Gadigal People and Bidjigal People

The original Aboriginal inhabitants of the Southern side of Sydney Harbour are the Gadigal people. Further south, the banks of Botany Bay were occupied by the Bidjigal People.

There are about 29 clan groups of the Sydney metropolitan area referred to collectively as the Eora Nation. The ‘Eora people’ was the name given to the coastal Aboriginal peoples around Sydney. ‘Eora’ means ‘here’ or ‘from this place’. The Gadigal are a clan of the Eora Nation. The Bidjigal are sometimes said to be a clan of the Eora people, and sometimes a clan of the Dharug people, who inhabited more western parts of the Sydney Basin.

The area now occupied by Moore Park and Centennial Park includes places where both the Gadigal People and the Bidjigal People would have camped, hunted, raised their children, and participated in ceremonial activities.

Following the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788, the British encountered Aboriginal people around the coves and bays of Port Jackson and Botany Bay. Aboriginal communities here were both generous and combative towards the colonisers. Many places remained important hunting, fishing and camping grounds long after Europeans settlement, and continue to be culturally significant today.

These watercolour drawings were produced by convict artist Joseph Lycett between 1815 and 1822. They depict Aboriginal Australians night fishing by fire torches, hunting waterbirds, fishing for eels and diving for shellfish. Thus fish, waterbirds, eels and shellfish are known to have been important food sources for both the Gadigal and Bidjigal People.