Eora

Imagine a group of people who have called the beautiful coastal lands around Sydney home for a super, super long time! These are the Eora people. The name 'Eora' was given to them by the first British settlers who arrived in Australia.

It's like a special name for the clans who lived near the sparkling blue ocean. They were the original caretakers of this amazing place, long before any cities were built.

The Eora people have a history that stretches back further than you can imagine! Scientists think people have been living in the Sydney area for at least 30,000 years. That's older than the dinosaurs!

Some amazing stone tools found recently suggest people might have been there even earlier, maybe as far back as 45,000 years. That's like having a great-great-great-great-grandparent who was alive when woolly mammoths roamed the Earth!

When the first ships from Britain arrived, things changed very quickly for the Eora people. Sadly, new diseases, like smallpox, that the Eora had never encountered before made many people very sick. This was a very difficult time, and it meant that many of their old ways of life, their languages, and their traditions were lost.

Even though things changed, the descendants of the Eora people are still here today.

The Eora people are incredibly important because they were the very first people to live in the Sydney area. They have a deep connection to the land and sea that is thousands of years old. Learning about them helps us understand the true history of Australia and respect the people who have been there the longest.

Their stories and their connection to the land are a precious part of Australia's past and present.