The Eora People

The Eora People

What did the Eora people do in Sydney?

What did the Eora people eat?

The Eora People

In the same space that we now have more than 4 million people living there were only about 1500 people that lived in clans of 10 - 60 people.

The area around Sydney Harbour was rich in food. The Eora lived well on fish and shellfish. There were also a variety of animals for the Eora people to eat like yurungi (wild duck), mirral (crested pigeon), bunmarra (lizard), honeybees, danugannuwa (a tasty worm found at the bottom of grass trees) and bulada (snake). They also ate plants like the midjuburi (lilly-pilly) and guwigan (wild cherry).

Men and boys fished with spears from the shore or from canoes. Women fished with a line and a hook, the line was made from the bark of the Kurrajong tree with a stone sinker and a shell hook. Both men and women fished during the day and night and would carry on board a small fire to cook, to repel insects and to give them warmth and light.

The Eora people lived in huts made of branches and bark or caves and spent several months at one campsite. They did not wear clothing however they decorated their bodies with different bands and painted themselves with ochre.

The Eora people were the first people to live in Sydney. They lived on the coast and at Port Jackson, which is now called Sydney Harbour.

The Eora people lived very well in the area around Sydney. They had lots of water, seafood, plants and trees. There were also many animals they used for food, especially kangaroos.

Eora Sacred Sights

The Eora Rituals

What remains of the Eora people?

The Eora and their environment

The Eora people had rituals for commemorating a person's death. Young people were buried while older people were cremated. They were buried with items that were of importance to them whilst they were living. This showed that Aboriginal people believed that there was an afterlife.

The modern day building of houses, roads and other structures has destroyed many of the Aboriginal sites in Sydney. Some can still be found in the harbour and ocean shores. Middens are special Aboriginal sites where used shells from eating areas have built up. They are very important because they show long-term Aboriginal occupation and land use.

Like other Aboriginal people, the Eora were able to ensure their people had everything they needed without taking too much from the land and destroying it. They consistently moved to new locations so that the food in the area they had just been living in could regenerate. Even though members of each tribe had a special connection to specific pieces of land, they did not have to stay there and would travel for social reasons and for ceremonies.

Evidence of the art created by the Eora people can still be found today. Images of animals, fish and familiar objects were drawn with charcoal and ochre on walls of rock shelters. Hands and objects (like boomerangs) were used as a stencil, as the blew pigment around them to create a shape. Images such as animals, weapons and gigantic dreaming figures have also been found engraved in soft sandstone in the area.

1. Who were the Eora people?

2. What did the Eora people eat?

3. What did the Eora people do in Sydney?

4. Describe their relationship with the land

5. Explain an Eora ritual

6. Describe a sacred Eora site

7. How do we know about Aboriginal art?