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History through indigenous eyes

By Alison Cotes

20 January 2007 - More travellers want to know about the cultural heritage of the first people of Australia, but it's difficult to find traces of pre-contact history in the big cities.

Sydney was the place of first contact between the white settlers and the original owners, and it's a pity so little remains of life before the great harbour became a bustling metropolis.

However, there are now several tours and cultural experiences you can do in Sydney, and you can finish it off with a gourmet bush tucker dinner in the beachside suburb of Coogee.

Start in the beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens, proud Cadigal country, and meet Aboriginal education officer Clarence Slockee, who will show you the forest red gums, some of the few original trees still standing, tell you the history of the space from an indigenous point of view, and demonstrate bush tucker and tool-making.

One of the most impressive things along the way is a 50m story board called Cadi Jam Ora ("I am Cadi"), winding like a snake through the gardens, showing the history of the Sydney area from creation to the present through indigenous eyes.

Clarence knows everything about the area and its history, and his anecdotes will amaze you, such as the fact that First Fleet Captain Arthur Phillip had a front tooth missing, which meant in local tradition that he was an ancestor, and is why he and his men were received so hospitably.

You'll hear about Arabanoo, the first local man to be captured as a go-between, and the great warrior Pemulwuy, the first Aboriginal resistance leader.

But nowhere does Clarence make white visitors feel guilty, for his aim is simply to show the richness of indigenous culture before and after white settlement.

If you happen to be in Sydney for the Australia Day weekend, join the annual Woggan ma gule Morning Ceremony at Farm Cove in the Botanic Gardens. It begins at 8am by Main Pond, and is free.

To finish off the day, from Tuesday to Saturday there's a harbour boat trip with a difference, an Aboriginal cultural cruise on the Tribal Warrior, proudly flying the Aboriginal flag.

All the crew are indigenous and they take you through the sandstone cliffs and headlands of the harbour, revealing traditional fishing methods, Aboriginal settlements and rock carvings, and visiting small, sandy beaches and picturesque inlets.

There's also a visit to Clark Island, where a traditional welcome dance awaits you.

What next? If you have a car, drive west to Penrith and Darug country, to the Muru Mittigar Aboriginal Cultural and Educational Centre, where there's a chance to interact with members of the local Aboriginal community, especially guide Rab.

Just say what you want to see and he'll arrange it, including a chance to look at a map of pre-contact Aboriginal Australia, showing family groups and their tribal areas. You can learn who the traditional owners are in your neck of the woods, and no schoolchild should be allowed to grow up without it.

Rab showed us his fire-making magic, from tinder to flame in 30 seconds without matches; demonstrated how natural ochres were used for body paint; and joined us for wattleseed scones with bush plum.
Bush tucker in its original form is for the seriously committed only – raw witchetty grubs and smoke-blackened snake are not to everyone's taste.

The closest thing you'll find in Sydney is the wondrous Outback Degustation menu at Coogee's Deep Blue Bistro. Six courses will cost you $75, or $100 with matching wines.

We sampled, among other things, crocodile carpaccio with lemon myrtle oil and caper berries and Murray River yabbies with bush honey on lime risotto.

We stayed in the Sebel at Pier One, built over the water with views of Walsh Bay and the Harbour Bridge. It's within walking distance of Circular Quay and The Rocks, and makes a great base for exploring Sydney and its indigenous heritage.

Source:The Sunday Mail travel section

For more information on the Tribal Warrior website

For more information on the Muru Mittigar Aboriginal Cultural and Educational Centre

Further information: tourism issues page - includes news index and external links

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