Placenames, seeing Country whole and Aboriginal cultural renewal

In 2016, Grace stumbled across something remarkable: a handwritten manuscript from 1829 listing 178 Aboriginal place names for Dyarubbin and Ganangdayi, the Hawkesbury and Macdonald Rivers in New South Wales. She had been researching the area for over a decade and had no idea such a document existed.

What followed was a collaborative project, The Real Secret River: Dyarubbin, bringing together Darug researchers, educators and artists alongside linguists, geologists and archaeologists. Together they relocated over 90 of those names, producing a digital Story Map, public essays and stories, two major exhibitions, and ongoing dual naming projects.

For this year's National Archaeology Week, Grace will explore the politics and importance of placenames in Australia, and what 'seeing Country whole' through this kind of cross-disciplinary, community-led work means for Aboriginal cultural renewal, public landscapes, and broader public understanding of Aboriginal culture and history.

This event is free to attend.

About the speaker: Grace Karskens is Emeritus Professor of Australian History at the University of New South Wales Sydney. Her books include The Colony: A History of Early Sydney (Prime Minister's Literary Award for Non-fiction, 2010) and People of the River: Lost Worlds of Early Australia (Prime Minister's Award for Australian History, 2021).

Presented by the Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology, as part of the National Archaeology Week webinar series.

When: 12 noon AEST Monday 18 May 2026

Where: Online via Zoom

Registration: https://events.humanitix.com/the-real-secret-river-dyarubbin-grace-karskens

Photo of Dyarubbin by photographer Joy Lai, reproduced with permission.