Community Analysis of Canterbury Bankstown: Indigenous Cultural Impact

This report provides a community analysis of Canterbury Bankstown (CBC), focusing on the influence of indigenous culture within the local government area. It examines the traditional custodians, the Bediagal people from the Daruk and Eora, and their historical impact. The report explores the Daruk language's significance, key landmarks like the Georges and Cooks Rivers, and the Punchbowl site, highlighting their cultural importance. It presents demographic data, including the indigenous population's growth, median age, income gaps, and educational attainment. The analysis further details indigenous-specific services, such as legal, medical, and cultural events, and their integration into mainstream services like Headspace and Bankstown-Lidcome hospital. The conclusion emphasizes the significant impact of indigenous culture on the region's services, cultural recognition, and heritage preservation.

Running Head: HEALTH CARE
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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.

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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

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median age for this group is 25 years indicating that they are younger than the non-indigenous
population group. Income gap is a significant issue for aboriginal group in Canterbury
Bankstown as 12% of the Aboriginal workforce was unemployed in 2016 and 58% of them were
mainly in labor force. The level of educational attainment among Aboriginal people has been
found to be low as only one in three Aboriginal residents were attending educational institution.
Due to short life span and higher birth rates, Aboriginal communities had lower proportion of
people above 65 years compared to the non-indigenous groups (NSW Government 2016). Figure
1 below gives an estimated of difference in elderly population in aboriginal and non-aboriginal
group since 2006.
Figure 1: Difference in older people between aboriginal and non-Aboriginal population in
Canterbury Bankstown. Source: (NSW Government 2016).
Indigenous services:
The commitment of the government of Canterbury Bankstown to meet the local and
cultural needs of Aboriginal people in Australia is seen from the presence of various indigenous
specific services in the LGA. For example, there are many legal, medical, disability, employment

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youth support related services for indigenous population. For example, the website of Canterbury
Bankstown (2020) gives update on several services implemented by the council to support
indigenous residents. Some cultural and community events that were implemented in the past
were the two Valley Trail Reconciliation Walks, Close the Gap Days and Reconciliation events.
Other initiative includes the celebration of the NAIDOC Week during which special activities
are implemented to display the Aboriginal flag and embrace their cultural heritage (Canterbury
Bankstown 2020). This form of practices are part of Aboriginal people cultural protocol as
preserving the rights of this group and sharing their benefits is a part of the protocol and it
suggest the need to acknowledge contribution of the group (Oxfam Australia 2015). The above
indigenous services reflect how cultural identity of aboriginal people is embraced in the local
regions.
Mainstream services offering indigenous service
Apart from indigenous specific service, the recognition of meeting the needs of
Indigenous people has been found in many mainstream services of Canterbury Bankstown. Some
of the examples of these mainstream services include Headspace and the Bankstown-Lidcome
hospital. Headspace provides services for mental health in youths and the Bankstown-Lidcome
hospital provides training to Aboriginal people so that they can enter the medical industry. There
are also services to support the group in getting employment. These actions has been possible
because of enactment of anti-discriminatory laws such as the Racial Discrimination Act 1975
that targets aboriginal people in recruitment Australian (Human Rights Commission 2015). Apart
from employment related support, mainstream services also offer assistance in finance, shelter,
education and health.

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Conclusion:
To conclude, from the above analysis of the community profile of Canterbury
Bankstown, it can be concluded indigenous culture significantly influences services of the
region. Many art and heritage landmarks embrace and reflect the indigenous heritage. In
addition, acknowledgment and celebration of indigenous rights and cultural practices also shows
how sense of indigenous culture is embedded in the LGA.

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References:
Australian Bureau of Health Statistics. 2016. 2016 Census QuickStats, viewed 16 March 2020,
Retrieved from: <https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/
2016/quickstat/LGA11570?opendocument>
Australian Human Rights Commission 2015. Targeted recruitment of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people.
<https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/document/publication/
AHRC_Targeted_recruitment_ATSI_people_guideline2015.pdf>
Canterbury Bankstown 2020. ABORIGINAL HISTORY AND PLACES OF SIGNIFICANCE.
Retrieved from: <https://www.cbcity.nsw.gov.au/community/cultural-services/aboriginal-torres-
strait-islanders/aboriginal-history-places-of-significance>
Canterbury Bankstown 2020. COUNCIL INITIATIVES, viewed 16 March 2020, Retrieved from:
<https://www.cbcity.nsw.gov.au/community/cultural-services/aboriginal-torres-strait-islanders/
council-initiatives>
Canterbury Bankstown Council Webpage 2019, viewed 21 February 2019,
<https://www.cbcity.nsw.gov.au/community/cultural-services/aboriginal-torres-strait-islanders/
welcome-to-acknowledgement-of-country>
NSW Government 2016. Community Portrait: Canterbury-Bankstown LGA. Retrieved from:
<https://www.aboriginalaffairs.nsw.gov.au/pdfs/community-portraits/Indigenous-Portrait2016D-
Canterbury-Bankstown.pdf>

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online.bankstown.nsw.gov.au 2010. HERITAGE, viewed 16 March 2020, Retrieved from:
<http://online.bankstown.nsw.gov.au/Docs/Temp/068_00331B1A.001.pdf>
Oxfam Australia 2015. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Protocols, viewed 16
March 2020, <https://www.oxfam.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2015-74-atsi-cultural-
protocols-update_web.pdf>