The harbour was important to Barangaroo and she used a canoe (Nawi) to fish in the waters around Sydney Harbour. The women would use a hook and line to catch fish to provide food for their clan. Children were taken out with the fisherwomen to learn how to catch fish and small fires were lit on the Nawi to cook the fish as they worked.

My painting is about the bura (hook) that belongs to Barangaroo. The bura is big because Barangaroo was a strong and powerful Aboriginal woman. The colour of the bura is like the sand and dirt in Uluru because I wanted to show how the Aboriginal people respected the earth including the sea animals and waters. The bura has a gold fishing line because Barangaroo was a special leader for the Eora people especially the women. The brown section represents the rocks, sandstones and the nawi (canoe) and water of Sydney Harbour is represented by the blue section. The white lines are the waves and white dots are bubbles from the animals and creatures living in the water. The fish are swimming fast making in the water. Barangaroo and the other Eora fisherwomen will catch the fish with their bura’s.

'Beyond the Waves' showcases a canoe surrounded by water, representative of traditional fishing and recreational practices. It also highlights the canoe's importance in daily life among waterways, such as Barangaroo and the Dharug nation. The canoe being in water further highlights the importance and connection of Country and the ocean within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. Making the artwork has further connected me with my Darkinjung Aboriginal heritage.

The story behind my drawing / painting is when I went to the beach one day really far out and swam with marine life. A seagull was watching the people on dry land. This picture has something to do with Barangaroo because when I drew and painted, this picture told me to stay strong when I ruined my painting but I fixed it. It also has something to do with Barangaroo because the fish were inspired by Aunty Glenda’s painting.

This artwork was inspired by time spent with my grandfather, learning how to paint.

The drawing is a kindergarten girl’s illustration of members of the Gadigal people in another era standing by a fire and joined by a Kangaroo in the area which is now known as Barangaroo

Barangaroo was a wise fisherwoman from the Cammeraygal clan. She fished using a hook and line around the North Harbour of Sydney and Manly to help her people survive. My artwork shows Barangaroo fearlessly fishing in the Harbour to collect and hunt for the survival of her clan. I have titled my painting ‘Thacho’ which translates to ‘Fisher’ in Aboriginal.

The drawing is a kindergarten girl’s illustration of members of the Gadigal people in another era resting in the area which is now known as Barangaroo

The Love of Australia represents the hot sunny days, the beautiful land and animals, and the calm refreshing water. I wanted to learn and try to draw what the Aboriginal signs were for sky, land, water. I researched them online

I really like baby turtles and I love bright colours and patterns and I love doing painting

Under the ocean, there are very special fish, but be like Barangaroo, don’t take too many or we’ll run out and have no more!

Barangaroo is watching over her land and water which is represented as her hair. Moving along the water is a shoreline and dust has been scattered over it representing her family from the desert parts of Australia.

Sharks are so cool but I hope I never see one up close in Sydney Harbour.

The picture is about Barangaroo fishing from high in the harbour with birds flying below her and the fish coming up to see what food she is tempting them with.

Barangaroo is watching over her land and water which is represented as her hair. Moving along the water is a shoreline and dust has been scattered over it representing her family from the desert parts of Australia.

This is a family of fish swimming in Sydney Harbour.

I love whales and sometimes they come into Sydney Harbour with their babies. This whale has dots like an aboriginal artwork.

Barangaroo was a part of the Cammeraygal clan and fought for the traditions of her Aboriginal culture. She caught fish for her tribe and did this using a hook and line, in a canoe known as a ‘Nawi’. My artwork shows a close-up portrait of Barangaroo’s strong identity. Within her eye is a reflection of her view containing a canoe on the banks of the harbour. She is preparing for her daily fish hunt.

Barangaroo was an Eora woman of the Cammeraygal people, who lived in and around the North Harbour and Manly, alive at the time of early British colonial settlement. She was known to be a skilled fisherwoman with presence and authority in her community/colony. The colonists observed her to be a determined and persuasive character. She refused to use European customs, even wear clothes. It has been suggested that the difference between her and Bennelong, her second husband’s, attitudes and the reasoning for Barangaroo's power came from her role as a hunter and provider. She provided for the clan's men, women and children with fish caught in and around the harbour, using a simple black wood canoe, only ever catching enough fish for her people's immediate needs. Therefore when she witnessed ships transporting thousands of salmon, more fish than the settlers or the local clan could possibly eat, she was outraged, fearing the demise of her traditional way of life. She continued to preserve this Aboriginal lifestyle until her death from European culture, in a hospital soon after the birth of Bennelong's child. My artwork is an interpretation of her strength and association with responsibility, especially in hunting and gathering fish for her tribe. The painting depicts Barangaroo throwing the hook and line into the wave with precision and confidence, in pursuit of fish.

This is a picture of a girl from the stolen generation (SHARE) trying to make friends with a white government official (THANKS) by handing him a fish as a gift (LOVE). We can share Australia – the land, sea and sky.

I wanted to draw a nawi canoe that Barangaroo and the fisherwomen would have used. I researched the shape and wanted to emphasise the linework and detail in the bark.

This is a family of fish swimming in Sydney Harbour.

I love the little fairy penguins and I can’t believe they are really in Sydney Harbour, near Manly. I wonder if they will ever swim over to Barangaroo.