THINGS TO DO




Explore Gadigal Country before you leave... 


FIRST NATIONS EXPERIENCES 

First Australians Galleries | Read more here

Visit the country’s oldest museum, with a personalised guided tour of the First Australians galleries at the Australian Museum in the heart of Sydney. In one of the finest collections of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artefacts, the museum houses more than 40,000 Indigenous Australian weapons, body ornaments, tools, bark paintings, toys and contemporary art and sculpture from all across the country. Highlights include ancient grindstones more than 32,000 years old, ancient bark drawings, modern dot paintings and carved emu eggs, as well as crocodile masks made from turtle shells, feathered headdresses and pearl-shell ornaments that are still worn for rituals and ceremonial dances in the Torres Strait Islands. 

Aboriginal Cultural Tours at Barangaroo | Read more here

The Barangaroo waterfront precinct is located on some of the most expensive and beautiful real estate in the world. The reserve is a vibrant cultural experience in a powerful, beautiful setting – and all within sight of Sydney Harbour Bridge. 

Take the 90-minute Aboriginal Cultural Tour to explore stories of local Aboriginal history, told to the theme of the city’s changing landscape. The guides are also highly knowledgeable about Barangaroo Reserve’s extensive native plant collection. 

Blak Markets | Read more here

The Blak Markets are organised and run by First Hand Solutions Aboriginal Corporation, with a mission to close the gap for Aboriginal people. The Blak Markets provides Indigenous artists, designers and small business owners a live marketplace to showcase their wares. This unique event allows locals and visitors to the area to connect directly with artists and make ethical purchases of authentic Aboriginal products.

This Blak Markets features stallholders selling a variety of art, homewares, jewellery, fashion, children’s clothing, textiles, woodwork, woven goods, plants and bushfoods. 

The Rocks Aboriginal Dreaming Tour | Read more here

Join the leisurely 90-minute walking tour of Sydney’s famous foreshore with Dreamtime Southern X and see how the harbour landscape reverberates with spiritual significance and continues to influence modern Aboriginal culture.  

Listen to stories that shaped Sydney, learn how the saltwater people practised seasonal food sustainability, and connected to country, taste bush tucker plucked from trees growing on city streets, and visit sacred Aboriginal sites hidden in the heart of the city’s most popular tourist precinct.

Royal Botanical Gardens Tour | Read more here

The 90-minute Aboriginal Heritage Tour through Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden is located just behind the Sydney Opera House. It explores the garden’s rich Aboriginal heritage through the many uses of the plants that grow here. Forage for and taste Australian bush foods as you walk and talk, and identify plants used for medicines and shelter. Collect seasonal fruits, berries and seeds in a traditional coolamon (a shallow dish made of bark), learn traditional methods of cooking and how to incorporate the bush foods into your own meals at home, as well as tasting some recipes inspired by bush foods. 

Burrawa Bridge Climb | Read more here

Climb Sydney Harbour Bridge on the Indigenous-led Burrawa Bridge Climb, and see the city from a whole new perspective. 

On this very special three-hour tour, you will be guided by a local Aboriginal storyteller, who will transport you through storytelling. As you journey along the upper arch of the bridge towards the summit, 134 metres above the sea, you’ll be met with breathtaking 360-degree views, uncovering the fascinating stories, secrets, and origins of familiar places of the Gadigal People.

Tribal Warrior Cultural Cruise | Read more here

Embark on a two-hour journey to hear the stories of the Cadigal, Guringai, Wangal, Gammeraigal and Wallumedegal. Learn the Aboriginal names and meanings of significant Sydney landmarks. Come ashore on an island in Sydney Harbour to an authentic Aboriginal cultural performance.

Sydney Harbour as you have never experienced it before. Travel its waters on their cultural harbour cruise.

Bondi Aboriginal Walking Tours | Read more here

Join Aboriginal First Nations' artist, educator and performer Walangari Karntawarra on a unique Bondi Walking Tour.

You’ll see ancient Aboriginal Rock Carvings and traditional Aboriginal bush foods and medicines still growing wild in this beautiful coastal locale. Walangari, an Aboriginal elder and Bondi resident takes great delight in sharing his culture and knowledge. Hear about the history of Bondi, from its pre-historical geological formation and how the First Nations' people used its bountiful resources, to its place today as one of the world’s most iconic beaches.

Bangarra Dance Theatre | Read more here

Bangarra Dance Theatre is a company of professional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performers. They are storytellers and fire makers. As one of Australia’s leading performing arts companies, Bangarra share culture with Communities and audiences across Australia and the world. The group are contemporary dancers, drawing on 65,000 years of culture, creating powerful works of theatre with dance, music, poetry and design. Bangarra tell the stories of Elders, create works on Country and return the works that they create to the place they were made.








Contact Us

Contact the Organisers: AIDA@spinifexevents.com.au

#AIDAConference25


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Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Gadigal People, the traditional custodians whose lands we will gather on.

We acknowledge and respect the Gadigal People’s cultural, spiritual and physical connection with their land, waterways and community, and pay respect to Elders past and present.