Australia Day 2017 at Barangaroo Reserve

Experience our shared history at Sydney’s spectacular harbour headland park, Barangaroo Reserve this Australia Day with a range of free events. 

Barangaroo Reserve will host the launch event for Australia Day in Sydney. At 7:30am a fire will arrive in Marrinawi Cove, transported by nawi (canoe) from Me-mel (Goat Island). A procession will escort the fire from Marrinawi Cove to Walumil lawns. A smoking ceremony will then take place at 7:45am to prepare for the symbolic WugulOra Morning Ceremony from 8:05-8:25am, with views of the Aboriginal and Australian flag raising on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

WugulOra, meaning ‘One Mob’ in the Sydney area Aboriginal language, is a special moment to begin Australia Day by acknowledging our shared history and Traditional Custodians. The ceremony will feature a dance performance by NSW Public Schools Aboriginal Dance Company, followed by Kari Choir singingthe National Anthem in local language. It will also feature 250 voices singing Budjari Gunyalungalung Baraya-la (‘Let’s Sing Good Dreaming’), as part of the Sydney Festival’s Bayala-Baraya: Sing Up Country program to reawaken and reforge the songlines of Sydney in a performance for Country, ancestors and healing.

The Australia Day lineup at Barangaroo Reserve includes:

• 7:30am: Fire arrives at Marrinawi Cove.
• 7:45am: Smoking Ceremony on Walumil Lawns.
• 8:00am-8:30am: WugulOra ceremony including Welcome To Country, Baraya: Sing Up Country, dance performance and national anthem sung by Kari Choir (in Dharawal and English).
• 9:00am-10:00am: Catch thefinest wheelchair athletes from across the globeas they pass Barangaroo Reserve in the GIO OZ Day 10k wheelchair race.
• 9:00am-5:00pm: Take a peek at the future Metro with Sydney Metro’s life-size train carriage, complete with a 3D-vitual reality experience.
• 10:00am-5:00pm: Discover the spectacular free Sydney Festival installation, The Beach – a monochromatic ocean of 1.1 million recyclable polyethylene balls filling the Cutaway.
• 11:30am: See the finish of the Ferrython as they come under the Sydney Harbour Bridge
• 10:00am-4:00pm: Get hands-on at the Edible Kids' Gardens nature play stations along the foreshore for a unique sensory experience for the whole family.
• 1:30pm See the finish of the Tall Ships race as they come under the Sydney Harbour Bridge
• 3:15-3:35pm: Be entertained by multi-award winning Jazz virtuoso James Morrison and his band on the Cruising Concert as it rounds the headland and moors in Nawi Cove.
• 11:00am-4:00pm: Enjoy roving performances and live acoustic music at Duke’s Pier and Walumil Lawn.

Bring a picnic, get into the spirit of the day and indulge in gourmet Australian native bush treats, including authentic indigenous-flavoured muffins, slices and biscuits, or tempt your tastebuds with food trucks at Barangaroo Reserve or the many cafes and restaurants at the southern dining precinct.