The Sydney area was the ancestral home of the Cadigal band (also known as the Eora people), whose territory extended from the south side of Port Jackson from South Head to Petersham. There are some 2000 Aboriginal rock engraving sites in the Sydney area, and many of Sydney's suburbs have Aboriginal names. The city of Sydney began life as a penal colony in 1788, and for the next 60 years received the unwanted, persecuted and criminal elements of British society. Despite its brutal beginnings, the city's mixture of pragmatic egalitarianism and plain indifference has transformed it into a thriving multicultural society. Sydney now attracts the majority of Australia's immigrants and the city's predominantly Anglo-Irish heritage has been revitalized by large influxes of immigrants, including Italians, Lebanese, Turks, Greeks, Chinese and Vietnamese.