Wesley Mission - Traditional Owners PlaquePrint Page

The plaque recognises the traditional ownership of the land on which the building stands. 

First Broadcast on 27th September 2001, Radio 2GB. Brian Wiltshire.
Wesley Mission’s main building at 220 Pitt Street has become the fifth Sydney landmark to recognize the traditional ownership of the land on which the building stands. Other buildings will shortly follow Wesley Mission’s example.

Indigenous People in the Sydney area were basically divided into clans, of around 50 to 60 people. It was the clan that was the important land owning and land using group. The Clan that owned present day Pitt Street were the Cadigal. Karen Bateman a Wesley Mission staff person, who took part in the ceremony recognizing the traditional ownership of Pitt Street, is in fact a Cadigal person.

Recognizing the traditional ownership of 220 Pitt Street carries no legal implications. It is not part the land rights dispute that has gone on in other parts of Australia. Instead, it is simply recognizing that other people owned the land for thousands of years before the Europeans arrived.

Along with the unveiling of the plaque recognizing the traditional ownership of the land, there was also a signing ceremony by which Wesley Mission signed a Covenant with the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress pledging continued co-operation with the Congress.
Global Directions, Archive Article,16 February 2009.

Location

Address:	220 Pitt Street, Wesley Mission, Sydney, 2000
State:	NSW
Area:	AUS
GPS Coordinates:	Lat: -33.871691 Long: 151.208321 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.

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Details

Monument Type:	Plaque
Monument Theme:	Culture
Sub-Theme:	Indigenous

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:	Thursday 27th September, 2001

Source: MA