My name is Tim, I am your typical Australian mongrel breed. My dad is Dutch, he came to Australia in 1952 when my Oma and Opa emigrated with their 4 boys following WWII. Mum’s heritage is a bit harder to determine. Her father came to Australia from New Zealand in the late 1920’s and his parents were Scottish and Irish. Her mother’s side is a bit more intriguing. We believe there is English, Welsh and French ancestry and some of the family may have come to Australia in the early 1800’s. My mums Nana, Effie Rice, was quite an entrepreneur and owned up to five guest houses in Torquay from the early 1900’s to the 1950’s, the flagship guest house being ‘Two Bays’. She was one of the pioneers of the town of Torquay. That entrepreneurship is still evident in our family today with my Aunty and her family operating several independent supermarkets across the Bellarine Peninsula. But there is a possibility there is Aboriginal ancestry as well. There is a chance one of my Great Great Great Great Grandmas was Aboriginal. This apparently was quite a scandal in the family and was never talked about and thus the details have been lost as the only people who knew the truth are now deceased. Finding out more about the history and ancestry on my mum’s side of the family is a project beckoning to be done.
I have been privileged to travel to the Netherlands on several occasions and I have been particularly inspired by my Dutch heritage and being able to trace my ancestry back to the 1600’s. When I am in the Netherlands I feel like I am home, whilst not born there I do feel a spiritual connection to that land and my ancestors.
I am very proud of my ancestry and the stories and cultures that make me who I am. But first and foremost, I am a proud Australian, born in Geelong Victoria, the land of the Wathaurong people. The Wathaurong territory covers over 7,800km2 including the Bellarine Peninsula, heading towards the Otway forests, to Mount Emu and Mount Misery and extending to Lake Burrumbeet, Beaufort and the Ballarat goldfields. The fate of the Wathaurong was typical of all Aboriginal tribes. Following European settlement on their land which began from 1835, their fate was marked with resistance, conflict, massacre and dispossession.
I currently live in Loxton South Australia, which is located on the Murray River and within the land of the Erawirung people. The Erawirung, along with many of the people living along the Murray River met the same fate as the Wathaurong following European settlement.
Thomas Keneally in his book ‘Australians – From Origins to Eureka’ identifies that the Aboriginal and European ideals for land management were poles apart and this is likely the trigger for many tragedies that occurred to Aboriginal people. He details the vengeful attitude and actions of the early settlers which resulted in widespread massacres. I guess the prevailing attitude of many European settlers is best encapsulated by a settler named William Cox who told a public meeting in Bathurst, “The best thing that can be done is shoot all the blacks and manure the ground with their carcasses. That is all the good they are fit for! It is also recommended that all the woman and children be shot. That is the most certain way of getting rid of the pestilent race.”[2] Unfortunately this attitude is still prevalent in some Australians today. It should also be recognised that it was only 50 years ago that we still had a ‘White Australia Policy’ which had been progressively dismantled from 1949 to 1973 and that Australia only counted Aboriginals as part of the population since the 1967 referendum. Up until then the Aboriginals were thought of as closer to animals than humans and the prevailing view was they’d die out.[3] I guess despite all the heartache and hardship bestowed upon them their great strength has shone through ensuring they are still a vital presence on this land today.
The following essay on our First Peoples culture and heritage of Australia and how it can influence our future is dedicated to the elders, past and present of the Wathaurong people and the Meru people, the traditional custodians of the land where I was born and where I currently live. I hope this essay reflects the respect I have for all the First People of this land and their ancestors, culture and history.
Like many of us my knowledge of First People culture has not been overly extensive for much of my life. The first time I met an Aboriginal person was when I was 12 years old playing representative primary school football in Sydney. One of my team mates was Aboriginal and I still recall the racist taunts he received on the field. He was an angry young man and I now realise why. This was the first time I’d ever experienced racism albeit not directed at me. On Australia Day in 1988, thousands of indigenous and non-indigenous people marched in protest. As a 14 year old I was at the Bi-centennial celebrations on Sydney Harbour and saw the Indigenous protest March. I didn’t really understand its significance at the time but I do recall thinking that something wasn’t right and that I should be standing with these people. I have since watched the documentary ‘88’ about the March and I now have a much greater appreciation of this event. The protest that day was probably the first time many of us white Australian’s realised we had a black history. This was only 30 years ago.
