Aboriginal colonisation

Agriculture

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Woman, who were the people who gathered plants and seeds in Aboriginal times, were the first to make bread and the second attempt, was 13,000 years after that. To maintain the agriculture of the land Aboriginal people burned the plants to help them grow faster. The plants Aboriginals planted, included, Mulga's, Wiry wattle's, Coolabah trees, bush tomatoes, native peaches, native plums, desert figs, desert yams, Nalgoo, green plums and many more. The Aboriginal grounds were covered in holes to dig the roots of yam tubers.

Pictures

The fishing contraptions and weapons

The Aboriginals made tools used for fishing, spears and nets. They made the spears with a hard rock at the tips end strapped to a stick. To make the nets they would use tree bark. The aboriginals would chew the bark or munch it, then they would roll it out flat and long. After that, they would weave it into a net. The most used contraption for Aboriginal aquaculture is the Brewarrina trap, being over 40,000 years old. It withholds strong winds and massive floods. The trap was thought to be made by Baiame (The creator spirit). The trap showed the skilled engineering in fish migration

Fishing tools and contraptions

https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/fishing

The fish.

The fish

The Aboriginals would trap all kinds of fishes

• Sea snails (abalone)
• turtles
• shellfish
• fish

The Aboriginals would preserve the fish by drying, smoking, canning and freezing the fish. They would only take a certain amount of fish fit for their needs. The Brewarrina is the main supplier of fish, gathering large amounts of seafood.

https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/fishing

The culture and identity

https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2017/07/07/what-role-does-elder-have-indigenous-communities

The culture and identity

The First Nations found identity in fishing. It shaped their personality and culture. Mental, physical and spiritual well-being . The fish is big part of their cultural ceremonies which ties with family. Fish represents abundance, fertility, prosperity and renewal.

https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/fishing

Materials

Before colonisation, Aboriginal houses were made of many materials. Some houses were made of cane reed, and palm leaves as the roof or stone and sapling. They would also use bark.

Material

https://www.archdaily.com/catalog/us/products/21682/reeds-tai-reed-canes-caneplex-design/228951?ad_source=neufert&ad_medium=gallery&ad_name=open-gallery

Structure

Most Aboriginal houses were shaped like domes or huts. They would made their houses by strapping saplings together and then covering it with leafy branches or thick sheets of bark. Most of the houses were interconnected meaning they were connected on the inside. This means that they were still able to interact with each other during the rain.

Structure

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-14/traditional-aboriginal-huts-being-rebuilt-along-tasmanian-coast/12353032

Lifestyle

Aboriginals would normally live in small communities or tribes. They would survive by hunting or gathering their food. The men would hunt while the women take care of the children. During cold nights, they would keep several fires burning around them. They would also sleep next to a campfire.

https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/the-first-farmers-20110930-1l1gv.html

Facts

- There were over 500 nations/clan groups in Australia.

- There was also over 250 languages and over 800 dialects spoken in Australia.

- Around 750 000 Aboriginal people lived in Australia before colonisation.

Facts

https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/map-indigenous-australia

Caching

Small stores such as acacia and eucalypt seeds, were preserved and left in a protected location. They covered them with spinfex for consumption later in the year when all other foods has been exhausted.

Stockpiling

This was most commonly used prior to large ceremonies where hundreds of people would gather for an extended period. Examples of stockpiling were seen by many explorers, who often helped themselves to these stores to survive on their expeditions.

Direct Storage

Aboriginal people made chambers from clay and straw for storing seeds, fruits, nuts, gum, tubers of various sorts, eggs, meat, fish, fish oil and even mussels. This method of Food Storage was most commonly used out of the all. Large grain stores of more than 50 kilograms were found in perfect condition sewn up in animal skins, hollow trees and rock wells were also used.

Back-burning

Back-burning was used maintain and sculpt the lands. It prevents bushfires and helps save the land from destruction. Back-burning burns all the leaf litter on the ground which is the fuel for bushfires. Back-burning makes way for new life like new vegetation and undergrowth. Back-burning does this by burning all the old, withering and dead plant life to make new life for seedlings.

Hunting

Fire is used as a method of hunting as well. Some Aboriginal clans and tribes used fire to help them catch animals for any purpose. Thee Aboriginal peoples would light fire and scare the prey, the animal the Aboriginal peoples were hunting, and make the prey think there is a bushfire. The prey then reacts by fleeing and doesn't know that it is being tricked. The Aboriginal peoples then surround the creature and then the prey realises that it is trapped as it can't go hide at home and can't escape as it is surrounded.

Fire was used for hunting. Some Aboriginal clans and tribes used fire in methods to scare animals out of their homes to make it easier to hunt. This method makes the prey, the animal the Aboriginal peoples are hunting, think that there is a bushfire and the prey then flees their home, making them vulnerable. This makes sure that the prey is trapped as it can't go

Agriculture

• https://www.anbg.gov.au/gardens/visiting/exploring/aboriginal-trail/
• Young dark emu, Author: Bruce Pascoe, Pages: 16-33
• https://www.integratesustainability.com.au/2019/08/07/australias-hidden-agricultural-legacy/
• https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/027782

Aquaculture

Young Dark Emu - Bruce Pascoe (pages 34 - 42)

• https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/aboriginal-fishing/nsw-aboriginal-aquaculture-strategy#:~:text=Aquaculture%20has%20been%20practiced%20for,of%20engineering%20and%20fish%20migration.
• https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/fishing

Home

- https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/oct/09/australia.barbaramcmahon

- https://www.aboriginalculture.com.au/housing.html#:~:text=Shelters%20made%20from%20a%20framework,and%20covering%20with%20palm%20fronds.

- https://www.twinkl.com.au/resource/au-sc-72-aboriginal-shelters-display-poster

- Young Dark Emu - Bruce Pascoe ( chapter 4 - pages 44 - 55 )

Food Storage

Food

Storage

Sources:

- Young Dark Emu book (chapter 5 pages 56 to 59) By: Bruce Pascoe.

- https://www.10best.com/interests/food-culture/australias-indigenous-cuisine-is-making-a-comeback/

Fire

- Young Dark Emu (chapter 6 pages 62 and 65) By: Bruse Pascoe.

Fire

Image sources

https://www.foreground.com.au/culture/decolonising-agriculture-bruce-pascoes-dark-emu/attachment/nla-obj-138499828-1/

Background