Indigenous cultural ritual returns to Macquarie Park for the first time since 1788

A group of Dharug women will lead the first ‘cultural burn’ of Macquarie Park’s Lane Cove National Park this spring - the first since 1788.

An important land management practice for many Indigenous nations, cultural burning involves setting small, controlled bush fires during the early dry season to remove undergrowth and prevent larger more destructive fires, while also encouraging native seeds to propagate.

This year’s burn will draw on thousands of years of knowledge to explore how Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing can inform and co-exist with contemporary land management practices in a place where Country has been colonised, and dense urban environments built around it, says Dr Jo Rey, research fellow in the Department of Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University:

“It sets a precedent for the future so that other inner urban locations can be nurtured and healed through the traditional custodians’ relationality with the land and the Dharug speaking elders”

Preparations for the cultural burn began in 2020, with the women working closely with the Department of Planning and Environment’s Cultural Fire Management Unit, City of Ryde Council, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, the NSW Rural Fire Service, and colleagues from Macquarie University.

This practice, along with other Indigenous forms of caring for Ngarra/Country are gaining interest across Australia as climate change trends forecast worsening bushfire conditions.

Lane Cove National Park was affected in Sydney’s 2019 “Black Summer” bushfire season, with smoke and flames visible from towers in Macquarie Park - context which serves as further validation for this proactive approach.

This recognition of Indigenous culture follows Macquarie Park’s ongoing commitment to acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which our innovation district is built.

For example, in 2022 Macquarie University’s main campus adopted a new name - Wallumattagal Campus - to reflect mutually respectful relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities.

The Lane Cove River borders the entirety of Macquarie Park and North Ryde, helping to make us Sydney’s greenest CBD. This ritual will play a pivotal role in preserving our thriving natural environment.