Sutherland Shire Council will develop a “living glossary” of the Dharawal language to use on future signage carrying Aboriginal names.
The move comes from an ongoing debate over the correct naming and territorial range of the pre-contact Aboriginal groups in the Sydney region.
Under the council’s amended Aboriginal Heritage Signage policy, names used on signs will be sourced from a number of reputable literary courses.
And community consultation on name selection will be undertaken with the Aboriginal Advisory Committee and relevant Aboriginal Land Councils such as the Gandangara or La Perouse Land Councils.
According to the council’s Aboriginal Heritage Signage Policy the use of interpretive signs provides an opportunity to enhance the community’s understanding and appreciation of both the landscape and Aboriginal cultural heritage.
Through the use of the signage the purpose is to recognise and affirm Aboriginal people as the first inhabitants of Sutherland Shire, and promote an awareness of Aboriginal people and the Dharawal language.
Scientific dating of a midden at Bass Point on the south coast indicates Aboriginal occupation in the region dates back at least 20,000 years.
The oldest recording of Aboriginal occupation in Sutherland Shire is from the Curracurrang Shelter in the Royal National Park which dates back to around 8000 years ago.
There are over 1300 registered Aboriginal sites in Sutherland Shire with over 150 recorded on council-managed land.
“Where it is considered appropriate, interpretive signs can provide a way of acknowledging Aboriginal heritage and sharing it with the wider community,” the council’s policy states.
“Existing signs at the main entry points into Sutherland Shire recognised the land as “Dharawal Country” as well as suburb entry signs. If the suburb name is derived from a Dharawal word, its meaning is explained, for example, Gymea comes from the Dharawal word “Gyomea” meaning giant lily.”
The report said that it is fundamental that the Aboriginal community is directly involved in any interpretation of Aboriginal heritage in the landscape.
The Aboriginal community will be consulted throughout the process of installing signs associated with Aboriginal heritage.
Information for site interpretation and the use of Dharawal words and language is to be taken from an authoritative source.
“Sutherland Shire belonged to the Dharawal language group which is believed to have extended from the southern side of Botany Bay, south to the Shoalhaven River and west to Camden,” the policy says.
“Within the Dharawal language group, Aboriginal people living along the southern shore of Botany Bay and the Cronulla Peninsula were known as the Gweagal, and those to the west of the Woronora River were the Norongerragal.”
Sutherland Shire Council has committed that signs to assist in describing places or objects in the landscape will incorporate words from the Dharawal language only when there is confidence in the source of the words.
Under the amended Aboriginal Heritage Signage policy the council will review the current lists of words and their meanings when assigning names for streets, suburbs, reserves and parks and ensure that for each Aboriginal word, its meaning is reliably sourced
Examples of reliable sources include William Dawes or compliled many words spoken by the Aboriginal people of Port Jackson after 1790 or words compiled by other reliable “First Fleeters”, lists of words and their meanings sourced from Aboriginal people examples of which can be found in the book Illawarra and South Coast Aborigines 1770 to 1900 compiled by Michael Organ, and the book, Macquarie Aboriginal Words.
