Cavanbah, now known as Byron Bay, has always been an important meeting place for the Arakwal, neighbouring clans and people of the Bundjalung nation. Arakwal Country extends from Seven Mile Beach, south of Broken Head, to the Brunswick River up north, out to the escarpment west of Byron Bay, and east out into the Tasman Sea.

We are strongly connected to our Country and it to us.  The Dreaming made the land and gave us the land. Song-lines and stories identify and link places and events in the Dreaming, helping us to understand their interconnected value and show respect. These places are often called significant or sacred sites.

Some sites are special because they relate to women and men’s business or activities, or to animals and plants and their maintenance, others because they are meeting places or places of sustenance for us all. Some are special because they feature strongly in our Dreaming which explains our past, present and future link to land and sea Country and to each other, both around here and further away. Sites can link us to our ancestors and they connect us to the land. They help a person feel strong about where they came from. We can live elsewhere but this is where we belong and so its important to know and understand these significant sites so that you can walk around with pride.

Use the the map to explore some of our significant sites.