The Dharawal people lived on the coastal areas of Sydney between Broken Bay / Pittwater, Berowra Waters, south west to Parramatta and Liverpool and extending from there (and along the south-east coastline) into the Illawarra and Shoalhaven districts. The traditional language is also known as Dharawal and was spoken from Sydney in the north to as far south as Bega.

Traditional Dharawal clan groups and their people occupied the southern part of the Dharawal area with several camp sites around Lake Illawarra including Berkeley and Hooka Creek. Aboriginal people moved freely throughout the region and shared resources with their near neighbours without fear of trespassing.

The sites that are now known as Wollongong Botanic Garden, Mt Keira, Puckey’s Estate and Korrongulla Wetland would have been used by local Aboriginal people for tens of thousands of years, and they remain the Traditional Custodians of this land.