Get To Know The Indigenous History Of Sydney Harbour While Climbing The Harbour Bridge

Kassia is the Editor of AWOL, and a straight-up travel…

I would argue that nothing is more iconic than a Sydney Harbour BridgeClimb.

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to do it before, you’ll already know it’s surprisingly thrilling. You also learn so much about the history of Sydney and the people who lived there, which I for one wasn’t expecting. Not to mention it’s a banger of a photo op.

A part of BridgeClimb that may not be as well known is an experience called Burrawa — a local indigenous word meaning “above” or upwards”. In collaboration with Sydney Festival and local Indigenous storytellers the Burrawa experience takes climbers further through Australia’s ancient history than the regular climb does.

Indigenous guides will take climbers over the bridge, and teach them about what they’re looking at in Indigenous history — like the origins of the familiar place names that circle the water’s edge, Bennelong Point and Barangaroo..

“Sometimes it’s good to get up high and look around to see the world differently,” said Sydney Festival’s artistic director, Wesley Enoch.

“Every new vantage point helps us see our city through different eyes. It can be hard for the untrained eye to spot the Aboriginal story of a metropolis like Sydney. Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge and hearing stories like Me- Mel and the great Eel story, Patyegarang, Bennelong and Barangaroo, helps make sense of the history of this place and how we got here”.

Not only will you get culture and fab views out of the experience, but it will give back as well. $10 from every climb will go to the Tribal Warrior Aboriginal Corporation – a not for profit organisation “initiated and directed by Aboriginal people with Aboriginal Elders” whose mission is to “spread and vitalise Aboriginal culture, and to provide economic and social stability”.