April 14 Newcastle City Council’s Commitment to Aborigines. The Council of the City of Newcastle acknowledges that Awabakal and Worimi are the first peoples of this council area, and are the proud survivors of more than two hundred years of continuing dispossession. Newcastle Council recognises that the British invasion initiated massive changes to the land and its peoples.
As a vital step towards building a just, common future, Newcastle Council recognises the loss and the grief held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Council acknowledges that this loss and grief has been caused by alienation from their traditional lands, the loss of their lives and their freedom, and the forced removal of their children.