Yananurala is marked by sitelines, places that contain and interconnect the stories, memories and histories of this Country. These are the veins of Sydney, a living and breathing place.
-Emily McDaniel, curator
Yananurala, translated from the Gadigal language as Walking on Country, is the name of a nine-kilometre walk that highlights Aboriginal history and culture at places along the Sydney harbour foreshore.
Yananurala combines two Gadigal words, yana (walk) and nura (Country). The ‘la’ adds an instruction, encouraging people to go walking on Country. The phrase ‘Yanala ngarala gadinurada. Yururala, yana yuramirung.’ (Walk, think, listen, hear on Gadi Country. Feel it strongly, walk with us.) invites you to experience Gadigal Country through all of your senses.
Yananurala extends the Eora Journey’s recognition of Aboriginal people, their history and culture across Sydney’s harbour foreshore, from Pirrama (Pyrmont) to Wallamool (Woolloomooloo Bay)
Find Yananurala on Sydney Culture Walks and discover a curated series of Aboriginal stories that allow you to experience Sydney’s harbour foreshore in a way that is not currently available.
Tour Operators
Sydney Rocks Dreaming Tour
Experience a local Aboriginal greeting and learn some of the language spoken. Participate in a Sydney cultural acknowledgement of Earth Mother using clap sticks. View significant cultural objects, materials and sites. Learn about the Aboriginal Dreamtime, it’s origin, history and culture. Learn about the connection between contemporary Sydney and the Aboriginal Dreaming.
Tribal Warrior
Cruises in Sydney Harbour, where passengers learn the traditional culture, history, and stories of one of the most beautiful harbours in the world.
Barangaroo Aboriginal Walking Tour
Learn Gadigal culture and local histories, including cultural practices and ceremony. Learn about cultural and spiritual significance of Barangaroo. Tour of Barangaroo Reserve plants and discussion of native flora and fauna.
Barangaroo Ngangamay (Self Guided)
Barangaroo Ngangamay is an app and artwork honouring ancestor, Old Lady Barangaroo. Five films that have engaged Aboriginal women across Sydney region to tell stories about their culture. Visitors are self-directed with the app – walk location to find films embedded within the landscape. Project has engaged aboriginal men to create petroglyphs / rock engraining located onsite.
Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney: Aboriginal Heritage Tour
Guided tours of gardens, significant plants and sites. Learn about Gadigal lifestyle, traditions, history and connection to country & community.
Future Yananurala | Walking on Country projects include:
- Sitelines installations incorporating audio that frame and explain ‘sitelines’ along the walk – sitelines are relationships between sites of historical and cultural significance
- Conversations text based installations that respond to the intimate, hidden histories of the harbour at locations along the foreshore
- Badu (water) – an environmental project led by an artist in partnership with universities and marine institutes to build on research acknowledging Country as land, water and sky
- Pirrama (Pyrmont) – a public artwork next to the Australian Maritime Museum, to recognise the connection between Aboriginal people and the harbour
- The Hungry Mile – a major public art and interpretation project recognising Aboriginal people’s role in shaping Sydney’s maritime history
- Ta-ra (Dawes Point) – a major public art project that highlights the site where Patyegarang gifted the language of her people to William Dawes, recording it for future generations in his notebooks
- The Boatshed – a public art project linking Aboriginal history associated with the Government Boatshed to the resilience of Aboriginal communities in Sydney
- Woolloomooloo – a community-based public art project that recognises the history and enduring presence and culture of Aboriginal people.
For further details on all nine Yananurala | Walking on Country projects, download the Harbour Walk Storytelling Report by Yananurala Curator Emily McDaniel.
Project partners
Yananurala is part of the Eora Journey and is being developed in partnership with the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, NSW Government project partners, cultural institutions and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, with guidance from the City’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Panel.