The Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council was established in 1984, following the passage of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act of 1983 (New South Wales). We are one of 120 Local Aboriginal Land Councils in NSW. 

As a part of Greater Western Sydney, we are home to the largest and most diverse urban First Nations population in Australia. Our First People come from a wide range of regions, clans, families and language groups. The staff and services at Gandangara reflect this diversity. We are dedicated to promoting unity, cooperation and shared opportunity for all of us.

Our boundaries span, in whole or in part, six Local Government Areas in the South Western Sydney region. These include Liverpool, Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown, Parramatta, Cumberland and the Sutherland Shire. We are the largest single landowner in the Sutherland Shire.

We own and manage 28 residential rental properties and 3 businesses: Gandangara Health Services, Marumali and Gandangara Transport Services.

Our organisation has made claims on a total of 4,700 hectares of land, winning our claim for 1,100 hectares at Heathcote Ridge, where our Local First Nations Ranger program now operates. Other claims are still pending.

Aboriginality

Our Aboriginality connects us, gives us our sense of belonging and helps us thrive. Family, Country and neighbour are the unbroken lines of our Aboriginality. Our attitudes and behaviour towards ourselves and others, passed down through history, best define our Aboriginality.

Family

Family is the heartbeat of every clan and Country. Mother Earth is the centre of every family, every clan. She gives us all life, loving and nurturing us equally. In return, we respect, love and nurture each other.

Country

Our land, our Country, is the source of life. Mother Earth feeds us. She teaches us. She protects us. We flourish and endure because of her. In return, we care for Mother. We manage her, cultivate her and dance for her. Today, we continue to be the land’s custodians, fighting to protect and preserve our Mother Earth.

Neighbours

In the beginning, there were no fences and no artificial boundaries to separate us. We shared the land with everybody. We may have lived apart, with different languages and customs, but we respected each other’s regions and differences. We were as diverse as the land we lived on, but came together regularly to share and trade. This is a tradition we continue today — sharing with our neighbours, respecting our differences and embracing our diversity. This is one of the reasons we are the world’s longest-surviving culture.

We protect and promote the enduring knowledge of what it means to be Australia’s First People every day. This keeps the unbroken lines strong, following the same practical values and principles that we as First People have lived by and embraced from the beginning.

Our work at Gandangara contributes to the health and well-being of our members and the wider community. We improve, empower and transform individual lives for the better. Our pride in our Aboriginality makes the work we do at Gandangara so personal for us all.

Family

Everyone who works with or at Gandangara is considered family and treated that way. We come from the same Mother Earth. We’ve shared the same joys, pains and love. Given the suffering and deprivation we have endured, we must be among the most loving people on Earth to still be here and offer our hand in friendship.

When our ancestors lived on the land, they shared and protected each other to endure and thrive. Nothing has changed for us. At Gandangara, family is what matters most, regardless of its size, shape or problems.

Country

When we gain custody of our land, we take it very seriously. We invest significant time and money in repairing and restoring it to its natural state. We respect this precious asset for our ancestors, our members and to provide a secure legacy for our children.

We continue to fight in the courts and parliament to retain and regain more of our lands and ensure our inalienable right to own them. Through our efforts, our land holdings continue to grow in value and size.

Neighbours

We build respectful working relationships with local city councils, government departments, other organisations and businesses for mutual benefit. We promote First Nations history and culture in schools to nurture understanding and respect. We meet regularly with our members to hear their feedback and needs. We formulate this as part of our Community, Land and Business Plan.

These are our modern-day corroborees, which echo the regular meetings and gatherings of our ancestors. They respected differences and shared their wisdom freely, in a spirit of unity, openness and for mutual benefit. Our members and our community grow and thrive because we follow this path.

Promoting peace

Peace is much more than the absence of hostility. Peace is the active presence of conscious goodness and kindness. We provide our members and the community with practical help, advice and counselling to restore peace in their lives.

If we are truly proud of being the First People, then we must think, act and live as the First People did regarding our family, clan, country and neighbours.

Our Vision

Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council will endeavour to improve, protect and foster the best interests of all Aboriginal persons’ within our jurisdiction, to ensure that all Aboriginal people experience connection and belonging to the Land and that this connection is protected by rights, by law and by means of the advancement of our peoples’ prospects and opportunities to live a full and realised life.

Our Mission

Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council serves as a meeting place for local Aboriginal people and the broader community to come together to Connect, Belong and Thrive, where they feel a sense of belonging through connection with each other and with our Land. 

Our Values

• Unity
• Integrity
• Inclusion
• Understanding and respect
• Impact

One Team. One Plan. One Dream.

One Team. We work together through unity and cooperation – one member at a time.

One Plan. We create a connected, cohesive, and healthier community – one member at a time. (Refer to our Community Land and Business Plan)

One Dream. We become stronger and progress our community’s future – one member at a time.

Our spirit and character are embodied in the core values of the Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council – we are loving, caring, ethical, respectful, patient and responsible. Our values are the only effective antidote to, and protection against, the damaging effects of intergenerational trauma within our community.

Aboriginal history has been scarred by racism, discrimination and injustice. Our values are unchanging and immovable principles and standards of behaviour that, when practised, unite and bond us. They connect us. They cause us to belong. They help us thrive.

