburi in Dharawal, they are moving up the east coastline and they push fish closer to the shore.  With the wattles falling off, we have the end of kangaroo breeding season.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): We're coming up to a break in the pathway. Turn right to follow the timeline signage that weaves through Cadi Jam Ora. Follow it along as you explore the garden or take it in from a bench. 


Bianca Hunt: Jake continues telling us that the Sydney Wattle is not only a calendar, but a teacher, providing solutions for hunting and opportunities for learning in harmony with the cycles of the plants and animals that the calendar depicts. 


Jake Ferguson: The cool thing about the wattle though, is the plant actually provides a way in which you hunt kangaroos as well. If you get a bit of water, and rub it around, and it'll make a green soap. It's got a very strong smell of nature. So when you rub the soap on yourself, it's really good for you, moisturising, antiseptic, antibacterial, you put it under your armpits or throughout your hair, and you'll smell like nature and kangaroos won't be able to smell you when you go and hunt for them. 


Bianca Hunt: The wattle is crucial to ensuring a harmonic relationship with nature. 


Jake Ferguson: So, you can see why the rules of my culture ensures sustainability in this process. 


Bianca Hunt: Notice the plants in this garden. Have you seen any of these before?  As you get to know some of their names and learn about their uses, consider their cultural significance from the dreaming to today and consider why their protection is so important.  We are reminded of the diversity of flora and fauna in this region and the harmonious relationship between the custodians of this land and the environment. 

Bianca Hunt (Directions): As you exit the native garden, the footbridge will be to your left.  To your right, we'll keep following the same path, passing the plaque again, and heading toward the historic Wollemi Pine Tree, in the centre of the path. 

20CadiJamOra1.jpeg

Cadi Jam Ora

20. Cadi Jam Ora.mp3

20CadiJamOra2.jpeg

Bianca Hunt: This plant is a living fossil discovered in a remote part of Wollemi National Park. The exact location is only known by a handful of ecologists in order to protect this critically endangered species. 


Jake Ferguson: The Wollemi Pine is one of the oldest trees on planet earth. Estimated to be between 150 million to 250 million years old.  


Bianca Hunt: This ancient plant dates back to the time of the dinosaurs and its persistence is a symbol of the importance of conservation and First Nations land management. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we marvel at this rare plant, turn left down the path toward the sandstone gate. 


Bianca Hunt: Jake explains the relationship between Indigenous uses of medicinal plants and the scientific research being conducted into First Nations medicine. 


Jake Ferguson: Scientific research into our medicine has made a breakthrough in the cure for AIDS. 


Bianca Hunt: Plants like the black beam. Its tiny poison extracts have been used by Indigenous peoples as a cure for a myriad of illnesses. 


Jake Ferguson: You're seeing a plant which has been around for thousands of years, used as a medicine by my people, and then further researched, potentially curing a very modern day illness.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): We're headed toward the water. Stay straight on this path, taking in all the surroundings until we reach the sandstone wall around the water's edge. 


Bianca Hunt: Amplification of Indigenous expertise through knowledge transfer from cultural educators like Jake and artists like Alison brings us into a closer relationship with the land, with nature, and with First Nations expertise and living culture. 


Alison Page: The world needs to hear the voices of Indigenous peoples across the planet as a way of redefining our relationship to nature as human beings. That is the gift that Indigenous peoples have to give all humans on the planet, this coherent relationship with nature. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we journey further into the gardens, reflect on the importance of native plant regeneration and tangible ways that you can continue or begin your journey towards sustainability and caring for Country. 

Mrs Macquaries Road \|||// Bianca Hunt: This plant is a living fossil discovered in a remote part of Wollemi National Park. The exact location is only known by a handful of ecologists in order to protect this critically endangered species. 


Jake Ferguson: The Wollemi Pine is one of the oldest trees on planet earth. Estimated to be between 150 million to 250 million years old.  


Bianca Hunt: This ancient plant dates back to the time of the dinosaurs and its persistence is a symbol of the importance of conservation and First Nations land management. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we marvel at this rare plant, turn left down the path toward the sandstone gate. 


Bianca Hunt: Jake explains the relationship between Indigenous uses of medicinal plants and the scientific research being conducted into First Nations medicine. 