I have since learned a bit more about our First Peoples culture and it has always inspired a feeling of awe and amazement within me. I have often wondered at the multicultural tapestry of languages, culture and people that inhabited the continent prior to 1788. This is depicted by the map of Aboriginal Australia which is the cover picture for this blog, this map has had pride of place in my home since 2000. I have learned that our First Peoples lifestyle and culture was based on social interaction, recreation, ceremony and the Dreaming and that food was plentiful across the country. They worked the land through fire stick farming and did not have to work like we do now nor were influenced by any of the superficiality and materialistic attitudes that purvey much of our society. I had learned that there were more Ngarrindjeri People living around the Coorong and Murray Mouth pre 1788 than the population is today. That has been my broad understanding of indigenous culture prior to 1788 up until recently. However I should also note that some of my favourite artists; such as The Last Kinection, Jimblah, AB Original, Archie Roach, Brothablack, Kev Carmody, the Warumpi Band, Gurrumul and most recently Baker Boy have also provided me with further insight into the culture, struggles and issues of our First People, not to mention the pleasure and inspiration I have gained from their music.
I have recently read ‘The Biggest Estate on Earth’ by Bill Gammage and ‘Dark Emu’ by Bruce Pascoe and these books have opened my mind to the extensive history and interconnected cultures of the First People of Australia. Gammage and Pascoe have both undertaken extensive research into pre 1788 Aboriginal Australia and based much of their findings on the observations contained in the colonial journals of the European explorers and settlers who wrote extensively about the land they found. They also used anthropological research as well as evidence found in the native flora of this country to inform their books. These books have influenced much of what is contained in this essay and I commend both books as vital reading for any Australian who wants to learn more about the country that we live on. Reading these books also inspired me to do further research and I have since watched numerous TedX talks and documentaries regarding our First People.
I believe that we must learn from indigenous cultures from across the world to help us rewrite our current mission statement for humanity as a whole, which is currently very much influenced by materialism and neoliberal ideology. As Bruce Lipton identifies in his book ‘Spontaneous Evolution’, the re-missioning of civilisation needs to be contingent upon us changing our mission from one based on survival of the individual to one that encompasses survival of our species, humanity. Aboriginal people and those living close to the land survive by maintaining harmony and balance with the cycles of nature. Unfortunately, the glamour of technology and ‘progress’ has eclipsed our connection with nature and our advancement has contributed to disharmony, imbalance and global crises such as climate change.[4]
Our ‘progress’ has also been influenced by the Darwinian Theory which stresses the importance of individuals. Our understanding through Darwin is that life is an all-out struggle where the riches go to the fittest regardless of how it is attained. This mentality has brought us continuous wars over material possessions and land, overconsumption that has led to unsustainable resource exploitation and increasing unequal distribution of wealth. An emphasis on the significance of communal cooperation is required for us to evolve.[5]
Bruce Pascoe in ‘Dark Emu’ goes further stating that, ”Darwinism and its Medean outlook may provide solace to those unwilling to investigate the colonial past and its decimation of indigenous populations across the globe, but the future of the world and its creatures deserves our most coherent thought and judgement. To wonder about trajectory of modern civilisations is not to sneer at private enterprise or scientific enquiry, but to wish those energies were directed in such a way that they do not destroy the planet.”[6]
If the test of superiority of a society was whether or not all were fed regardless of rank or whether all contributed to the spiritual and cultural health of the civilisation then Aboriginal Australia would have a much higher rank compared to many other nations.[7] Taking this test of superiority it could be argued that Aboriginal Australia is much more sophisticated than Western civilisation, considered by some as the hallmark of human evolution.
