1883

The Aborigines Protection Board established the La Perouse Aboriginal Reserve in 1883 with a focused effort to move Aboriginal people out of sight and out of mind of the colony. The Board became more active in the late 1890s and early 1900s, moving Aboriginal people to La Perouse. This suited most local Aboriginal people as it was a well-known Aboriginal fishing village.

During this period, Aboriginal people with a traditional connection to Coastal Sydney were gradually coerced into living on the La Perouse Aboriginal Reserve. It meant that, despite being able to visit intermittently, Aboriginal people were no longer able to maintain a permanent presence in Bondi throughout the Protection era. In 1884, missionaries commenced activities, which resulted in the Aboriginal settlement being referred to as La Perouse Aboriginal Mission. Several attempts were made by the Aborigines Protection Board to relocate La Perouse Aboriginal Mission residents to other parts of NSW. The attempts failed due to fierce resistance and advocacy by community members who leveraged their relationships within Sydney to remain within their cultural area.

While on La Perouse Aboriginal Mission, every aspect of Aboriginal people’s lives was controlled by the Protection Board and its agent, the mission manager. They were also influenced by the missionaries who sought to promote Christianity within the community. As a result, Aboriginal people were forbidden from practising culture or speaking Dharawal, the name of their language. Penalties included withholding food and supplies, imprisonment and removal of children.

Despite this, La Perouse Aboriginal community members continue to live on the former mission and its surrounding streets, such as Tasman St and Elaroo Avenue, while keeping a hold of many aspects of the local culture.

After decades of protest and political struggle - culminating in the 1967 referendum, which included First Nations people in the Census, and dissolution of the Aboriginal Welfare Board - Aboriginal people belonging to Coastal Sydney were finally able to re-engage with what was now the nation of Australia. This allowed the traditional owners of Coastal Sydney to once again move freely within their cultural area - an activity that would have brought adverse attention from law enforcement in earlier decades. The subsequent land rights movement of the 1980s resulted in Bondi being captured by the boundaries of the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council.