As I've mentioned before, the Dictionary of Sydney has a wide range of content relating to Aboriginal Sydney. Today I thought I would highlight a thoughtful article written by eminent historian Grace Karskens about Manly Cove, or Kai'ymay. Grace Karskens writes:

Kai'ymay, or Manly Cove, a sandy cove on North Harbour on the western side of the Manly peninsula, is a key site of the earliest contacts between Aboriginal people, the Eora (this is the local word meaning 'people') and the British people who arrived on the First Fleet in 1788. It continued to be the place to which Governor Phillip and his officers returned in their attempts to open communications with Aboriginal people – sometimes by force. It was also where Aboriginal people took action against the newcomers in their land – Governor Phillip was speared here by an Aboriginal warrior in September 1790, an event that ultimately led to the first reconciliation between Aboriginal people and white settlers in Australian history. A number of the early Sydney paintings depict Manly Cove and these key moments in cross-cultural contact as they unfolded on the beach.

Kai'ymay should be revered as a site of cross-cultural interaction. Grace Karskens concludes her article by noting: "This was the site for first encounters between people from opposite sides of the globe, the site of greeting, gift-giving and dancing, of goodwill and curiosity, as well as betrayal, violence, justice and retribution. From a world history perspective, it was also the site where the two great waves of migration from Europe to Asia and Australia, separated by over 90,000 years, were reconnected." There are many ways to learn about Sydney's Aboriginal history. I'd like to give a couple of plugs to talks and events curated by friends of the Dictionary of Sydney. There is a talk at Customs House Library on Thursday evening looking at Heaven and Earth. Professor Ray Norris and Dr Paul Irish will present aspects of Aboriginal Sydney history. Ray discusses astronomical history and Aboriginal understandings of the sky, while Paul reflects on the early history of Aboriginal and British interactions around Sydney. The City of Sydney's history team, which I head up, has released an intimate view of Aboriginal archaeological finds around the Sydney CBD. There are 19 new essays about Aboriginal culture and living in early Sydney, including articles about the Tank Stream, Blackwattle Creek, the Moore Park campsite and Goat Island. Check out the articles here: And finally, if you want to get out and about, access the new self-guided walk "Barani: Sydney Cove / Warrane" featured for NAIDOC week on the Sydney Culture Walks App. From everyone at the Dictionary of Sydney, we wish you a happy NAIDOC Week. You can hear this morning's podcast from 2SER Breakfast here.