CUMMINS POWERS WOMEN

Discovery Day at Barangaroo with Cummins Powers Women partner, NASCA

By Nathan Michael Howell | Sales Director Power Generation Business

On 10 March, l was privileged to participate in a National Aboriginal Sporting Chance Academy (NASCA) guided tour of Barangaroo, joined by NASCA leadership, Indigenous students taking part in the ‘Out of The Box Program’, alumni, and other corporate sponsors.

This was part of my involvement in the Cummins Powers Women network for Cummins Asia Pacific.

What is NASCA?

NASCA works with young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to create healthy and prosperous communities via multi-year programs. Cummins has partnered with NASCA through our Cummins Powers Women program in Australia to improve the educational outcomes of young First Nations women. The Discovery Day event was in celebration of First Nations Women and, in particular, a woman of tremendous significance, Barangaroo.

Who was Barangaroo?

Barangaroo was a member of the Cammeraygal clan and the second wife of Bennelong, who acted as a liaison between Aboriginal people and early British colonists in New South Wales after their arrival in 1790.

While Bennelong spent considerable time in the British settlement in Sydney, Barangaroo maintained her way of life with her people. Led by an Indigenous guide, the 90-minute walking tour took us through the 6ha headland of Barangaroo Reserve, taking in the 75,000 native Australian trees and shrubs that are a feature of the reserve.

We were encouraged to smell and taste the plants that have sustained life in communities that lived in harmony with the land and its bounty. I learned which plants can cure toothaches, repel mozzies, be ground into flour for a sweet bread, or used as a syrup in wine.

We were immersed in the Indigenous history of Sydney Harbour, the importance of the land to Australia’s Aboriginal heritage, and its significance to the clans of the Eora Nation that once lived where Sydney now stands. From the past to the present, Barangaroo is a place of spiritual and cultural significance. The Barangaroo Reserve is committed to being carbon neutral and water positive with zero waste emissions. I can highly recommend participating in this Aboriginal cultural tour of Barangaroo as a guided and immersive learning experience.

Participants learn about the reserve’s Indigenous heritage.