Future Appin FNRG
Appin First Nations Reference Group
The Appin First Nations Reference Group (FNRG) brings together Aboriginal knowledge holders with cultural authority and deep connection to Dharawal and Gundungurra Country. Working alongside Walker Corporation as the developer, the FNRG provides cultural guidance to ensure Country, culture and truth-telling sit at the heart of the Appin (Part) Precinct.
Appin is a place of profound cultural significance. It holds thousands of years of living Aboriginal knowledge and is marked by the events of the 1816 Appin Massacre. The FNRG exists to ensure these histories are acknowledged with honesty and care, and that development responds to the cultural, spiritual and environmental values of the landscape.
The FNRG’s role goes beyond consultation. It informs planning, landscape and heritage outcomes by sharing knowledge about Country, from ridgelines and waterways to flora, fauna, movement corridors and gathering places. Informed by the Cultural Values Assessment Report, this work helps shape public spaces, cultural landscapes and ongoing care for Country in ways that are led by Aboriginal voices.
Through a co-design approach with Walker Corporation and project partners, the FNRG guides outcomes that embed connection to Country and cultural history within the built and natural environment.
Project Overview
The Appin (Part) Precinct is a major residential and landscape-led development being delivered by Walker Corporation within the Greater Macarthur Growth Area in south-west Sydney. The project aims to provide new housing, open space and community infrastructure while responding to the unique environmental, cultural and historical context of the Appin landscape.
The precinct is located on Dharawal and Gundungurra Country and sits within a culturally significant landscape shaped by thousands of years of Aboriginal occupation, knowledge and custodianship. It is also marked by the events of the 1816 Appin Massacre, one of the earliest recorded frontier conflict sites in New South Wales. These events, and the broader cultural landscape in which they occurred, remain deeply significant to Aboriginal communities and are central to understanding Appin as a place of memory, truth-telling and cultural continuity.
The Appin Massacre Cultural Landscape is formally listed on the State Heritage Register, recognising its outstanding cultural, historical and social significance. The listing acknowledges not only specific sites associated with the massacre, but the broader connected landscape of waterways, ridgelines, movement corridors and gathering places that hold enduring Aboriginal cultural values. This landscape continues to be actively cared for and spoken for by Aboriginal people today.
Given this context, the Appin (Part) Precinct is being progressed with the guidance of the Appin First Nations Reference Group (FNRG). Working alongside Walker Corporation, the FNRG provides cultural leadership to ensure planning, design and delivery respond appropriately to Country, heritage and community priorities. The project’s success is measured not only by built outcomes, but by its ability to protect cultural values, embed truth-telling, and support respectful, Country-led development outcomes for present and future generations.
PROJECT COntactS
Tika EQ
Liam Harte
liam@tikaeq.com
0404 449 625
Walker Corporation
Paul Melrose
paul.melrose@walkercorp.com.au
0419 031 088