Aboriginal communities

Overview

Blacktown City has the 2nd largest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population after the Central Coast with 9,527 people. Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 2.8% of all residents which compares with 1.9% for Greater Western Sydney Region and only 1.5% for Greater Sydney.

For information on statistics, you can visit our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Profile.

We have an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Profile Snapshot(PDF, 2MB) that identifies social issues and strengths.

Traditional custodians

We acknowledge the Darug tribe as the traditional custodians of Blacktown City.

As a mark of respect, our events, official meetings, functions and other special occasions begin with an Acknowledgement of Country and Welcome to Country ceremony. Other organisations are encouraged to include a Welcome to Country and/or Acknowledgement of Country on appropriate occasions.

Blacktown City Acknowledgement to Country

We acknowledge that the Darug people were the original custodians of the land on which we meet today. We pay our respects to elders past and present, and acknowledge the Aboriginal people for their custodianship on this land. We will work together for a united city that respects this land and values the contribution to our community and culture of all people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage.

Aboriginal Advisory Committee

Our Aboriginal Advisory Committee consists of people who live or work in Blacktown City.  The committee advises Council on the needs of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We aim to:

• Raise community issues and develop policies related to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

• provide communication between communities and Council

• provide input to broader planning and activities.

For more information, please contact our Aboriginal Community Development Worker on 9839 6167.

Blacktown City Reconciliation Action Plan

Our Reconciliation Action Plan(PDF, 5MB) is Blacktown City's strategy to build positive relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other Australians.

For more information, please contact our Aboriginal Community Development Worker on 9839 6167.

Western Sydney Koori Interagency

This is one of the largest Aboriginal interagencies in the Sydney metropolitan area. Meetings are held monthly (except January and December) with the aim of providing support and networking for Western Sydney Aboriginal community workers.

For more information please contact our Aboriginal Community Development Worker on 02 9839 6167.

Mount Druitt Koori Toastmasters

This program is designed to improve public speaking skills, self esteem and general confidence. It encourages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to try our cultural support program to improve these skills. 

The program is not exclusively for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people but we aim to have at least 50% of members who are from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Heritages.

For more information, contact our Aboriginal Community Development Worker on 9839 6167 or visit the Mount Druitt Koori Toastmasters web page.

Dates of significance

NAIDOC Week  

National Aboriginal and Islanders Day of Celebration (NAIDOC) is celebrated each year in July. The day represents a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander cultures and recognises the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander first Australians in various fields.  

National Reconciliation Week

National Reconciliation Week runs annually from 27 May – 3 June. These dates mark two milestones in Australia’s reconciliation journey: The 1967 referendum and the historic Mabo decision, respectively.

Reconciliation is the building of mutual and respectful relationships between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Australians to help both cultures unite as one.

National Sorry Day

The first National Sorry Day was held on 26 May 1998, 1 year after the tabling of the report Bringing Them Home, which was an inquiry into the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. One of the recommendations of the report was that a National Sorry Day should be declared.

Each year since then, events have been held across Australia on, or around, 26 May each year to acknowledge the impact of the removal of Aboriginal children from their families.

Read the full national apology to the Stolen Generation.(PDF, 41KB) 

Please check our events page for more information or contact our Aboriginal Community Development Worker on 9839 6167. 

Local Aboriginal services

Please see below a list of local Aboriginal services:

2020 Blacktown City Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Awards

Each year we celebrate the contributions of members of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to our City. We have extended the closing dates for our 2020 awards to Friday 27 November 2020. Click here to nominate.

For further information, contact our Aboriginal Community Development Worker.