Thus, we can learn much from our Indigenous heritage and culture but we first must move on from our current assumption of indigenous inferiority which has been established in Australia since Europeans first arrived here to explore and settle the land. The traditional European view of Aboriginal cultures has been that, by and large, life stood still for the Aborigines since they arrived in Australia. This view was based upon the observations by anthropologists and others that Aborigine’s had arrived in Australia in the Stone Age and were still in it by the time Captain Cook arrived. However the truth is far more complex and many of the features of Aboriginal lifestyle that we continue to view as primitive are actually highly specialised responses to Australian conditions.[8]
Quoted in the ‘Future Eaters’ by Tim Flannery, The explorer, Edward John Eyre, in 1845 said that aboriginal culture was:
So varied in detail, though so similar in general outline and character, that it will require the lapse of years, and the labours of many individuals, to detect and exhibit the links which form the chain of connection in the habits and history of tribes so remotely separated; and it will be long before anyone can attempt to give the world a complete and well-drawn outline of the whole.[9]
Time has proven Eyre correct however the two books by Bill Gammage and Bruce Pascoe have provided a great insight into Indigenous culture pre 1788 bringing with it renewed respect, understanding and knowledge of one of the longest surviving cultures in the world, cultures that are the result of over 60,000 years (recent research indicates this could be more than 100,000 years) of co-adaptation with Australian ecosystems. The knowledge built up by the indigenous people of our land over all those thousands of years could very well be a catalyst for us to not only live on our great continent in a more sustainable and harmonious manner but also live on our planet in a more sustainable and harmonious manner.
To enable this to occur Pascoe identifies that we must, “…allow the knowledge that Aboriginal people did build houses, did cultivate and irrigate crops, did sew clothes, and were not hapless wanderers across the soil, mere hunter gatherers. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were intervening in the productivity of this country, and what has been learnt during that process over many thousands of years will be useful to us today. To deny Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander agricultural and spiritual achievement is the single greatest impediment to intercultural understanding and, perhaps to Australian moral wellbeing and economic prosperity.”[10]
The following provides an overview of the longevity, agriculture, land tenure and religion of Indigenous Australia and how it may assist us to progress towards a more inclusive, successful and sustainable future. But first I will detail what Australia looked like pre 1788.
One of the most notable features of pre 1788 Australia was the extensive grasslands that traversed the nation, from the coast to the desert. The most common word used by the European newcomers to Australia to describe the land was ‘park’. This is remarkable for several reasons, firstly park was not a word used to describe nature, nor were there public parks at the time. The only parks known at the time were parks for the gentry, aesthetically organised private estates created by affluent people. Australia was a land of alternating forest and grass, a gentleman’s park, an inhabited and improved land, a civilised land. [11]
The land was a mosaic pattern of templates. Templates is a term used by Gammage to describe how Aboriginal Australians created the landscape to produce the preferred feed and shelter for themselves and animals alike by refining grass, forests, belts, clumps and clearings into templates. Templates set land and life patterns for generations of people, providing the finishing touches to the land to ensure it offered abundance, predictability, continuity and choice. With all of this managed through the use of fire. Predictability is an advantage farmers have over hunters; however the management and spread of the template system was drought and flood evading, creating more certainty than that of a farm.[12]
The First Peoples also created roads by ensuring land was clear to enable ease of travel throughout the country. Much of these roads were used by the early explorers to discover the country and they are now the location of some of our highways today. This was highlighted by Dale Harrison during his talk as part of the ‘Elefant in the Room’ series of shows put on by Elefant Traks in November 2018. Dale talked about the fact that City Road and Parramatta Road were ancient tracks used by the First People for thousands of years prior to them becoming two main roads of Sydney.
The explorer and surveyor, Major Thomas Mitchell, described nine miles of stooped grain and massive fields of murnong that go as far as the eye could see. Another description by one of his party was the land looked like ‘English fields of harvest’. Lieutenant Grey was blocked by yam fields stretching to the horizon in Western Australia and found land tilled so deeply that he couldn’t walk over it. Isaac Beatty described terraced hillsides near Melbourne for yam production. [13]
Charles Sturt also described large grain fields and also noticed systems for stacking grain ready for threshing. He also commented on the frequency with which he encountered large, solidly built homes. Mitchell also recorded his astonishment at the size of some of the villages he found, estimated to house up to one thousand people. Some of the buildings he found were large enough to be capable of containing at least 40 people.[14]
These are but a few descriptions of the land and what was found by the early European explorers and settlers. There are other descriptions of the damming of rivers, fish traps, weirs, irrigation, storage of food and trade. There are also descriptions of the elaborate corroborees and gatherings of people that relied on abundance of food being available at certain locations and times.
