A spotlight on Aboriginal culture 

Welcome to a special edition of ContentED, showcasing new visual content of a selection of Aboriginal-owned and led tours and activities in Sydney.  

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures of Australia are the oldest living cultures in the world, going back at least 65,000 years. NSW is home to Australia's largest Aboriginal population represented by more than 80 different Tribal Groups. 

A suite of video, photography and editorial content, captured by Destination NSW, highlights some of the excellent Aboriginal cultural experiences in Sydney and can be accessed through the below links to order and download. 

Sydney's Northern Beaches will be featured in an upcoming edition, as well as new Sydney content.

We’ve handpicked hero images of the best of the Aboriginal culture content. 

"The wider community wants to know and understand us as Aboriginal people more – and what better way to come to the Blak Markets, where they get to experience cultural dancing, the stories that come from Country as well." 

We capture the bustling energy of the Blak Markets, where co-founder Peter Cooley describes what's on offer at this special event. 

"Aboriginal culture is living because nature lives, and we’re still connected with it. The Harbour Bridge is a sacred area because of the narrow neck of the river systems. It’s a shared country; the stories are still here, in the salt water, the tidal systems."

We capture Margret Campbell, owner of Dreamtime Southern X, reflecting on the relationship the Gadigal People have with the waterways of Sydney. 

"When people come to Sydney, they see the Sydney Harbour Bridge, they see these icons but what they may not realise is there is a culture so deep, and goes back thousands of years."

Footage was captured of Aboriginal tour guide Matty Mills taking a family on the Burrawa BridgeClimb, speaking about the location of Sydney's icons and the importance of these sites to Aboriginal culture.     

"This part of the Country... was a very important place for the Gadigal People because it was our main source of fishing. When [visitors] come, they can learn about that connection, from the land and the sea, the plants and animals, and how that has enabled our culture to live so long."  

We capture Les McLeod of Tribal Warrior on Be-lang-le-wool/Clark Island, where he talks about Aboriginal People's connection with Sydney's islands. 

"We like to show how the Gadi People would use the bushland for everything – whether it be food, medicine, tools, weapon, shelter. The bushland is our supermarket, our hospital - it has everything we need."  

The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney offers three Aboriginal-led tours, and we follow guide Kalkani Choolburra as she explains the role of the bush. 

"We’ve got all these beautiful native plants and trees here, and we’re talking about Aboriginal culture and history, 60,000 plus years old, right next to the Sydney CBD."

We capture Tim Gray, Aboriginal tour guide for the Aboriginal Cultural Tour at the Barangaroo Reserve, where he details the significance of certain plants and explains the history of the site.

Story Inspiration  

The editorial team have written bespoke features to accompany the new visual assets, for content inspiration or to publish on your own channels.   

Learn why the connection to land is so important on one of these Aboriginal cultural tours.