Aboriginal Place listing considered for Queanbeyan Showground

Published on 10 June 2022

Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council has resolved to support the listing of Queanbeyan Showground as an Aboriginal Place subject to Heritage NSW preparing an Aboriginal Place Management Plan.

Speaking passionately and eloquently about the matter during this week’s Council meeting, Deputy Mayor Esma Livermore said that the resolution was a positive step towards reconciliation and recognising the long history of the Queanbeyan Showground.

‘Declaring the Queanbeyan Showground as an Aboriginal Place is about reconciliation and this is an opportunity for positive change.’

‘This act will recognise and protect Aboriginal cultural heritage but does not restrict the many community activities that take place at the showground,’ Cr Livermore said.

The Queanbeyan Showground is a significant site for traditional custodians and has been nominated due to its historical, spiritual and ceremonial significance to the Ngambri and Ngunnawal communities.

An Aboriginal Place Management Plan will be prepared by Heritage NSW in full consultation with Aboriginal stakeholders and Council.

The Queanbeyan Showground is already listed on the NSW State Heritage Register, acknowledging the site as a traditional camping and ceremonial place that was in use before and after European settlement.

The heritage listing acknowledges the showgrounds as ‘a rare example of a place where large annual gatherings were held involving Aboriginal groups from surrounding districts and as far afield as the coast, the lower Lachlan and the Murrumbidgee Rivers.’

Consultation with Council, Ngambri and Ngunnawal communities, the Showground Society and the community as a whole will be managed by Heritage NSW as they prepare the Aboriginal Place Management Plan under the required Acts. Council will share opportunities for people to have their say when the consultation period opens.