Educated at the Native Institution in Parramatta, Maria Lock was the first Aboriginal woman officially married to a British convict. They settled on land granted to her in Blacktown, and descendants still live in the area.
The land granted to Colebee and Nurragingy in 1819 was one of the rare instances where the colonial government recognised Aboriginal interests in land. The site is of enduring importance for Aboriginal people who trace their traditional ancestry and social history back to this place and is part of the ongoing history of Aboriginal peoples' struggle for land rights.
The Parramatta and Black Town Native Institutions existed from 1814 till 1829 as part of a campaign initially led by Governor Lachlan Macquarie and designed to inculcate European ideas of 'civilisation', commerce and Christianity into Aboriginal people and turn them into industrious workers.
