The Belgenny Farm Agricultural Heritage Centre Trust acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which Belgenny Farm is located and pays respect to Aboriginal people who have cared for this Country since the Dreaming. We acknowledge their enduring connection to land, waters and culture and pay our respects to Elders past and present.

The Camden district lies at the meeting point of several Aboriginal language groups. While boundaries are complex and historically contested, the area is associated with the Gundungurra people to the west and south, the Dharawal people to the south and east, and the Dharug people to the north.

The Dharawal people have maintained a continuing relationship with the Camden Park area for more than 200 years, including throughout and beyond the period following the land grant to John Macarthur in 1805.

This place was known as ‘Benkennie’ or ‘Belgenny’, meaning “dry land”. For Aboriginal people, the land was not owned but belonged to them, it provided everything required for life, including food, water, shelter and medicine. The river, grasslands and surrounding vegetation supported hunting, fishing, gathering and camping and were actively managed through cultural land‑care practices.

Despite the profound impacts of colonisation and the loss of land for traditional living, descendants of the local Aboriginal people continue to live in the region today, maintaining cultural connections to Country.