Encounters with aboriginal sites in metropolitan Sydney: A broadening horizon for cultural tourism?

This paper reports on a subject which has historically received little attention in tourism studies, namely, the place of Indigenous heritage in a major metropolitan centre. In Australia, a dominant discourse has promoted the perspective that ‘authentic’ Aboriginal culture is confined to the relatively undeveloped, under-populated, and isolated, north of the continent. Images of ‘tradition oriented’ Aboriginality have played a central role in the promotion of Australia as a distinctive tourist destination. The dominance of such images has served to comprehensively marginalise the Aboriginal heritage of metropolitan areas. The paper explores some of the reasons why an ahistorical ‘tradition oriented’ construction of Aboriginality has retained its resilience in Australia. It discusses some of the events of the past decade, which have seen new Aboriginal perspectives beginning to be incorporated into the metropolitan landscape of Sydney and considers the implications of such developments for the visitor experience and sustainable tourism.