The Cadigal and Wangal peoples made optimum use of the land and the seasons to hunt, trap, fish and forage for fruit and plants.

As expert firestick farmers, they burned off scrub near rivers leaving only large trees spaced several metres apart, creating a park-like appearance.

In the absence of competition, the large trees became broader and taller, attracting possums and other small animals which could be trapped.

The ash fertilized the soil and the burned ground soon pushed forth fresh green shoots of grass which attracted kangaroos and wallabies and made hunting them easier. According to writer and naturalist Judith Wright, the British brought with them the notion of “waste land”, unoccupied by permanent settlement and uncultivated and therefore open to the first taker.

By contrast, Cadigal and Wangal peoples did not own the land; rather they belonged to the land and felt both appreciation and responsibility towards the earth. Working in small groups, they harvested the natural products of the forests within the boundaries of their own and neighboring associated clan lands. Bennelong, for example, who was a Wangal, was seen gathering fruit in Cammeraigal territory - to which his wife Barangaroo belonged - with others of that clan.