Community Analysis of Canterbury Bankstown (CBC) local government

Running Head: HEALTH CARE
Health care
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1HEALTH CARE
Introduction
The main purpose of the report is to conduct community analysis of Canterbury
Bankstown (CBC) local government and find out the influence of indigenous culture on the local
area. This will be done by looking at the traditional custodians of the land, evaluating their
languages and culture, demographics, indigenous specific services and other mainstream services
for indigenous.
Traditional custodians of the land and language
The Bankstown identity as a culturally diverse city has grown because of the historical
impact of the Aboriginal people in the land. The Bediagal people from the Daruk and the Eora
people are the traditional custodians of the Canterbury Bankstown council. These Aboriginal
peoples were among the most culturally and linguistically diverse people of the world. The
influence of this indigenous group on the LGA is understood from the rich cultural and
aboriginal heritage of the land and the presence of various important indigenous specific
landmarks and services in the region (online.bankstown.nsw.gov.au 2010).
Language:
The Daruk language is the main language of these indigenous habitants and it is considered as
the largest Aboriginal language in LGA (Australian Bureau of Health Statistics, 2016). Hence,
this particular language is intrinsic to cultural identity and understanding of the needs of
Aboriginal people in Canterbury Bankstown (online.bankstown.nsw.gov.au 2010). Thus, access
to culturally appropriate services may be reflective of the important indigenous values for the
rest of the population in the LGA. The review of services in the area can give insight regarding
this factor.

2HEALTH CARE
Sites of significance:
There are many important landmarks and sites in the Canterbury Bankstown council that
reminds people about its indigenous heritage. For example, the Georges river and Cooks River
are reflective of indigenous lifestyle as the area has many rocks and overhang paintings, stone
scrapers and grooves illustrating their lifestyle. In the Cooks river, there is a remaining art work
site which is considered as the most significant rock shelter nearby the river. The site is believed
to be about 1000 to 5000 years old. Another site of historical significance in the Council is at
Punchbowl, which is a site of Aboriginal resistance to settlers. Indigenous mosaics have been
found in Gough Whitlam Park at Undercliff and it was built to pay tribute to the Indigenous
people of the region (Canterbury Bankstown 2020). These sites are significant reminders of
indigenous lifestyle as the rock shelters were signs of occupation and it shows that the
Aboriginal people might haves used these regions for cooking and camping. These sites
introduce rest of the population into the lifestyle and artworks of the Aboriginal people of the
LGA.
Indigenous population:
The new Canterbury Bankstown Council was developed by the NSW government in
2016 and it replaces the previously separated Bankstown and Canterbury Council’s. The
estimated population of the region in 2017 was 3, 46, 302 and a growth of 21.54% has been
forecasted between 2019 and 2036. According to 2016 census data for Canterbury Bankstown,
0.7% of the population consists of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The median age
of people in the council is 35 years (Australian Bureau of Health Statistics, 2016). According to
the 2016 census, the aboriginal population has increased by 17% between 2011 and 2016. The