There were lion dancers, firecrackers and King Fu demonstrations as crowds gathered at the Bruce Lee statue in Kogarah Town Square yesterday.
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The life-size statue of the Chinese martial arts legend was a gift from Shunde District of the city of Foshan, China, one of the then-Kogarah Council's sister cities which has an ancestral connection to the US-born Lee, who died in 1973.
Many St George residents also have connections with Shunde.
The commemoration marked the 51st anniversary of Bruce Lee's death and was one of a number of events over the weekend.
These were hosted by World Dragon Fans Club Australia in conjunction with Taste of Shunde and the Wing Chun Kung Fu Club.
Occurring during NAIDOC Week, the commemoration was attended by Minister for Indigenous for Australians and Member for Barton, Linda Burney.
Georges River Councillor Ben Wang said NAIDOC week was a golden opportunity to integrate Aboriginal culture into the Bruce Lee memorial service.
"That's true multiculturalism," Cr Wang said.
"We Chinese are very proud of our long cultural history, spanning 3000 to 5000 years. But Aboriginal culture dates back 60,000 to 70,000 years, perhaps even more. It's not only the oldest culture in this land but also the oldest culture in the world," he said.
"Chinese people have been migrating to Australia for less than 200 years, and for most Chinese immigrants, like me, it's been less than 40 years. When we put these numbers into perspective, we Chinese cannot and should never fail to pay utmost respect to Aboriginal culture or show our appreciation for their acceptance of new immigrants like us.
"Bruce Lee is a champion of multiculturalism. He brought different cultures together by creating Jeet Kune Do and becoming the first Asian super movie star. He believed that all people under the sun are one family," he said.
