At sunrise on Australia Day the faces of four First Nations heroes were illuminated on the iconic Sydney Opera House sails.
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The artwork titled Trailblazers features Nanbarry, Barangaroo, Pemulwuy and Patyegarang, considered influential in the early years of British settlement in Sydney.
Aboriginal digital artist Brett Leavy said these four key Aboriginal figures were "not regularly recorded in Australian history books".
"They hold important roles and their stories need to be shared with our nation," he said.
"Many may know their names but today is about shining a light on the role they played in modern Australian history."
The artwork was made using MetaHuman technology with collaboration from cultural experts and community representatives to ensure historical accuracy and sensitivity, Mr Leavy said.
It's the fourth year of the Dawn Reflection in Sydney, acknowledging First Nations people and culture at first light on January 26.
Who were they?
Nanbarry served as an interpreter and intermediary with the British, considered by some as an Aboriginal spy within the house of Governor Arthur Phillip.
As a boy he was brought to the Sydney settlement with smallpox, which killed his parents, and after recovering was adopted by surgeon John White.
Barangaroo was a fisherwoman who lived in the Sydney area before the First Fleet arrived in 1788 and played a diplomatic role between the Gadigal clans and the British settlers.
Her second marriage was to Bennelong, who became an acquaintance of Captain Phillip, but is considered an influential leader in her own right.
Pemulwuy was a prominent warrior and resistance leader, fighting to preserve cultural practices and traditional ways of life.
Governor Phillip King offered a reward for the warrior wanted "dead or alive", he was shot dead in 1802 and his head sent to England.
Patyegarang, aged 15, served as a cultural educator and language teacher for British Lieutenant William Dawes who arrived with the First Fleet.
Dawes' records of their conversations are the only known first-hand accounts of the Gadigal language.
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