Walk in the footsteps of the First Nations people on the Northern Beaches

As you arrive by ferry into Manly Cove, imagine the shoreline denuded of development and instead wrapped in its original green cloak, with its rocky foreshore filled with food and Aboriginal people gathered on the beach, fishing in canoes, cooking over fires.

When the First Fleet arrived here in 1788, this area became a focal point of early contacts between Europeans and First Nations people. The name Manly actually originated from one of these early interactions, with Governor Arthur Philip noting the confidence and “manly” physique of the Indigenous men, while Manly Cove was originally known as Eve’s Cove, inspired by the young Indigenous women seen during these early encounters.

Manly and the rest of the Northern Beaches was once rich in Aboriginal life and culture. But colonisation, dispossession, disease and displacement destroyed much of this way of life, and war, genocide and violence killed most of the Aboriginal people.

However, their story remains here like a gentle breeze wrapped around the landscape; it’s in the water, the sky, the land.

To experience this, open your eyes, open your heart and open your mind, and you will see, feel and come to understand the world’s oldest continuous living culture, having inhabited this land for at least 65,000 years.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we gather, work and play today. We acknowledge Elders past and present and the spirits and ancestors of the Clans that lived in this area.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this article contains reference to people who have passed away.

First stop the Aboriginal Heritage Office

The shackles drape over a splintered wooden frame littered with black and white photos.
The images are old and grim, with the shackles at work, hard and unforgiving, around the necks, wrists and ankles of Aboriginal men; a confronting example of how First Nations people were used as slaves and forced into domestic and labouring work for no money and bare rations.
An ancient rifle draws a sharp line under this tableau.
Below, in juxtaposed formality, hangs a framed, cursive-scripted Parliamentary document signed by then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. It’s the Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples, particularly noting the Stolen Generations, dated 13 February, 2008.
This is the Aboriginal Heritage Office in Freshwater, a museum and keeping place that charts the history of Australia’s First Nations people with stories, images and artefacts. It’s a history that is both fascinating and intensely spiritual, as well as dark and brutal.
This is a great place to start any study of Aboriginal history on the Northern Beaches.
The Heritage Office is open to the public Tuesday-Thursday, 9am-3pm, for walk-ins, or contact them to discuss talks, guided bushwalks and activities for schools and other local community groups, as well as their work documenting and protecting Aboriginal sites and cultural heritage.
Email info@aboriginalheritage.org or go online for further information.

Manly – first contact and beyond

From the intrigue and fascination of early contact through kidnapping and death by foreign disease and genocide, Manly is writ large in any history of European colonisation and interactions with our First Nations people.

In the early days of the colony, three Aboriginal men – Arabanoo, Bennelong and Colbee – were kidnapped from Manly Cove by colonists with the aim of studying and learning language from them in the hope of communicating and ensuring the smooth establishment of the new colony.
Manly Cove was also the place where Governor Phillip was speared in the shoulder by an Aboriginal man during a whale feast. It has been postulated that this man may have been fearful of also being kidnapped, or that he was meting out a form of ritual punishment.

Arabanoo – the man, the lookout

The uplifting nature of Arabanoo Lookout, situated in Balgowlah Heights and gazing across Manly and Sydney Heads, belies the sadness of its origin story.
While signage at the lookout tells a tale of the first Aboriginal man to live among the white colonists, further study reveals that Arabanoo was taken against his will. Later, when he returned to Manly Cove, he was deeply grieved to find that his people had been decimated by smallpox. Arabanoo, too, eventually succumbed to the disease.

Life told on a rocky canvas

Aboriginal people once created stencils and charcoal drawings and carved images on the rocky landscape around them. They left many sites on the Northern Beaches, from rock engravings to shell middens, some of which are still visible now thousands of years later.

Manly

Sitting high above the harbour at Grotto Point is one of the most well preserved engravings sites within Sydney Harbour National Park, with images that remain visible after 1000 years.
This site features a giant kangaroo, boomerangs, a whale and several small fish etched into the Sydney Basin sandstone.
It can be found along the Manly Scenic Walkway 3.8km east of the Spit Bridge and 5.7km west of Manly. Look for the sign when you reach Dobroyd Head. If you’re not keen on a long walk, the closest access point to the engravings is from the carpark at the end of Cutler Road, Balgowlah Heights.
Please be sure to respect the timber enclosures that serve to protect the site and stay on the designated walkway. Do not walk on the rock.

