The Lake Mac Heritage Series was placed to pay homage to the people, places and events that contributed to building and pioneering the Lake Macquarie region. The pick and shovel were chosen in this geoart series to symbolise the hard work the people of Lake Macquarie put forth into the region.

Aboriginal Culture

Aboriginal culture is a living culture, valued by Aboriginal people living in communities across NSW. It is strongly linked to the spiritual relationship between people and the land (country) and includes Aboriginal sites, places, cultural knowledge passed between generations through oral traditions, language, stories, traditional customs, values and beliefs. Cultural heritage also includes the history of Aboriginal people, from the time that European settlers arrived in Australia and the history of Aboriginal families through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Many cultural values and traditional obligations are active and current despite the separation of many Aboriginal people from their traditional country for many years. All of Lake Macquarie City Council (referred to in this document as either LMCC or the City) lies within the traditional country of the Awabakal people. Today, more than 5,500 people of Aboriginal descent live in the Lake Macquarie Local Government area, many of them far from their traditional country. The landscape of the City has important traditional Awabakal spiritual and cultural meanings and values, which are respected by local Aboriginal people. Across the City's landscape are more than 500 archaeological sites and places which demonstrate the relationship between Awabakal people and their country over thousands of years. At a more general level, these sites and places and the unique Awabakal stories and traditions associated with them also illustrate the resilience of Aboriginal culture and the cultural value of the landscape that is fundamental to all Aboriginal people. Since 1983, members of three Local Aboriginal Land Councils have worked to protect the evidence of traditional Awabakal culture in the Lake Macquarie landscape. Members of the Aboriginal community, including the two Traditional Owner Corporations, have also worked to maintain and enhance Aboriginal community cultural identity and to encourage respect for the value that diverse Aboriginal cultural practices bring to the City. LMCC is part of the traditional country of the Awabakal people. Some families who are descendents of the Awabakal people continue to live in the City. However, as is the case for most Australian cities, the majority of the contemporary Aboriginal population of the City are from families whose traditional country is elsewhere in NSW. This diversity of Aboriginal cultural background means that there are different valid perspectives on many issues. The Aboriginal population of LMCC has grown strongly over the last decade. The City has the second largest Aboriginal population in NSW (DEWR 2007: web site) LGAs with the largest Indigenous population in NSW. Blacktown 7058 Lake Macquarie 5593 Penrith 4085 Dubbo 3909 Wyong 3798 The Aboriginal population comprises 2.2 per cent of the total population of Lake Macquarie. This is a significant increase in recent years. In 2001, approximately 1.9 per cent of the population of Lake Macquarie identified themselves as Aboriginal people. Aboriginal people also comprise approximately 1.8 per cent of the population of adjoining Newcastle City Council. Note that Lake Macquarie is also one of the largest local government areas, by population, in NSW. Blacktown, which has the largest Aboriginal population in NSW, also has the largest total population. Lake Macquarie City Council has the fifth largest total population by local government area.

The puzzle

All historical and heritage information courtesy of Lake Mac Libraries

Any questions regarding this puzzle cache or the LMHS geoart series will be answered by clicking HERE

*** The LMHS geoart was placed in conjunction with the OzGeoMuster 2018 mega event. The OzGeoMuster 2018 committee would like to thank the following people for their contribution to this series. ahomburg, day1976, sedgwickDave, The Morris, bobbiesgirl, and the_garbageman.***

Enjoy!

Marcus Vitruvius