Acknowledgement of Country

Varuna acknowledges and respects First Nations traditional custodians and elders throughout Australia, and recognises their sovereign connections to land, water, skies and culture. 

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of Country where Varuna sits, the Dharug and Gundungurra peoples, and pay our respects to elders past and present.

The Dharug and Gundungurra peoples belong to the oldest continuing culture in the world. They have nurtured and protected Country for thousands of years. They have cared for a complex web of waterways and deep sandstone canyons, great eucalypt forests and high escarpments and plateau, all interconnected with law, language, stories and songs. 

Gundungurra Elder David King has described how Varuna rests on a sacred Seven Sisters songline, a significant law story that connects the location to a web of such songlines reaching through time and space across the continent. We honour the Dharug and Gundungurra peoples and the richness of their cultures.   

Built in 1939 by Dr Eric Dark and Eleanor Dark, the Varuna house is nearby The Gully, a culturally and ecologically significant place also located on the Seven Sisters songline. The Gully had always been a summer gathering place for Dharug and Gundungurra peoples, but from the late nineteenth century it was home to many Aboriginal families and individuals who had been displaced by colonisation and settlement. Today, the descendants of those who lived at The Gully speak warmly of Dr Dark, and how he would regularly visit the community to provide medical care. 

Varuna recognises the impacts of colonisation and settlement, and the suffering experienced by generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia. In keeping with the Dark family’s vision of healing and justice, Varuna is deeply committed to telling the truth about history while being a space for reconciliation and empowerment. We accept the invitation embodied in the Uluru Statement from the Heart by recognising First Nations sovereignty, and we stand for a shared future of recognition, respect and strength. Varuna welcomes all First Nations peoples to a space that is culturally safe and enriching.

We are privileged to work and write on Dharug and Gundungurra Country. We are honoured to carry forward the social justice legacy of Dr Eric Dark, Eleanor Dark and their son Mick Dark by encouraging the spirit and vitality of First Nations writing nationally and internationally.

RECONCILIATION ACTION PLAN

We have recently formalised our commitment to reconciliation through the development of Varuna’s inaugural Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).

The plan can be downloaded here.

If you have any questions about our RAP please don’t hesitate to contact Veechi Stuart, Executive Director via email veechi@varuna.com.au or ring 02 4782 5674.