In 1788 Aboriginal people inhabited the whole of Australia and Torres Strait Island. There were approximately 700 languages spoken throughout Australia with an estimated population of 750,000 people.
Before the arrival of people from Europe on the First Fleet, there were no horses or carriages, no tall buildings, no large farms and no travellers from the other side of the world. Australia was a largely unspoilt country where people respected the environment around them and made sure animals and plants were never over hunted or over collected. People only took enough to feed the number of people there at the time and nothing was wasted. This ensured there would be food next time they or someone else needed it.
Indigenous people lived a hunter and gatherer life. The men hunted the large animals such as kangaroos, emus and turtles and the women and children hunted smaller animals and collected fruits, berries and other plants. On the coast people caught fish and collected many types of shellfish including mussels and oysters.
To maintain the fragile environment and because of seasonal variations people would only stay in an area for a certain time. This helped make sure they didn't hunt, fish or harvest an area too much so there would be food for the next season. Every part of the animal and plant was eaten or used to make things such as clothing, baskets, tools and weapons.
It is sometimes said that Indigenous people did not own land and just wandered around. This myth has come about because Indigenous people did not mark out their lands in ways that were obvious to Europeans. There were no fences or barriers as in the traditional European way of marking land ownership and so the Europeans concluded that no one owned the land.
Indigenous people divided the land up into traditional lands using geographic boundaries such as rivers, lakes and mountains. The knowledge about boundaries was passed down by the Elders to the younger people. There were no books and so the elders would pass on the knowledge by talking with the younger people and children, and through songs, dance, art and storytelling.
(Source: Australian Museum)
Before the arrival of people from Europe on the First Fleet, there were no horses or carriages, no tall buildings, no large farms and no travellers from the other side of the world. Australia was a largely unspoilt country where people respected the environment around them and made sure animals and plants were never over hunted or over collected. People only took enough to feed the number of people there at the time and nothing was wasted. This ensured there would be food next time they or someone else needed it.
Indigenous people lived a hunter and gatherer life. The men hunted the large animals such as kangaroos, emus and turtles and the women and children hunted smaller animals and collected fruits, berries and other plants. On the coast people caught fish and collected many types of shellfish including mussels and oysters.
To maintain the fragile environment and because of seasonal variations people would only stay in an area for a certain time. This helped make sure they didn't hunt, fish or harvest an area too much so there would be food for the next season. Every part of the animal and plant was eaten or used to make things such as clothing, baskets, tools and weapons.
It is sometimes said that Indigenous people did not own land and just wandered around. This myth has come about because Indigenous people did not mark out their lands in ways that were obvious to Europeans. There were no fences or barriers as in the traditional European way of marking land ownership and so the Europeans concluded that no one owned the land.
Indigenous people divided the land up into traditional lands using geographic boundaries such as rivers, lakes and mountains. The knowledge about boundaries was passed down by the Elders to the younger people. There were no books and so the elders would pass on the knowledge by talking with the younger people and children, and through songs, dance, art and storytelling.
(Source: Australian Museum)
Life before White Man came:
|
Aboriginals meet the White Man:
|
The Dreaming:
|