It is the namesake of the Tharawal people (i.e. after its native name in their language) residing on the coast of present day Wollongong.

[3] Seeking protection from the sun, early European settlers in Australia used fibre from the native palm to create the cabbage tree hat, a distinctive form of headwear during the colonial era.

Mostly this plant is found in moist open forest, often in swampy sites and on margins of rainforests or near the sea.

The cabbage-tree palm grows best in moist, organically rich soils, and thrives in both sheltered and well-lit situations.

It is also salt, frost and wind tolerant, with populations occurring in exposed coastal situations along the east coast of Australia from Queensland to Victoria.