Jake Ferguson: Scientific research into our medicine has made a breakthrough in the cure for AIDS. 


Bianca Hunt: Plants like the black beam. Its tiny poison extracts have been used by Indigenous peoples as a cure for a myriad of illnesses. 


Jake Ferguson: You're seeing a plant which has been around for thousands of years, used as a medicine by my people, and then further researched, potentially curing a very modern day illness.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): We're headed toward the water. Stay straight on this path, taking in all the surroundings until we reach the sandstone wall around the water's edge. 


Bianca Hunt: Amplification of Indigenous expertise through knowledge transfer from cultural educators like Jake and artists like Alison brings us into a closer relationship with the land, with nature, and with First Nations expertise and living culture. 


Alison Page: The world needs to hear the voices of Indigenous peoples across the planet as a way of redefining our relationship to nature as human beings. That is the gift that Indigenous peoples have to give all humans on the planet, this coherent relationship with nature. 


Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we journey further into the gardens, reflect on the importance of native plant regeneration and tangible ways that you can continue or begin your journey towards sustainability and caring for Country. 

21WollemiPine.jpeg

Wollemi Pine

21. Wollemi Pine.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we once again approach the harbour from a different vantage point, make a left and follow the sandstone wall along the water's edge toward the Opera House. You'll notice a mural at your feet and engravings along the pathway. 


Bianca Hunt: This artwork was created by Brenda L. Croft, a member of the Gunindji Nation, and celebrates the historical and contemporary presence of Indigenous people in this region. This installation called Wahganmuggalee, Farm Cove, honours the original Yura clans of the site and indigenous people who held ceremonies here.  It incorporates engravings, stained concrete, and terrazzo and is integrated into the harbourside pathway at Farm Cove. The names etched in red along the pathway curb are of women and men, places, animals, tools, and rituals from the many clans and language groups of Indigenous people in the Gadigal area.  This work celebrates the survival of Indigenous culture and commemorates significant historical protests.  As we immerse ourselves in the stories of this region, we are reminded of Cheree, and the work that still remains to bring Australia to reconciliation. She tells us about the essential activism priorities that would bring Australia steps closer.  


Cheree Toka: My top priorities are, black deaths in custody, raising the age of incarceration for youth and change the date.  


Bianca Hunt: On January 26th, 1788, so called Australia Day, Arthur Phillip invaded these lands and declared Australia a colony of Britain, without a treaty with First Nations people. Australia remains the only Commonwealth country without a treaty with its First Nations people. Many Australians and First Nations people are campaigning to change the date or abolish the date entirely.  Changing or abolishing the date would recognise that the history of January 26 is painful for First Nations people.  As it marks the date of invasion, significant loss of life, and claiming ownership over the land. Since heading up the campaign to keep the Indigenous flag on the bridge, Cheree has been focusing on long standing campaigns in need of renewed energy and visibility.  


Cheree Toka: Those campaigns have been going for such a long time and they are not progressing the way that they deserve to be progressing. So These campaigns need to be at the forefront of government's priorities and need to be addressed as a matter of priority.

Bianca Hunt: As hard as people like Cheree are fighting, there is still much more to be done on the journey to reconciliation.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Stay on this path around the water and we'll meet up near the small grove of short palms up ahead. 

 \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we once again approach the harbour from a different vantage point, make a left and follow the sandstone wall along the water's edge toward the Opera House. You'll notice a mural at your feet and engravings along the pathway. 


Bianca Hunt: This artwork was created by Brenda L. Croft, a member of the Gunindji Nation, and celebrates the historical and contemporary presence of Indigenous people in this region. This installation called Wahganmuggalee, Farm Cove, honours the original Yura clans of the site and indigenous people who held ceremonies here.  It incorporates engravings, stained concrete, and terrazzo and is integrated into the harbourside pathway at Farm Cove. The names etched in red along the pathway curb are of women and men, places, animals, tools, and rituals from the many clans and language groups of Indigenous people in the Gadigal area.  This work celebrates the survival of Indigenous culture and commemorates significant historical protests.  As we immerse ourselves in the stories of this region, we are reminded of Cheree, and the work that still remains to bring Australia to reconciliation. She tells us about the essential activism priorities that would bring Australia steps closer.  


