Auntie Glenda Chalker often thinks of her ancestor who was just a small child when she survived the Appin massacre of April 1816 and was then sent to live in an institution in Sydney.
"My three times great grandmother, she was only a little girl, was taken from her family," she said.
The site of the massacre, where at least 14 Aboriginal men, women, and children were murdered by British soldiers, has been officially added to the New South Wales Heritage Register.
The Dharawal woman of the Cubbitch Barta Clan discovered her connection to the massacre and the cultural landscape 60 kilometres south-west of Sydney when she was in her mid-20s.
She has dedicated decades of her life to researching the history and fighting for recognition and protection.
For her, Appin is a place of great sorrow.
"Governor Lachlan Macquarie declared war on the Aboriginal people of the Sydney region and actively pursued Aboriginal people in order to — these are his words to 'strike terror'," she said.
"And he ordered children to be taken, it was just so planned, and my ancestors were up against guns and trained soldiers."
A journal of Captain James Wallis of the 46th regiment kept during the attack shows the soldiers marched on the camp over the gorge of the Cataract River shortly after 1am on April 17.
"The dogs gave the alarm and the natives fled over the cliffs, a firing now ensued … 14 dead bodies were counted in different directions," he wrote.
Wallis then ordered the bodies of three of the victims to be hung from trees in "a conspicuous part of a range of hills".
In the process, troops decapitated the bodies and brought the heads along with the survivors back to Sydney.
The remains were then sent to Scotland as trophies to be studied at Edinburgh University.
More than 175 years later, they were sent to be stored at the National Museum in Australia.
Auntie Glenda said historical documents showed her ancestor was taken after the attack to the Parramatta Native Institution "to civilise them and prepare them for servitude".
Other records show in 1819 the little girl was returned to her family and went with remaining survivors to live on the Camden Park estate of John Macarthur.
Auntie Glenda said her knowledge of the child's journey and survival had driven her determination to push for recognition.
"She got to come home, and a couple of years ago there was a NAIDOC theme 'Because of her, we can!' and that is in my heart," she said.
"Because without her I wouldn't be here; without her resilience I wouldn't be here."
Threat from major housing development
Auntie Glenda stepped up efforts to protect the site when the NSW government identified the area around Appin as part of its push for 70,000 new homes in the Greater Macarthur growth area.
Part of the development planned for West Appin would have impacted large areas of the cultural landscape connected to the massacre.
"There was a danger this massive development would destroy and infringe on the area," she said.
Originally, it had been hoped five distinct cultural sites would be included.
"The massacre site near Rocky Ponds Creek right on the edge of the Cataract River, a burial site, and an area around the ridge line near what was known as McGee's Hill where the bodies were hung and Broughton's and Teston's farm," Auntie Glenda said.
"Unfortunately, that ridge line has been divided into three areas, which I am not happy about — but sometimes you have to take what you can get.
"At the moment it is in patches, that story along that ridge line is broken into three pieces instead of one continual."
Consultation led by Auntie Glenda has prevented the proposed corridor of land for the Outer Sydney Orbital from destroying the southern part of the site.
"There are some out there who are not happy with what we have achieved," she said.
"I think we have done pretty damn good considering that once upon a time we would have got nothing — things are changing slowly."
Annual memorial
An annual community memorial service has been held since 2007 at the Cataract Dam where a small plaque marking the massacre has been installed.
Auntie Glenda is determined to see the memorial moved to the actual site.
"It might be some years until we can get to hold a memorial down there, but it will happen and hopefully the developers will come to some arrangement for a cultural centre and memorial," she said.
"It's about truth telling and the real history and an important legacy for my family and grandchildren."
A spokesman for one of the major developers in the area, Walker Corporation, said the company looked "forward to continuing to work together on accessibility to the site and other programs, which could include an Indigenous cultural centre".