The first impressions and observations of Australia by the early explorers of our country identify that this was not a natural or unmanaged landscape. It was a landscape created through the elaborate and interconnected management of land by a sophisticated and intelligent people, a people that have been here for thousands of years.
Ab origines is the name given by Europeans to people who had been here since the beginning of Earth.[15] It is quite apt that Europeans called the First People of our land ‘aborigines’ as they have been on this continent for millennia, since almost the beginning of humanity itself. A midden in Western Victoria has been found to be as old as 80,000 years. The oldest village on Earth has been found in western New South Wales.[16] Archaeological dating of campfires and firestick burning are dated at more than 100,000 years. At Jimmium in the Northern Territory stone tools have been dated at 130,000 years. If this is correct the First People of Australia are the oldest race on the planet.[17]
Whilst there may be conjecture regarding the accuracy of some of these dates the fact remains that the First Peoples of Australia are one of the longest surviving people and cultures on earth. It kind of puts my ancestry that I can date back 400 or so years into insignificance. The longevity of the First Peoples is an amazing story and is testament to the success and sophistication of their culture.
The First Peoples lived alongside the mega fauna for at least 25,000 years until the Ice Age caused their extinction. The Andyamathanha People who are from the Flinders Ranges region of South Australia tell a dreamtime story to children about the ‘Yamegi’, a big scary monster, that eats kids and tells them to climb a tree to hide from it. This is a story about the Diprotodon, a giant wombat. There are many Aboriginal stories that talk of the megafauna. Another Andyamathanha story is of a large snake that ate too much sap from the acacia tree and he vomited all over the land. The vomit in this story is what we call uranium. Uranium was poison for the Aborigines in outback South Australia.[18]
The last Ice Age commenced 25,000 years ago and lasted 10,000 years. This period caused the longest and most severe drought in human history. Conditions at the height of the Ice Age, 20,000 years ago, were harsh with the continent being 90% desert and temperatures at night getting as low as -250C. To survive these harsh and extreme conditions the First Peoples developed an encyclopaedic knowledge of country, its plants, animals and sources of water. The people had to be innovative and learned new methods of preparing food; grindstones were abundant in this time to unlock the energy found in grains. People moved and communicated over vast distances to share knowledge and survive. The social glue for survival during this harsh time was the law, also referred to as the Dreaming. The Dreaming included song lines that contained the knowledge of the land. Following the Ice Age the earth warmed again resulting in sea level rises of 130 metres, cutting off Papua New Guinea and Tasmania from the mainland. This great flood accelerated cultural change as the First People had to adapt again to the changing climate and environment.[19]
For the First People to not only survive but thrive over millennia through extreme climate shifts is one of the greatest stories of humanity.
Much of this history is contained in the rock art across the land. In particular a site in Arnhem Land where over 3,000 pictures dating back over 30,000 years depict the longest record of human history in the world.
Over thousands of years the First People of Australia were learning to manipulate available plants and animals to increase food resources. They transformed an entire continent into a fully sustainable estate and implemented agricultural practices across the continent.