Cheree Toka: My top priorities are, black deaths in custody, raising the age of incarceration for youth and change the date.  


Bianca Hunt: On January 26th, 1788, so called Australia Day, Arthur Phillip invaded these lands and declared Australia a colony of Britain, without a treaty with First Nations people. Australia remains the only Commonwealth country without a treaty with its First Nations people. Many Australians and First Nations people are campaigning to change the date or abolish the date entirely.  Changing or abolishing the date would recognise that the history of January 26 is painful for First Nations people.  As it marks the date of invasion, significant loss of life, and claiming ownership over the land. Since heading up the campaign to keep the Indigenous flag on the bridge, Cheree has been focusing on long standing campaigns in need of renewed energy and visibility.  


Cheree Toka: Those campaigns have been going for such a long time and they are not progressing the way that they deserve to be progressing. So These campaigns need to be at the forefront of government's priorities and need to be addressed as a matter of priority.

Bianca Hunt: As hard as people like Cheree are fighting, there is still much more to be done on the journey to reconciliation.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): Stay on this path around the water and we'll meet up near the small grove of short palms up ahead. 

22Wahganmuggalee.jpg

Wahganmuggalee, Farm Cove

22. Wahganmuggalee, Farm Cove.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): Coming up is a triangle of short palm trees. Turn left at the palms and take a right to head up the hill toward our final stop at Tubowgule, Bennelong Lawn. 


Bianca Hunt: We are headed to Bennelong Lawn looking out at Bennelong Point. Known to its traditional custodians, as Tubowgule. This point juts out into the harbour flanked by Warrane to the west and Wahganmuggalee, Farm Cove in the Botanic Gardens to the East, where Aboriginal people have gathered, lived and told stories on Country for generations. Tubowgule is the unceded land on which the iconic Sydney Opera House stands.  


Alison Page: Being an Aboriginal woman from Sydney, my grandmother's ancestors were camping at the site where the Opera House is now.  They were camping there in the very early days of the colony.  So they witnessed the destruction of culture and the colonisation of Australia. 


Bianca Hunt: The relationship between the current name of this area, Bennelong Point, and its traditional name of Tubowgule, highlights the traumatic history of this area and the need for deep consultation with traditional owners to reconcile its complex past.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): As you pass the big fig tree on your right, continue up the stairs toward Bennelong Lawn. 

 \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): Coming up is a triangle of short palm trees. Turn left at the palms and take a right to head up the hill toward our final stop at Tubowgule, Bennelong Lawn. 


Bianca Hunt: We are headed to Bennelong Lawn looking out at Bennelong Point. Known to its traditional custodians, as Tubowgule. This point juts out into the harbour flanked by Warrane to the west and Wahganmuggalee, Farm Cove in the Botanic Gardens to the East, where Aboriginal people have gathered, lived and told stories on Country for generations. Tubowgule is the unceded land on which the iconic Sydney Opera House stands.  


Alison Page: Being an Aboriginal woman from Sydney, my grandmother's ancestors were camping at the site where the Opera House is now.  They were camping there in the very early days of the colony.  So they witnessed the destruction of culture and the colonisation of Australia. 


Bianca Hunt: The relationship between the current name of this area, Bennelong Point, and its traditional name of Tubowgule, highlights the traumatic history of this area and the need for deep consultation with traditional owners to reconcile its complex past.  


Bianca Hunt (Directions): As you pass the big fig tree on your right, continue up the stairs toward Bennelong Lawn. 

23UptheHill.jpg

Head up the hill to the left

23. Head up the hill on the left.mp3

Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we head toward Bennelong Lawn, our final stop on this journey together, continue up the hill for a breathtaking view of Warrane. We'll meet looking out over the harbour on Bennelong Lawn. 


