Traditionally owned by the Kameygal, whose descendants still maintain their connection with the land, La Perouse has a history of both invasion and survival. Unwanted by the early colonists who thought it unhealthy, the area was an Aboriginal camp throughout the nineteenth century, though also used for government purposes, such as quarantine and signalling. During the 1930s Depression, unemployed people set up camp there. Repeated attempts to move Aboriginal people away from La Perouse failed, and since 1984 the reserve has been Aboriginal land.