However, the lack of agriculture has long been cited as evidence of the backwardness and laziness of Aborigines. It was the basis of the British legal concept of terra nullius. Terra nullius gave the British a moral right to occupy unused land and to the English, Australia was one vast unused land.[20]
The early explorers and settlers saw something very different as identified earlier. Furthermore, Captain John Hunter, a captain on the First Fleet, identified in 1788 that the people around Sydney were dependent on their yam gardens.[21] The evidence of agriculture, aquaculture and purposeful and planned management of the land was actually identified from the outset of the British colony. Furthermore, the best land was covered by grasses and not trees. Early explorers described the land using agricultural words such as tilled, stooped, terraced and bushels. What is remarkable is the apparent removal from our history of these facts. This is evidence of the underestimation of Indigenous achievement as a deliberate tactic of British colonialism; similar tactics were implemented in North America and South Africa.[22]
The First Peoples domesticated many food plants. Australian grains became dependent on the intervention of the First People, the wide grasslands and monocultures of grain were also the result of this manipulation. The First People also cultivated and harvested rice and yams. Alongside the harvest of grains the science of baking developed. Grindstones have been found in Western New South Wales that were used to grind seeds more than 30,000 years ago. This makes these people the oldest bakers by 15,000 years as the next oldest were the Egyptians who didn’t bake until 17,000BC.[23] Furthermore, the cakes baked by the First People were described by Mitchell and Sturt as the lightest and sweetest they ever tasted. As Pascoe identifies, many historians would have read these accounts but no one ever thought to find the grain that made the flour that made the cake. Perhaps for our culinary and commercial interests this would be a worthy investigation.[24]
All over the country people used every farm process. Templates and tending made farms without fences but did not make the people farmers. Their use of fire ensured that nature ruled their resources less than farmers because they managed over larger areas. Fire made resources as predictable as farming even in times of drought and flood. According to Gammage, the First Peoples farming and management of the land “gave people abundance of food and leisure, and let them live in every climate and terrain. It made possible a universal theology and made Australia a single estate. Instead of dividing Aborigines into gentry and peasantry, it made them a free people.”[25]
Europeans were also aware of Aboriginal land tenure since they arrived and despite this, as well as the evidence of agriculture, terra nullius was still declared. Captain David Collins wrote in the 1790’s of Bennelong who told him that Goat Island was his property, handed down to him by his father. The progressive devolution of land was also noted by explorers, Eyre and Robert Smyth.[26] Each tribe had its own country, each family had its own locality within that country and each man had a patch of land within that locality passed down from their fathers. So in effect, every piece of land was ‘owned’ by a person who was responsible for its management and to ensure it was passed on in the same condition as it was found.
This makes me reflect on who was the custodian of the land I currently own before it was taken by Europeans. If we all seek to look after our land with the same purpose, community spirit and connection to the ecology as the displaced custodians did this would be a significant step towards us ensuring a sustainable future as well as gaining a greater understanding of what it is to be Australian.
The First Peoples connection and management of land was intrinsically linked through the Dreaming.
“All religions attempt two things; to explain existence, and to regulate behaviour. Aboriginal religion integrated these by assuming the spiritual parity of all life, and by subjecting every aspect of it to overwhelming religious sanction.”[27]
The Dreaming is comprehensive and all Aborigines obeyed the Dreaming. It has two basic rules; obey the Law and leave the world as you found it. Together this let place dominate time and translated well understood ecological associations into social relations. It taught why the world must be maintained and the land taught how; making land care compulsory and rewarding and thus fusing theology and ecology.[28]
Flannery suspects that long term economic concerns and religious beliefs coincide so perfectly in Aboriginal society because they have been evolving over thousands of years and therefore embody hundreds of generations of accumulated wisdom regarding the environment and how best to utilise it without destroying it.[29] The Dreaming applied the same relations and obligations to all creation, outlawing fundamental change and being conservationist and conservative. For the entire continent, including Tasmania, to have a single belief system is a great intellectual achievement.[30]
Much of the knowledge and stories associated with the dreaming were told through song lines. Song lines identify that the Dreaming is grounded in the land and its creatures. In depicting the country it passes through and naming the creatures in it, a song line states its ecological associations. Furthermore, a song line can also be a map, compass and calendar.[31]
The rich spiritual life of the First Peoples was built on abundance. They had plenty of spare time and they spent it nourishing the mind more than the body. Art work was numerous and intricate, songs were long and corroborees might last months. All this was possible through their skilled, detailed and provident management of country.[32]
“Local Supremacy, allied with wide geographical knowledge, continental connections, and a universal theology. These levied the soul, but were means and measures of a proud contribution to eternity. ‘Think global, act local’ is an apt maxim for 1788. It made an entire continent structured and committed to making resources abundant, convenient and predictable.”[33]
Whilst we can’t revert back to the way life was like prior to 1788, we can learn much from the First Peoples connection to land. The vast knowledge they have of country and the lifestyle and outcomes their management of land created should influence our values and aspirations if we are to create a sustainable future for our country and tackle our current environmental, social and economic challenges. Surely we can open our minds to the possibility that our First Peoples have an intrinsic role in our future and that their knowledge that has been built up over many thousands of years is currently our nation’s most valuable untapped resource.
