Visitors should be aware that this Research Guide may contain images or documentation relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are deceased.
Here are some books that you may find useful during your studies. Search the Bennies catalogue Oliver for more, or browse the Non-fiction collection NFS.
Cooee Mittigar by 
Baby Business by 
The ecological community is known as the 'Blue Gum High Forest of the Sydney Basin Bioregion'.
Blue Gum High Forest in the Sydney Basin Bioregion - critically endangered ecological community listing
Would you like to know more about the native trees in your local area? For a complete list of all native species, download Trees indigenous to Hornsby Shire - 23kb
Blue Gum High Forest in the Sydney Basin Bioregion - profile
Dyarubbin, the Hawkesbury River, begins at the confluence of the Grose and Nepean rivers and ends at Broken Bay. This long, winding and ancient river has been home to the Darug people for millennia and is a vital and sustaining resource. Darug culture, spirituality and sense of being are all intrinsically connected to the river.
Before European settlement, forest, woodland and heathland ecological communities, including the Blue Gum High Forest covered the Sydney region. This ecological community is now restricted to small bushland remnants nestled amongst the suburbs of Sydney.
The Blue Gum High Forest is listed as a critically endangered ecological community under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). It is also listed as an endangered ecological community in NSW under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995
As Sydney has developed, much of the original vegetation has been cleared or significantly disturbed. Consequently many native plants and animals have become locally extinct or are represented by such small isolated populations that they are threatened with extinction. Remnant natural areas and threatened species require careful management.
Al-lo-wah jumna yenu way a pemel ya Daruga
(Together we walk on the land of the Darug).
We acknowledge that Mount St Benedict College sits on the land of the Darug Aboriginal people.
The Darug people are the traditional custodians of the land on which our College stands. We must respect the land and value the heritage of the Darug people. By doing so we are respecting the Darug people and their culture. It is important to recognise and acknowledge the Darug people as they hold vital links to the heritage of the land. The connection they have with the land is precious and needs to be respected and maintained for future generations.
Commissioned Artwork by Leanne Mulgo Watson
Only 37 ha of Blue Gum High Forest remains in HornsbyShire, most of which is modified or degraded and is crit ically endangered. Often these areas consist of clumps of trees in urban landscapes, in less developed sites such as Council reserves, large backyards, creek lines and schoolyards.
These sites are of natural heritage significance as they are remnants of past vegetation.
Forests are dynamic and diverse and are home to a vast variety of flora and fauna. Different plant and animal species thrive in different environments and conditions.
The Darug are a group descending from an indigenous Australian people of that name, which shares strong ties of kinship and, in pre-colonial times, survived as skilled hunters in family groups or clans scattered throughout much of what is modern-day Sydney.
The Darug, originally a Western Sydney people, were bounded by the Kuringgai to the northeast around Broken Bay, the Darkinjung to the north, the Wiradjuri to the west on the eastern fringe of the Blue Mountains, the Gandangara to the southwest in the Southern Highlands, the Eora to the east[2] and the Tharawal to the southeast in the Illawarra area.
