In 1835 John Bede Polding OSB arrived (first in Hobart, later in Sydney) to become Bishop of all Australia. In 1842, he was consecrated Archbishop of Sydney. Before a parliamentary committee in 1845, he famously said: “… I am making myself a black [man], putting myself in that position, and taking away all that I know except that this is my country, that my father lived by pursuing the emu, and the kangaroo, but I am driven away from my hunting grounds, that my children and tribe are subjected to the grossest barbarities.”

Polding had mixed among the Aboriginal people and found among them a deep sorrow prevailing because of the rapid decay and destruction taking place among them. Polding appealed vigorously to the authorities that these original inhabitants be treated with dignity and justice.

All these years later, we the parish of St Agatha’s, acknowledge the Dharug and Kuring-Gai people, the Traditional Custodians who have walked upon and cared for this land for thousands of years. We acknowledge the continued deep spiritual attachment and relationship of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to this country and commit ourselves to the ongoing journey of Reconciliation.