Bayside Council will examine the possibility of adding signage to major historical monuments that will highlight the First Nations significance of the area or event being commemorated, subject to a financial assessment.

As part of the process Council will conduct an audit or all monuments and signage throughout the LGA before consulting with the Bayside Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group and Gujaga Foundation regarding any signage.

Bayside Council is bounded by Kamay Botany Bay which is the site of James Cook’s first landing.

The area was also the site of first landing by the British and the French in 1788, before the First Fleet moved to Port Jackson, where the British flag was eventually officially planted.

The Sydney Basin, including the land which now forms part of Bayside, was a site of considerable resistance to colonization.  It is also estimated that the year after first settlement in 1789, almost half of Sydney’s First Nations population died in an epidemic of introduced diseases, particularly smallpox.

A report on the options for the placement of Aboriginal signage alongside existing signage throughout the LGA, as well as a public education program will be presented to a future Council Meeting.

Mayor Edward McDougall said

“First Nations history runs in parallel with the history of settlement in the area. I believe this signage will help recognise our dual history and the perspective of the traditional custodians of the land,” Mayor Edward McDougall said.