Friends of Kiama Library and Kiama and District Historical Society welcomes all to hear from historian and archeologist Paul Irish at the Kiama Family History Centre on February 2 at 2.30pm.

Cost for members is $5, for guests is $8.

Paul has researched the Aboriginal history of Sydney for more than 10 years and is the author of “Hidden in Plain View: The Aboriginal People of Coastal Sydney”, published in 2017.

The book tells the powerful story of Aboriginal lives in the nineteenth century that was largely ignored in colonial narratives, the book winning the Regional Community History Prize at the 2018 NSW Premier’s History Awards.

“Hidden in Plain View” shows that Aboriginal people never disappeared from Sydney in the nineteenth century as is often assumed. Instead they lived across colonial Sydney and interacted with its residents and economy, often in unexpected ways. They also travelled to nurture family connections along the coast beyond Sydney, including south to the Illawarra and Shoalhaven. 

Copies of the book will be on sale.

Dr Irish will talk about his book and will also introduce attendees to the exhibition in the library, “This is Where They Travelled: Historical Aboriginal Lives in Sydney”, created with researchers from the La Perouse Aboriginal community,  which maps the lives of a number of Aboriginal people with connections to coastal Sydney in the nineteenth and early twentieth century.

The exhibition will remain open for the month of February.