GML visits the Dharug Keeping Place

In the heart of PHIVE, City of Parramatta Council’s community, cultural and civic hub, is the Dharug Keeping Place. Developed with and for the community, it is the first of its kind established within a local council. It provides a safe and secure space for First Nations cultural materials to be repatriated to Country, including sacred and secret objects.

Keeping Place Officer, Karen Maber, a Cabrogal woman and respected member of the Dharug community, warmly welcomed the team to the public viewing room. We were told that the museum standard environment provides best practice care and custodianship of a diverse range of Aboriginal collections, objects and materials from Parramatta. For the local Aboriginal community, it provides a place that Traditional Owners can visit, see and touch some of the things their ancestors left on Country.

We were fortunate to have supervised access to part of the collection linked to archaeological work undertaken by our archaeologists in Parramatta, including materials uncovered during the Club Parramatta project. These investigations, conducted in collaboration with Aboriginal community representatives, revealed rare ironstone artefacts, and evidences Parramatta’s deep time history.

We respect the rights and interests of Aboriginal people in their culture and heritage, advocating for the return of cultural materials. Currently we are seeking to deposit an artefact assemblage from excavations along Phillip Street in Parramatta—reinforcing our commitment to cultural heritage management and conservation aligned to the community’s needs.