Bianca Hunt: As we arrive at our final stop, take in the panoramic views of Warrane and the Sydney Opera House, providing a fitting end to our exploration of Gadigal's rich cultural and historical tapestry. Fifty years on from its opening, the Opera House continues to honour the legacy of the site and celebrate the richness of the world's oldest living culture with a year-round First Nations program.  Not to be missed is the nightly lighting of the sails – Badu Gili, a free daily experience exploring First Nations stories in a spectacular projection on the eastern Bennelong sails. Badu Gili means ‘water light’ in Gadigal language, the traditional owners of Bennelong Point. Alison reflects on the responsibility and importance of centering First Nations voices and storytelling both about and on these lands. 


Alison Page: I've decided to focus on telling stories of Sydney. It is my community, and to tell these stories effectively, you really need to have deep relationships with traditional owners. They're big decisions to make about how to curate our cultural landscape moving forward so that it honours the dreaming.  And so I need to stay in one place, and tell these stories in the most authentic way possible. From the Botanic Gardens through to Barangaroo and beyond around Sydney Harbour, one of the interesting things about that stretch of land, is not only stories of Country, but stories about the birth of modern Australia.  These layers of colonial history and that particular stretch of land tells that very layered story of Australia that has chapters that are light and has chapters that are dark. 
And that story should be a pilgrimage for all Australians to go on, because I don't think we understand who we are as a country. And until you engage in the stories of this land, you'll never truly belong here.  


  


Bianca Hunt: Take a moment to reflect on the journey from Barangaroo to Bennelong and the significance of the people these places are named after, the history of this region and the enduring First Nations culture that can be witnessed all around us. 


From all of us here, including Gesso, the producer of the tour, and Mastercard, who made it all possible, we pay our respects to the traditional custodians of these unceded lands on which this tour takes place, and where we live, work, and play. 


Always was, always will be Aboriginal land. 


Thank you for joining us today on this Priceless Walk. For more inspiring and one of a kind experiences like this one, visit Priceless. com. 


I'm Bianca Hunt.  Let's go for another walk together soon. 

 \|||// Bianca Hunt (Directions): As we head toward Bennelong Lawn, our final stop on this journey together, continue up the hill for a breathtaking view of Warrane. We'll meet looking out over the harbour on Bennelong Lawn. 


Bianca Hunt: As we arrive at our final stop, take in the panoramic views of Warrane and the Sydney Opera House, providing a fitting end to our exploration of Gadigal's rich cultural and historical tapestry. Fifty years on from its opening, the Opera House continues to honour the legacy of the site and celebrate the richness of the world's oldest living culture with a year-round First Nations program.  Not to be missed is the nightly lighting of the sails – Badu Gili, a free daily experience exploring First Nations stories in a spectacular projection on the eastern Bennelong sails. Badu Gili means ‘water light’ in Gadigal language, the traditional owners of Bennelong Point. Alison reflects on the responsibility and importance of centering First Nations voices and storytelling both about and on these lands. 


Alison Page: I've decided to focus on telling stories of Sydney. It is my community, and to tell these stories effectively, you really need to have deep relationships with traditional owners. They're big decisions to make about how to curate our cultural landscape moving forward so that it honours the dreaming.  And so I need to stay in one place, and tell these stories in the most authentic way possible. From the Botanic Gardens through to Barangaroo and beyond around Sydney Harbour, one of the interesting things about that stretch of land, is not only stories of Country, but stories about the birth of modern Australia.  These layers of colonial history and that particular stretch of land tells that very layered story of Australia that has chapters that are light and has chapters that are dark. 
And that story should be a pilgrimage for all Australians to go on, because I don't think we understand who we are as a country. And until you engage in the stories of this land, you'll never truly belong here.  


  


Bianca Hunt: Take a moment to reflect on the journey from Barangaroo to Bennelong and the significance of the people these places are named after, the history of this region and the enduring First Nations culture that can be witnessed all around us. 


From all of us here, including Gesso, the producer of the tour, and Mastercard, who made it all possible, we pay our respects to the traditional custodians of these unceded lands on which this tour takes place, and where we live, work, and play. 


Always was, always will be Aboriginal land. 


Thank you for joining us today on this Priceless Walk. For more inspiring and one of a kind experiences like this one, visit Priceless. com. 


I'm Bianca Hunt.  Let's go for another walk together soon. 

Hear an Audio Sample

SYDNEY

Priceless – Gadigal: Warrane (Sydney Cove)

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