Armidale Regional Council acknowledges the traditional custodians of the Armidale Region and pays respects to Elders past, present and emerging. The Armidale Regional Community pay tribute to local Aboriginal Custodians’ love of land, love of people and love of culture.
Aboriginal Peoples have been living on and travelling through the Armidale Region for thousands of years. Aboriginal People made use of the abundant natural resources found across the area. Rock art as well as stone tools are located throughout Armidale and the surrounding areas. Many locations throughout the New England were well known meeting sites for Aboriginal People.
To learn more about the history and heritage of the people who first called this area home, explore the resources below:
Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place
The Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place protects, celebrates and shares Aboriginal Culture with local people and visitors.
is a museum, art gallery, gathering place and education centre.
https://www.acckp.com.au/
Learn more about local Aboriginal People’s dreaming stories in relation to the New England Landscape, see the Rola Stone documentary website:
https://www.rolastone.com/
Local Aboriginal Rock Art
To learn more about some of the Aboriginal Rock Art found in the New England Region, see Making Old Markings New, Arts North West, 2018:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55514bdfe4b01797f36695c6/t/5f277ab28dd86201c1321f71/1596422869343/MOMN_ebook+FINAL.pdf
Armidale Regional Council employs Cyril Green as the Aboriginal Community Development Officer. He facilitates Council's Aboriginal Action Plan 2015-2019 (PDF 821.8KB), as well as coordinates the local Aboriginal Inter-agency meetings, annual NAIDOC Week activities and other Aboriginal community events. Cyril can be contacted on (02) 6770 3936 or emailed at cgreen@armidale.nsw.gov.au