A smoking ceremony has been performed on the Western Sydney Airport site to help prepare the land for the start of work.
Elders of the Darug Nation and other Aboriginal community members participated in the ancient ceremony on Sunday morning to acknowledge ancestors and pay respect to the land the airport will be built on.
WSA Co chief executive Graham Millett said it was an honour for the Badgerys Creek site to be blessed by those with a cultural connection to country.
“The role the people of the Darug Nation play in regard to the airport site is very important to us,” Mr Millett said.
“We’ve been working closely with Aboriginal stakeholders while planning for airport construction.
“Today’s ceremony was also attended by the Western Sydney Airport team and their families – it’s a significant moment for us.”
Smoking ceremonies are an ancient Indigenous custom where native plants are burnt to produce smoke.
“Fires are about new beginnings, the smoke cleanses the earth and wards off evil spirits,” said Darug elder Uncle Gordon Workman, who worked with WSA Co to coordinate the event.
Eleven dancers from Chifley College senior campus performed traditional Aboriginal dancing as a part of the celebration.
The dancers were from a wide range of nations, including the Murrawarri, Gamilaroi, Wiradjuri, Barkindji and Boorooberongal clan of the Darug.
“The dancers were absolutely fantastic, we appreciate them coming out to make the ceremony very special,” Uncle Gordon said.
Work to build Western Sydney Airport is set to start in coming weeks.
The project is estimated to create around 11,000 jobs during construction and 28,000 when the airport is operating.
To ensure the project directly benefits the Aboriginal community, WSA Co has set a goal of at least 2.4 per cent of its workforce being Aboriginal people and at least three per cent of all procurement being from Aboriginal providers.