Allambie Heights

Gumbooya Reserve is a significant Aboriginal rock art site with numerous engravings including fish, hunting implements, a dolphin and a large human figure which appears to be inside or on top of a whale. This site is well signposted and fenced to help protect it. Please stay behind the barrier and do not walk on the rock.

Belrose

Moon Rock, which was declared a significant Aboriginal Place in 2016, depicts astronomical knowledge, lunar phases and Baiame the creator-spirit. This spectacular site features rock engravings of phases of the moon, tools, weapons and animals caught and eaten in the area. It is located on Slippery Dip Trail off Morgan Rd.

Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park

Red Hands Cave is one of the most famous Indigenous sites within this national park and features ochre handprints on a rocky overhang. This artwork was created around 2000 years ago and involved blowing red ochre clay over an outstretched hand.
This site is located a short bush walk from Resolute picnic area along the Red Hands Cave Walking Track.

Invest in your own Aboriginal art

From rocky engravings in a bushy landscape to contemporary artworks gracing the walls of the most prestigious galleries in the world, Australian Aboriginal art has certainly evolved, and is now celebrated at the highest echelons for its visual storytelling.
Here in Manly, Aboriginal Dreamtime Fine Art Gallery deals in works from highly acclaimed and prize-winning Indigenous artists as well as younger and emerging artists, sourcing artworks from diverse communities throughout the country.
As a member of the Aboriginal Art Association of Australia, the gallery is committed to supporting the long-term sustainability of this industry.
Visit Shop 36 The Corso, Manly, or shop online. 

Take a walk through history at Manly Dam

Lace up your hiking boots and head off on the Gulgadya Muru self-guided walk at Manly Dam for a truly immersive experience. Explore axe-grinding grooves and seek out evidence of old campsites.
This 8km trail varies from easy to hard and takes up to three hours. Along the way you’ll find five information points explaining the significance of the area, highlighting points of interest and encouraging you to consider life long ago. This walk is used as part of education programs delivered by the Aboriginal Heritage Office.

Award-winning lookouts recognise Indigenous heritage

North Head, or Car-rang-gel, was once an important ceremonial area. Rock engravings, rock art, campsites, burials and middens are reminders of the original local people’s connection to the area. These are private and not to be explored.

Two new viewing platforms on the North Head clifftops – Burragula and Yiningma – honour First Nations perspectives and values, and the cultural significance of this area as a place of meeting and learning. These award-winning lookouts serve to create a meaningful connection with country.

Sculpture celebrates early form of communication

Form and function merge across history with the stunning Signal Fire sculpture reaching skywards on Freshwater Headland as part of Coast Walk Public Art.

This beautiful and beautifully situated artwork was inspired by the signal fires used by Aboriginal people to communicate with each other from one headland to the next, telling of births, deaths, hunting, corroboree and danger.

Offering a breathing space away from the hustle of the city, it is the ideal place to sit and quietly contemplate all you’ve learned about Aboriginal life here on the Northern Beaches, particularly if you’ve just visited the nearby Heritage Office.

Narrabeen Man shares stories of the past

In 2005, a human skeleton was uncovered during excavation works at a bus shelter in Narrabeen. Further investigation revealed the skeleton to be an Aboriginal man aged between 30 and 40 years and standing around 183cm tall who died about 4000 years ago. He is now known as Narrabeen Man.

The significance of this find is that it is one of the oldest skeletal remains discovered in Sydney and the earliest evidence of ritual spearing as punishment.

While Narrabeen Man is now housed in The University of Sydney’s JL Shellshear Museum under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, the bus stop displays a plaque telling what we know of his story.

Fill your bowl with traditional bushtucker

Explore Australia’s natural pantry on a Bushtucker Walk with the Aboriginal-owned social enterprise Bush to Bowl.

Learn to identify, harvest and savour traditional bush foods on these hands-on and immersive experiences that can also be tailored for both corporate and school workshops.

The people, the place

Expand your vocabulary and understanding of First Nations names and places with some traditional language:

• Kai’ymay or Kay-yee-my – Manly Cove
• Gayamay or Gayamaygal – the clan of the Manly area
• Karadji – medicine men and women healers
• Car-rang-gel – inner part of North Head
• Eora – The name given by the earliest European settlers to the Aboriginal people belonging to the clans along the coastal area of what is now known as the Sydney basin. Unfortunately, this term was originally misunderstood and actually meant “person here” or “this place”.
• And if you want to say “hello/where are you from?” say Warami.

As you embark on your journey into Aboriginal history and heritage here on the Northern Beaches, remember to look, learn and listen with care and respect, and protect our sites.
It is only through knowledge, education and understanding that we can hope to move into a future of reconciliation and respect.