As part of its Reconciliation Action Plan, the City of Sydney is committed to acknowledging the traditional owners, the Gadigal, and reawakening the Aboriginal language of Sydney. Acknowledgement of Country will now be included in park signage throughout the council area.
Reconciliation Park, bounded by George, James and Pitt streets, was opened in August 1998 by the then Mayor of South Sydney, Vic Smith. There had been a competition to name the park, and three people independently chose that name because in Redfern the need for justice for Aboriginal people has long been close to people’s hearts. The mural at the western end of the park, with its Aboriginal theme, won the Sulman award in 1984. On March 10, 2016 Lord Mayor Clover Moore affirmed the continuing importance of recognition and respect for the traditional custodians of this land and inaugurated the new signage.
Uncle “Chicka” Madden welcomed us to country, and while Uncle Max Eulo performed the smoking ceremony, members of the Yaama dancers put ochre on the hands of the school children. There were dances by boys from Jarjum College, led by Terry Olsen, and girls led by Andrea Adidi from Saibai Island. Josh Staines was musician for the Yaama dancers, who finished their act by getting everyone to join in the seagull dance. Aaliyah Haumono from Darlington Public School sang, and then children from Alexandria Park and Mount Carmel schools helped council staff attach the signs to their supports.
The signs say, “Bujari gamarruwa – Welcome to Reconciliation Park – You are on Gadigal Country”, and on the other side the story of the reconciliation movement is told, with a photo of Paul Keating making the Redfern Park Statement.