We create a cohesive, unified, and healthier community – one member at a time.

Connecting is more than bringing people together. It’s about building meaningful relationships based on respect and understanding. These relationships create a bond that strengthens over time as we share experiences. For many of our members, the most important connection is to their First Nation identity: to their mob, culture, art, sacred sites, protocols, history and Country. This connection can restore the truth of their heritage.

Our connection with members begins with their first phone call or visit to our services. The quality of our connection is developed by how the caller is answered and how the visitor is greeted. It is our responsibility to nurture this connection with our members by being patient, aware and responsive.

We solve our community’s problems together through trust and cooperation – one member at a time.

Becoming a member is the first step towards belonging. You start to belong when you:

• Participate in a meeting, a gathering, a yarn or a circle
• Ask for a service and use it
• Ask for guidance and follow it

Belonging is the feeling of coming home. It’s knowing you are in a safe place, physically and culturally. It’s about being welcomed, heard and seen for who you are. A place where you can feel safe to share your thoughts, your feelings, your fears and your weaknesses. You start to feel accepted when you are not judged or your motives questioned and stop feeling self-conscious.

Acceptance is the rock on which your sense of belonging is built. It may take time if you lack self-esteem, confidence, or feel fear or resentment. We provide you with the rock to build your sense of belonging.

We become stronger and progress our community’s future – one member at a time.

Thriving is about more than just our physical health. It’s about being strong mentally and emotionally, with the imagination to see a brighter future.

At Gandangara, we help our members build their emotional strength. We provide mentoring and support so you can raise your ambitions and realise your potential. Every service is tailored to you as an individual and delivered with deep respect for culture and tradition, sensitive to social codes and protocols. We listen to all our members and see your potential.

Gazing up at a blossoming Gymea Lily is a deeply spiritual experience. Its towering presence evokes the feeling of a soaring eagle, overlooking the land. When we are on Country with these giant flowers, their powerful energy gives us the strength to be our authentic selves and be mindful of our sacred purpose.

The Gymea Lily grows from a resilient bulb, with roots that withstand the toughest conditions, such as bushfire and drought, before it flowers.

The plant’s three sections are a metaphor for the components Gandangara needs for a successful future.

• Stronger business: the brilliant/red crimson flower, a cluster of many smaller flowers, represents our thriving businesses.
• Stronger governance: the giant, spear-like system reaching for the sky is our structure, supporting the flower.
• Stronger connections: the leaves radiating out widely symbolise our growing connections, developing and expanding across our community.

We acknowledge the Darug Nation and, in particular, the Cabrogal Clan as the Traditional Custodians of the land within the Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council’s boundaries. We pay our deepest respects to their Elders, both past and present and honour their ancestors.

The history of the First Peoples of South Western Sydney is one of immense strength and resilience, despite the devastating impact of colonisation. While historical records are limited and viewed through the lens of early colonists, research suggests a ‘clan’ of Aboriginal people, an extended family of up to around 60 persons, once lived in the Cabramatta Creek areas. The Cabrogal people’s name is reflected in place names such as Cabramatta. 

No descendants of this historical clan are recorded on the Register of Aboriginal Owners for the Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council area and its membership under the Office of the Registrar, ALRA 1983 (NSW).

Today, the Gandangara Local Aboriginal Land Council community is a multicultural collection of First Peoples from many families, clans, tribal and nation groups from different Countries. More research is needed to incorporate First Nations perspectives in the construction of this history.

Commercial

We own the site at 103 Moore St, Liverpool, which we used as a head office until February 2019, when we moved to 64 Macquarie St, Liverpool. The Gandangara Health Service, Gandangara Transport Service and Marumali are also located at the Macquarie Street site. 

Work has begun to renovate 103 Moore Street. Financed with a $74 million government grant, the state-of-the-art Gandangara Cultural Connection Hub will feature:

• A Living Culture and Learning Centre
• A Keeping Place for Aboriginal knowledge and artefacts
• Interpretive gardens and rooftop native plantings
• Yarning circles and storytelling spaces
• An art studio, a lore room and community meeting rooms
• Native rooftop gardens
• Community-run café

Residential

We own 28 residential properties that we rent out to members as social housing through our Community Benefit Scheme.

The shape and depth of GLALC's footprint is the expression of our reason for being. Our maxim: Connect.  Belong.  Thrive.

Connection occurs when a meaningful relationship is built through respect and understanding with the ultimate Connection being to Country. Connections grow over time and it can be difficult to Connect with Aboriginality, mobs, culture, protocols, history, sacred sites and art. GLALC treasures the Connections made by Members and encourages and sponsors them in any way possible. Belonging is a journey that starts with a yarn, circle or meeting then broadens to utilising a service, then repeating to become deeper and more structured until finally you belong.  There is safety in belonging as you feel welcome and can voice your true opinion and be respected.  You are accepted and can dispel all your concerns. GLALC nurtures without judgement.  Growing and succeeding results from thriving. GLALC encourages striving for total fulfillment and reaching for the best you can be. With GLALCs help you can monitor your physical, mental and emotional health and look beyond the mundanities to find the guiding light. GLALC tailors individual programs to meet the specific needs of each Member.