We should seriously investigate the grasses, grains, yams and native rices that our First People domesticated over thousands of years. Bruce Pascoe is doing just that on his property at Mallacoota and is expecting his first commercial crop in February 2019. The crops developed by the First People of this land are adapted to the climate and don’t require fertiliser or pesticides. Perhaps we can make the cakes described by Eyre and Mitchell as the sweetest and lightest they have even had. We could create a truly unique Australian cuisine whilst also bringing environmental benefits. Much of these domesticated crops are perennial and will assist the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and the root systems are able to sequester carbon.[34]
We should work out a way to use fire as well as farm kangaroos. This will require a change in the way we view land ownership and land management. Fences are one of the greatest differences between Aboriginal and European land management but it is not impossible to imagine agriculture without them. Gammage identifies that, “Fences on the ground make fences in the mind”.[35] As Pascoe identifies, ‘We just have to think different about the country.’[36]
Despite having plenty the First People also reserved sanctuaries and imposed bans to counter scarcity. Supporting fewer people is a key feature of Australia pre 1788. It made resources abundant.[37] We must tackle our obsession with continual economic growth and our exponential global population growth to ensure humanity survives on this planet.
Whilst there is much we can learn and implement with regard to First Peoples agriculture and land management there are still many wounds that need to be healed and the need to commence a mature dialogue to create understanding and respect. We must challenge the racism and ignorance that still exists throughout our society.
Judy Atkinson[38] identifies there are many words in First Peoples languages meaning listening. We need to learn and practice deep listening to heal the grief and anger. The beginning of healing will come from the stories that need to be told and we need to listen to them. Atkinson says, ‘There is a truth in our country we must confront as we move into maturity.’ The grief of separation and loss that is felt by not only the First People of our country but also the immigrants who have fled great hardship and heartache needs to be addressed and acknowledged. Through deep listening we can together create transformational, thoughtful and reciprocal relationships that will create the understanding and respect required for an inclusive future.
Cathy Jetta[39] identifies that there has never been a relationship based on mutual understanding, compassion and respect between the First People and white Australia. Focussing on healing and listening will be a good place to start to build such a relationship and to tap into the vast knowledge of this country held by the Aboriginal Elders. We should seek out the elders of this country as the experts of land. It is time we regarded them as the experts they are, just as we would a person with a PhD, to enable them to influence political processes and make decisions, to stand with us as leaders in this nation.[40]
Sheree Carney[41] identifies that the more we can understand about each other’s world views the better the outcomes we can produce. She identifies that we need to remove the cultural bias in our systems in order to close the gap between Aboriginal and mainstream culture. Currently our First People live in a culture that does not reflect their values. Through her research she has learned that the three priorities for Aboriginal communities are generally culture, empowerment and community. They want to be empowered to practice their own culture in a society that enables them to do so. They want the freedom to be themselves. Isn’t this what we all want? In order to bring together the Aboriginal knowledge based on stories, and the Government view based on numbers the ‘Interplay Wellbeing Framework’ was developed to bring together the two perspectives. To achieve the Government goals to close the gap in health, education and employment we can learn that culture, empowerment and community are stepping stones to achieving this. One example is that if a young Aboriginal child first learns Aboriginal culture and literacy this is proven to improve their English literacy. We need to walk together to share the knowledge from both world views to ensure a better future for all.
As Tui Raven says in her TedX talk, ‘We must give Aboriginals their humanity back’.[42] Through the process of doing this we may learn that everything we need with regard to sustainable land management, agriculture, culture, lifestyle, and an inclusive future has been present in this country all along.
[2] Quoted in Keneally, T., 2010, ‘Australians Origins to Eureka’, page 400
[3] Koolmarie, J., 2017, ‘The Myth of Aboriginal Stories being Myths’, TedX Talk Adelaide (viewed on YouTube on 11th February 2019)
[4] Lipton, B., 2009, ‘Spontaneous Evolution’, pages 2, 45-46.
[5] Lipton, B., 2016, ‘Biology of Belief’, pages 15, 20-21.
