Ms Scott was reknowned for her charity work in the inner suburb of Redfern and for launching a number of successful programs dealing with aboriginal aged care, apprenticeships and health.
Sylvia Ingram Scott was a softly spoken, dignified woman who surprised anyone who took her for a pushover.
Born in Cowra in 1927 and well known by Aboriginal communities throughout NSW, along with many past and current politicians, Mrs Scott founded the Murawina Preschool in Redfern in the early 1970s and served as its president for 17 years.
During the 1980s she set up general skills programs at Petersham TAFE, and worked at the former children's hospital in Camperdown as the Aboriginal health worker.
She died after a long illness on February 11 at the age of 83.
Family, friends and politicians were among those who filled Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral on Monday for a state funeral to pay tribute to her.
During the service, NSW Premier Kristina Keneally described Mrs Scott as a calm, gentle woman, who lived by the American writer Max Ehrmann's words, "speak your truth quietly but clearly".
But Mrs Scott's gentle exterior often masked the passion and determination she had for assisting Aboriginal communities, Ms Keneally added.
"People meeting Sylvia for the first time encountered a softly spoken and dignified lady," she said.
"But if ... they thought she was a pushover, well, they were in for a shock.
"Sylvia showed how her fire for a cause, for her people, could burn slowly, and constantly, and achieve so much."
Ms Keneally joked that Mrs Scott's grace could be put to one side, "especially if (the South Sydney rugby league team) the Rabbitohs were playing badly".
Governor of NSW Marie Bashir described Mrs Scott as "a shining light to all members of her beloved family and extended family".
"Her love for all she knew epitomised the great spirit of the Aboriginal people of our land, and the spirit of Jesus Christ," she said.
During a eulogy delivered by Mrs Scott's sisters Norma and Millie Ingram, along with her niece Donna Ingram, she was described as a no-nonsense lady who could mix with the likes of Princess Anne over a cup of tea, but was especially comfortable "communicating with her own grassroots Aboriginal culture".
She gave the "welcome to country" at official events including receptions for Princess Anne in 2006 and the Dalai Lama in 2008.
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