Strathfield: Enduring Stories of Wanne
Client: Strathfield Council
Service: Place Strategy
“Strathfield: Enduring Stories of the Wanne” was commissioned by Strathfield Council to deepen their understanding and fill a knowledge gap of Country and the Aboriginal histories of their Local Government Area (LGA) that lies within the traditional lands of the Wangal people of the Eora Nation.
Murawin collaborated with Strathfield Council to develop this comprehensive report that covers the diverse landscapes, landforms and flora and fauna of the area and how they have changed over time, before delving into the history of the Wanne people, the traditional custodians of this land, and exploring their customs, traditions, and ways of life.
The Place – Wanne
By delving deep into historical records and experiencing a Walk on Country with Uncle John and Aunt Liz Dickson, the Murawin team were able to develop a picture of the Strathfield area pre-colonisation and show how Country, Culture and Community live on within these places even when the landscape has changed so dramatically.
Wanne Country, and the place now called Strathfield, is described as the Wangal people knew and cared for it –as an interconnected cultural place, unbounded by European cartographic borders. (Murawin, 2025, page 10)
The report provides a detailed overview of the natural environment in the area through rigorous descriptions of the landscape, the flora and fauna and the waterways that make up this Country.
Large portions of this land consist of rolling plains with red clay and shaley soils. The vegetation nearer to the Cooks River is called today Cooks River Clay Plain Scrub Forest. 16 These plains carried dense forests in parts, and in other parts were open woodlands. (Murawin, 2025, pg 14.)
These detailed descriptions, backed up by historical quotes and accounts, paint a picture of the natural state of the land in the now Strathfield LGA which will not only assist and inform the council when developing new public spaces but provide an important resource to all people looking to learn about the history of this place and and connect with this Country
The People – Wangal
The report also details the stories of the people of Wanne, sharing insights of their interconnected relationships with others and Country, exploring their culture, lifestyles and customs and detailing their resistance and experience of colonisation.
When Governor Phillip investigated the idea of creating a farming settlement further west at Burramatta, they were challenged by large numbers of Aboriginal peoples resisting their journey up the river. This shows that there were many people active along the river to Burramatta at that time, and also that those people were resisting the newcomers arrival in their Country. (Murawin, 2025, pg. 43)
All images in this case study are sourced from the Strathfield: Enduring Stories of Wanne report
“Strathfield: Enduring Stories of Wanne” is an exemplary example of the rigorous research and culturally appropriate methodologies we use at Murawin across all of our work, and we are extremely proud to have developed it alongside the Strathfield Council. This important report helps bridge a knowledge gap at council and gives all who read it a deeper understanding of the place we now know as Strathfield. Crucially, it demonstrates that the Strathfield LGA (or any other) cannot be seen in isolation: it is an integral part of an interconnected, cultural landscape of the Wangal people of the Eora nations. (Murawin, 2025, pg. 90)