[6] Pascoe, B., 2018, ‘Dark Emu’, page 225.
[7] Pascoe, B., 2018, ‘Dark Emu’, page 146.
[8] Flannery, T., 1994, ‘Future Eaters’, page 279
[9] Flannery, T., 1994, ‘Future Eaters’, page 271
[10] Pascoe, B., 2018, ‘Dark Emu’,page 229
[11] Gammage, B., 2012, ‘The Biggest Estate on Earth’, pages 14-15
[12] Gammage, B., 2012, ‘The Biggest Estate on Earth’, pages 211-212, 218
[13] Pascoe, B., 2018, “A Real History of Aboriginal Australia”, TedX Talk, Sydney (viewed on YouTube on 3rd February 2019)
[14] Pascoe, B., 2018, ‘Dark Emu’, pages 16-17.
[15] Keneally, T., 2010, ‘Australians Origins to Eureka’, page 4
[16] Pascoe, B., 2018, “A Real History of Aboriginal Australia”, TedX Talk, Sydney (viewed on YouTube on 3rd February 2019)
[17] Keneally, T., 2010, ‘Australians Origins to Eureka’, page 2-3
[18] Koolmarie, J., 2017, ‘The Myth of Aboriginal Stories being Myths’, TedX Talk Adelaide (viewed on YouTube on 11th February 2019)
[19] First Footprints, 2013, Episode 3.
[20] Flannery, T., 1994, ‘Future Eaters’, page 284
[21] Pascoe, B., 2018, ‘Dark Emu’, page 20
[22] Pascoe, B., 2018, ‘Dark Emu’, page 132.
[23] Pascoe, B., 2018, ‘Dark Emu’, page 30
[24] Pascoe, B., 2018, “A Real History of Aboriginal Australia”, TedX Talk, Sydney Australia (viewed on YouTube on 3rd February 2019)
[25] Gammage, B., 2012, ‘The Biggest Estate on Earth’, pages 303-304
[26] Gammage, B., 2012, ‘The Biggest Estate on Earth’, pages 141, 143
[27] Gammage, B., 2012, ‘The Biggest Estate on Earth’, page 123.
[28] Gammage, B., 2012, ‘The Biggest Estate on Earth, page 133, 139
[29] Flannery, T., 1994, ‘The Future Eaters’, page 284
[30] Gammage, B., 2012, ‘The Biggest Estate on Earth, page 137
[31] Gammage, B., 2012, ‘The Greatest Estate on Earth, page 135
[32] Gammage, B., 2012, ‘The Greatest Estate on Earth, page 138
[33] Gammage, B., 2012, ‘The Greatest Estate on Earth, page 146
[34] Pascoe, B., 2016, ‘Dark Emu’, pages 169-170
[35] Gammage, B., 2012, ‘The Greatest Estate on Earth’, Page 321.
[36] Pascoe, B., 2016, Dark Emu’, page 175.
[37] Gammage, B., 2012, ‘The Greatest Estate on Earth’, page 151
[38] Atkinson, Judy., 2017, ‘The Value of Deep Listening – The Aboriginal Gift to the Nation’, TedX Talk, Sydney (viewed on YouTube on 11th February 2019)
[39] Jetta, C., 2016, ‘Australia – We Need to Talk’, TedX Talk, Perth (viewed on YouTube on 11th February 2019)
[40] Koolmarie, J., 2017, ‘The Myth of Aboriginal Stories being Myths’, TedX Talk Adelaide (viewed on YouTube on 11th February 2019)
[41] Carney, S., ‘What Aboriginal Knowledge can teach us about Happiness’, TedX talk St. Kilda (viewed on YouTube on 11th February 2019)
[42] Raven,Tui, 2017, ‘What is it like to be Aboriginal’, TedX Talk, UWA (viewed on YouTube 11th February 2019)
Some of the DVDs I have that have inspired this blog include:
- First Footprints
- 88 – The True Story of the March that Changed a Nation
- Westwind – Djalu’s Legacy
- Spear
- Gurrumul
- Putuparri and the Rainmakers
Also check out YouTube, search for Aboriginal Australia and there is a plethora of talks and documentaries.