First Nations

Barangaroo, like the other Cammeraygal fisherwomen with her, moved across the harbour, playing a vital role in providing for her family and community. She was also a strong, independently minded and influential woman in the years before and after the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Harbour. Today her legacy as a proud representative of First Nation’s peoples is celebrated across the CBD foreshore precinct that bears her name. Artist, Designer and Filmmaker and descendant of the Dharawal and Yuin people, Alison Page describes the site’s expansive parklands together with the newly-completed Barangaroo South – a bustling commercial, residential and hospitality neighbourhood – as “a masterstroke in designing with Country.”

“The creation of Barangaroo South has shown Sydney what can be done in terms of tapping into the memory of place,” she says. It’s all here – the memory of Aboriginal cultural values, of storytelling, of social cohesion, of ritual and of ceremony … a blueprint for how we can be designing the best cities in the world.”

Barangaroo South, on the southern third of the overall 22-hectare site, is home to an impressive collection of public art, from large-scale sculptures and intricate carvings to contemporary installations inspired by First Nations’ stories. “Also woven into the story of this place is the colonial history and the history of the multicultural migration that has formed modern Australia,” says Page. For example, its time as a working port is reflected in street names such as Watermans Quay, Shipwright Walk and Exchange Place. Page, a gifted artist, created the film installation “Wellama” at the Barangaroo Cutaway cultural venue. The installation delivers a powerful Welcome to Country, acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the land.

Annie Tennant, developer Lendlease’s former General Manager, Sustainability and Culture at Barangaroo South, and now Director, Design and Place Placemaking NSW, is a passionate advocate of inclusion and designing with Country. “What's important about understanding the past and understanding Country is that Country is all around us at all times,” she says. "It is now. It is the future.” Standing on a wide promenade at the harbour end of Watermans Quay, Tennant gestures at the nearby cove which was shaped out of the former container wharf. "That’s where the canoes were 250 years ago,” she says.

Former NSW Premier Kristina Keneally, a staunch supporter of the Barangaroo development while in government, has maintained her infectious enthusiasm for the project. “Sydney has a deep history, predating European settlement,” she says. So much has happened on this site from the earliest days prior to the arrival of the Europeans, through to the industrial uses of this land and now it’s a modern precinct…a place for entertainment and enjoyment for Sydneysiders and visitors."

“Naming this site ‘Barangaroo’ was really important. We had honoured her partner Bennelong with Bennelong Point where the Sydney Opera House stands, so it was a logical decision. It preserves our tradition in Australia of recognising the traditional owners.”

Kristina Keneally, former NSW Premier

Tony Lombardo, Lendlease’s Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, highlights the fact that partnerships have been crucial for Barangaroo South’s success. "We’ve partnered with First Nation’s organisations who’ve worked closely with us to ensure it’s a special place that truly represents Sydney,” he says. Lendlease, which was selected in December 2009 by the NSW Government as the preferred developer for Barangaroo South, has created an Elevate Reconciliation Action Plan integrating First Nations’ wisdom to ensure a deeper understanding of their profound connection to Country, culture and community. The Elevate RAP enables Lendlease to focus on this connection in places such as Barangaroo South.