Bushfires and hearing First Peoples’
Every once in a while It’s a good idea to pause and take stock. Now would be a very good time for doing this. We’re living in an amazing and alarming time, during an...
Category: Technology
“Aboriginal people never even invented the wheel.”
The following article by John T. Patten is the first in a series examining some of the most commonly stated and ridiculously racist beliefs held by many Australians. Let’s start the series by examining something seemingly quite simple...
Spears: Form & Function
Prior to invasion, the spear was the principle weapon used in Australia by Aboriginal people for hunting and combat purposes. In its simplest form a traditionally produced spear is a weapon consisting of a...
Wattle (Acacia) and its many uses
The Acacia, commonly referred to as wattle is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae. There are approximately 1,350 species of wattle, of which close to...
Kurrajong (Brachychiton) – Traditional Aboriginal usage, food & technology
The Kurrajong or Bottle tree as it is known in the United States (Brachychiton) is a tree which is native to eastern Australia. Its distribution ranges from Townsville in northern Queensland through to the...
Saw-Sedge (Gahnia) – Traditional Aboriginal usage
Saw-Sedge may refer to a variety of plants which belong to the genus Gahnia, in the family Cyperaceae, of which two forms – Gahniasieberiana (Red fruited saw-sedge) and Gahniaaspera (Rough saw-sedge) were commonly utilised...
Traditional Aboriginal Clothing
Traditional Clothing Part of a common suite of assumptions which have characterised how history has been taught in Australian schools since the arrival of Europeans, is the idea that Australia’s First Peoples’ traditionally wore...
Earth Pigments: Did Aboriginal people use Blue Ochre?
Ochre is the name given to a family of natural earth pigments containing iron oxide. The name is also loosely associated with any pigment that may be derived from basic processing by the crushing...
Hard Yakka! Grass Tree Resin (Xanthorrhoea)
The Grass Tree (Xanthorrhoea) is a genus of approximately 30 flowering plants endemic to Australia, which have traditionally been harvested by Koori people for a variety of uses, including the provision of food, drink,...
