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Heritage and history

^{Traditional Custodian, Rowena Welsh-Jarrett conducting a Smoking Ceremony for Council's Dawn Reflection in 2024}

Although the recorded number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents in the Waverley LGA is relatively low, the Aboriginal cultural heritage in the area is rich. For tens of thousands of years, Aboriginal people have lived in the coastal area that now forms the Eastern Suburbs and Waverley Council recognises the Bidiagal, Birrabirragal and Gadigal as the Traditonal Custodians of this place.

The density of Aboriginal occupation of this area is supported by ethnohistoric sources that provide a picture of coastal Aboriginal life. Rock engravings can be found on many clifftop sites up and down the coastline that attest to Aboriginal cultural life that sought to document the natural world, and a rich mythology brought to life in song, ceremony and oral tradition.

With the arrival of the First Fleet came the introduction of disease and growing pressure on land use as Aboriginal people were progressively prevented from accessing their traditional sources of food and raw materials. However, almost a century later Aboriginal people had adapted their subsistence patterns and developed personal and economic relationships with European landowners.

A network of sites including campsites, fishing spots and hunting grounds along the eastern coastline remained accessible until the 1870s. Other oral history accounts suggest Aboriginal families were still camping at North Bondi in the 1920s.

Historical accounts of the Aboriginal peoples of Waverley that demonstrate centuries-old continuity of Aboriginal cultural and economic connections to the area can be found in the Waverley Library Local History collection and Bondi Story Room.

For a quick snapshot of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Waverley area, view the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Profile.

The Voice referendum and the Uluru Statement From the Heart

As part of our ongoing commitment to reconciliation, Council unanimously voted to support the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The Statement called for two substantive changes: the Voice to Parliament and a Makarrata Commission to supervise agreement making and truth-telling about our First Nations history. You can view the Statement here.

In February 2023, Council also voted to support the ‘Yes’ case for the Voice referendum via a community education strategy including workshops and community events. Council was extremely saddened by the outcome of the vote on 14 October 2023, with 60% of Australians voting ‘no’.

For more information, email diversity@waverley.nsw.gov.au or call 9083 8000.