Dictionary of Sydney

The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.

Kamay Botany Bay National Park

National park on northern (La Perouse) and southern (Kurnell) headlands of Botany Bay. The park takes in land set aside in 1899 for public recreation at Captain Cook's landing place.

-34.005676384974, 151.22463586614

Milestone
Opened
1984
Name
Alternate
Botany Bay National Park
1984 - 2002
Property
Comprises
Type

La Perouse

CC BY-SA 2.0
,
2008

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.