ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

The Australian Government acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the Elders past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.

Indigenous.gov.au Connecting With First Nations Australians
Back to Stories

The significance of the waterways to Wangal people - This Place

16 August 2019
Culture and Capability
Elderly Aboriginal man in white shirt and jeans squats next to a river on a sandy shore. In the background on the other side of the river are houses and trees.

Learn the story of Burramattagal (Parramatta River) as told by Uncle Jimmy Smith of the Wangal people.

For thousands of years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been naming places that were sacred or important to them.

This video is part of an ABC produced series named This Place. It tells the story behind one of these special places:

Wangal people know Sydney as the place of eel Dreaming and before it was known as the Parramatta River, the waterway was called Burramattagal. From trees that protected Aboriginal children from snakes, to the first contact with Europeans, join Uncle Jimmy Smith in a tour of Sydney's significant parks and waterways.

Find out more

For more information, visit This Place.