Aboriginal Culture & Heritage

The City of Holdfast Bay acknowledges Kaurna people as the traditional owners and custodians of this land. We respect their spiritual relationship with country that has developed over thousands of years and the cultural heritage and beliefs that remain important to Kaurna people today.

The Kaurna people are the original people of Adelaide and the Adelaide Plains, whose country stretches from Crystal Brook in the north to Cape Jervis in the south. The coastal plains between Glenelg and Kingston Park provided a hospitable summer camp environment with rolling sand dunes, freshwater lagoons, and natural springs for the Kaurna people, where food and water were plentiful. When the winter months approached, the Kaurna people generally moved further inland to the foothills to avoid flooding estuaries and rivers. This seasonal movement allowed food sources to regenerate, which was part of the careful management of their lands.

We would like to acknowledge that the land we meet on today is the traditional lands of the Kaurna people and that we respect their spiritual relationship with their Country. We also acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the Adelaide region and that their cultural and heritage beliefs are still as important to the living Kaurna people today.

NAIDOC week will be held 7 – 14 July, and it is a time to celebrate and highlight the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The 2024 NAIDOC Week theme, ‘Keep the Fire burning! Blak, Loud and Proud’, encapsulates the spirit and strength of First Nations people and encourages all Australians to listen, learn and engage in meaningful dialogue about truth telling and shared histories.

It is a privilege for us as a council to work with First Nations people to explore ways to support and acknowledge the importance of their cultural connection to the country, customs, and spiritual beliefs.

The Kaurna Yarta-ana brochure is a guide to sites of Kaurna significance and historical landscapes in the City of Holdfast Bay. Hard copies of the brochure are available from the Holdfast Bay History Centre, Bay Discovery Centre, the Brighton and Glenelg Libraries and the Brighton Civic Centre.

Tiati Wangkanthi Kumangka is a permanent exhibition at the Bay Discovery Centre. It was curated with Kaurna Nation and explores the true history of South Australia.

The exhibition about truth-telling that challenges South Australia's history books won the Australian museum sector's most prestigious award in the Museum and Galleries National Awards MAGNA for 2020. It is a must-see to learn about the settlement of South Australia in parallel with the historical experiences of Aboriginal people.

Tjilbruke Spring

The Tjilbruke Spring site, located along the Kingston Park Coastal Reserve, is of great cultural and spiritual significance to the Kaurna people and to the wider Aboriginal population. For thousands of years, the permanent freshwater spring has been bubbling away in the sand and once formed a freshwater coastal lagoon.

The sacred spring site is part of the extensive Tjilbruke Dreaming Story. Tjilbruke is an important Dreaming ancestor to the Kaurna people, and the Tjilbruke spring site, along with the Dreaming Story, remains sacred to the Kaurna people today.

Tjilbruke Monument

The Tjilbruke monument, erected in 1972 on top of the cliff overlooking Tjilbruke Spring and the spectacular coastal views, commemorates the Tjilbruke Dreaming story. Designed and created by sculptor John Dowie, it represents Tjilbruke carrying his dead nephew, Kulultuwi, on his journey south.

The Tjilbruke Journey story (PDF)

Nganu and Tjilbruke - a tale of two heroes

Monash University developed this short video story in consultation with Kaurna Elder Uncle Lewis O'Brien through a partnership between Kaurna Warra Karrpanthi Aboriginal Corporation and the South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools.

On Proclamation Day 2023, Firesticks and Kaurna Nation in collaboration with Council delivered the inaugural Signal Fires. Three coastal fires were lit by Kaurna Nation along the Gulf St Vincent, from Kingston Park to Brighton. A cultural practice that would have occurred in 1836 as the tall ships sailed along the Gulf, eventually arriving in Glenelg. Kaurna and the Holdfast Bay community were all invited to attend and participate in the event.  

The Signal Fires project added to the commemoration of Proclamation Day by highlighting the dual narrative of the day and providing a greater understanding of truth-telling and education around colonisation and Aboriginal histories.

In August 2019, the Kaurna Nation held a special Repatriation Ceremony at Kingston Park. The reburial ceremony laid to rest the remains of eleven Kaurna Old People who had been returned from the Natural History Museum, United Kingdom, and the South Australian Museum.

The Repatriation was an extremely powerful ceremony for all involved, and it was a privilege for Council to be part of the event. The Kaurna community was incredibly welcoming and shared the ceremony with members, school groups, and residents. People who attended were moved by the experience and the generous and genuine sharing of such a poignant and touching ceremony.