Aboriginal Australians

In Aboriginal communities, our elders are our libraries; they hold our knowledge and connect us to our past while strengthening our future

Dyarubbin, the Hawkesbury River, begins at the confluence of the Grose and Nepean rivers and ends at Broken Bay. This long, winding and ancient river has been home to the Darug people for millennia and is a vital and sustaining resource.

Sport — including boxing — has long been one arena where First Nations talent has been celebrated.

Darug people share a deeper story of Dyarubbin, the Hawkesbury River.

Bungaree (c 1775–1830) is a remarkable and enigmatic figure in Sydney and Australia’s colonial history. 

How can a dialogue between Indigenous ancestors and descendants forge connections to country for all Australians?

In 1770 the Gweagal people of Kamay (Botany Bay) discovered James Cook and the Endeavour. The Library’s new exhibition explores the eight days that followed.

An Aboriginal leader’s assistance to the artists of the Newcastle penal settlement led to an unprecedented visual record of the local Indigenous people.

A contributor to the Library’s Living Language exhibition reflects on Indigenous resistance, survival, and the New England linguicide.

A list of Aboriginal placenames was a trigger for seeking the ‘real secret river’.

We've recently digitised a remarkable series of  photos showing players from the Redfern All Blacks rugby league team taken at Redfern Oval in 1946.

A major exhibition opening in July at the Library will celebrate UNESCO’s International Year of Indigenous Languages.