Word on the street is that a new harbourside walk is in the works in Sydney. The nine kilometre walk along Sydney Harbour’s foreshore will recognise the Eora culture and history embedded in-country.
The foreshore from Tumbalong’s Australian National Maritime Museum to Woolloomooloo Bay will be dotted by public art works, text and audio installations, exhibitions and events. Families will be able to meander along the stunning harbourfront and encounter sitelines, or locations of connection with story and memory.
The walk will connect with existing art installations. These include Brook Andrew’s Warrang outside the Museum of Contemporary Art and Brenda L Croft’s Wuganmagulya in the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Emily McDaniel, independent Aboriginal curator of the walk, says Sydney is a “living, breathing place.” Credit: Katherine Griffiths, City of Sydney
“The walk is an Acknowledgment of Country in its truest, most ancient form,” says Emily McDaniel, independent Aboriginal curator of the walk.
“We tread lightly and mindfully, with the knowledge that this site holds all the memories of everyone who has ever lived on this land. As you walk the shoreline, interact with public art and stories, hear whispers of language and place your feet in the water, you are introducing yourself to this Country so that it will remember you. This is about you seeing what we see, feeling what we feel and hearing what we hear.”
Plans are already underway as we speak, including decisions about the Sydney Aboriginal name and icon for the walk. We’re really looking forward to the opportunity to experience the millennia of history present in Sydney Harbour, including Aboriginal maritime history. So keep your eyes peeled for updates as development continues.
The walk is part of the City of Sydney’s Eora Journey program to actively recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the public domain. It will develop in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and the NSW Government, with input from the city’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel and Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council.
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