City of Sydney council shuts down Indigenous councillor's push for Patyegarang statue

Rachael Stringfellow Published August 29, 2022 at 8.17am (AWST)

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A move to fast-track Eora's (Sydney) first publicly-funded Indigenous statue at the site of first contact has been quashed by City Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

Instead, a public artwork will be commissioned for Ta-ra (Dawes Point) commemorating Patyegarang, a young Aboriginal woman whose conversations with English astronomer William Dawes are the only known first-hand written accounts of Gadigal language.

Melissa Jackson, a Bundjalung woman and librarian and researcher at the NSW State Library, believes Patyegarang was most likely from what is now the North Shore, which would make her Gamaraigal, though it is not certain.

"All of the clans of coastal Sydney spoke a language that they all understood, regardless of which clan they belonged to," Ms Jackson told the ABC.

At the August 22 council meeting Wiradjuri woman and Independent councillor Yvonne Weldon had moved an amendment to the motion to commission an Aboriginal artist to design a statue of Patyegarang instead.

"The City of Sydney has some great public artwork initiatives in the works but there is not a single publicly funded statue of a First Nations person," Ms Weldon said.

"The request from the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council was explicitly for a statue. Over 750 community members have voiced their support.

"Whilst major public artworks are often in the pipeline for up to 10 years, we could commission an Aboriginal artist to design and build a statue commemorating Patyegarang this year."

Ms Weldon, the City's first Indigenous councillor, said she was shocked by the decision.

While the call to fast-track a statue was shut down, what form the art installation will take is yet to be decided.

Ms Moore said statues had been described as 'narcissistic' and 'authoritarian' by prominent Indigenous artist Djon Mundine.

In a social media post, she shut down claims the council had canned plans to commemorate Patyegarang.

"The council has done nothing to 'block' such an outcome," Ms Moore said.

"I voted to proceed with the planned community consultation – a vote that has been misrepresented as a lack of commitment to a Patyegarang commemoration and the ongoing work to increase Indigenous recognition in our public domain.

"It was misleading and hurtful."

Ms Moore said the City had consulted with a wide range of Traditional Owners on the matter. Last week's decision is the second time the City has opposed installing a statue of Patyegarang at Dawes Point.