Investigating First Nations Australians’ knowledges and understandings of the physical conditions necessary for the survival of certain plants and animals
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This elaboration provides students with the opportunity to learn about First Nations Australians’ understandings of the specific physical conditions of a habitat required for the growth and survival of particular plants and animals, and how this is evidenced through intricate seasonal calendars and important cultural gatherings. Students can explore how these understandings are applied in current land management practices.
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The Australian continent encompasses a vast diversity of environments and climatic conditions, including savannah, alpine, riverine, desert, montane and coastal environments. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have a long and continuing occupation of the geographical region that encompasses their Nation and this connection to Country and Place is often highlighted by broad group identities, for example, ‘salt-water’, ‘desert’ and ‘rainforest’ people. This has resulted in each cultural group having a comprehensive, deep understanding of the complexities, interrelationships and resources available in each ecosystem. Traditionally, the plant- and animal-based resources within the geographical region of a particular Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander cultural group’s Country or Place provided the foods, medicines and materials required for the construction of tools, domestic implements and shelters. Many contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples continue to recognise that the growth and survival of plant and animal resources is intrinsically connected to the seasonal variation of physical conditions and use this knowledge for sustainable harvesting and management of their Country or Place.
Physical conditions that influence the growth and survival of plant and animal life in an ecosystem include such factors as salinity, nutrient availability, temperature and water availability. These physical factors work synergistically rather than in isolation, evident in the unique biodiversity of organisms seen in different geographic regions of Australia.
Salt is a natural component of soil in the coastal regions of Australia. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples understand the specific requirements of the organisms within such environments and have sustainably managed the ecosystems of Australia’s coastal areas, and the salt tolerant organisms that exist within these environments, for thousands of years. Pandanus spiralis is a coastal shrub common along the coast of northern Queensland including the Torres Strait Islands, the extreme north of Western Australia, and the Northern Territory. The growth and distribution of P. spiralis is restricted to the warm coastal regions of Australia in areas of saline soils and high seasonal rainfall. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples understand the physical requirements for the growth of P. spiralis and the plant is used for many purposes. It provides a source of food, the fibre is used for making resources and parts of the plant are used for medicinal purposes. The Bardi Peoples of the Kimberley region of Western Australia have long recognised that the season of king tides (Iralbu) is time to travel to the coastal regions, as the fruit of the Pandanus spp. will be ripe and ready to harvest. Prior to colonisation, the Bardi Peoples also used the leaves of Pandanus spp. to weave shoes and the palms to construct shelters. In contemporary times, Pandanus spp. remains a culturally significant plant group to the Bardi Peoples. On Murrunga Island off the coast of north-east Arnhem Land, Pandanus spp. also flourishes due to the physical conditions of the coastal environment. Here the Yan-nhaŋu, and other peoples of the wider Yolŋu Nation, used Pandanus spp. leaves to twine fibre for the construction of fish traps, and this process is still in use today.
Many native Australian plants are sensitive to salt and cannot grow in environments of high salt salinity. Bulrushes (Typha spp.), for example, are an aquatic plant that flourishes in Australia’s wetland environments. For the Peoples who inhabit these wetland areas, bulrushes are an important resource used in the manufacture of fibre for the construction of fishing and game nets. The Wirramayo Language speakers of Ngadjuri country in the mid-north of South Australia constructed nets up to 12 metres in length from the fibre of the bulrush to capture kangaroo and emu. In these freshwater environments Aboriginal Peoples, including the Ngarrindjeri of southern central Australia, also sustainably harvested bulrushes as a starchy food source.
The aquatic fern nardoo (Marsilea drummondii) is also sensitive to soil salinity, and it thrives only in areas of Australia that can provide the ephemeral freshwater it needs for germination. However, the spores of nardoo can remain viable in conditions of drought, or environments of limited water availability, such as the desert environment of Australia. In such ecosystems the spores remain dormant for extensive periods of time and germinate in times of rainfall or floods. The Yandruwanda Peoples of the lakes area in South Australia utilised this knowledge to cultivate and harvest large quantities of nardoo. The spores provide a nutritious food source when appropriately prepared, and ground spores can produce flour for baking.
On the Island of Saibai in the Torres Strait, community groups lived on, and continue to occupy, both the coastal areas and interior regions of the island. The differences in the physical conditions of these regions affect the type of resources that are available. The Traditional Owners of Saibai, the Koeybuway and Moegibuway Peoples, understand the physical conditions of their environments. The freshwater inland areas are cultivated to grow plants such as taro, while saltwater environments are carefully managed to ensure saltwater produce is maintained. Traditionally, freshwater produce, such as taro and ducks from the inland regions, was traded for saltwater produce, such as fish, dugong or crayfish harvested by coastal communities.
Seasonal changes that alter the physical conditions of an environment, such as temperature and water availability, also impact the species within these ecosystems. The intricate seasonal calendars of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples demonstrate the availability of resources within a geographical region during the different seasons. The seasons inform the timing of the harvest and procurement of resources, and influence timing for gatherings and inter-cultural meetings. For example, the bogong moth demonstrates an annual pattern of summer migration from southern Queensland and northern New South Wales during the hot summer months when their food source becomes scarce due to the warmer temperatures. The moths navigate to the Australian Alps where they aestivate in cool caves. When the temperature drops and food supplies replenish in the north, they return to breed. This annual migration of bogong moths united families from different Language Groups who came together to roast the moths on hot rocks in areas including the lands of the Ngarigo Peoples in the Snowy Mountains region near Canberra. Families from different Language Groups also came together at Yarralumla (ACT) and gathered bogong moths from Birragai in the lands of the Ngunnawal People. Paths through Uriarra can still be seen where people travelled to this region.
The cultivation and sustainable acquisition of resources including food and fibres by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples demonstrates a complex understanding of how the physical conditions of an ecosystem affect the availability of animal and plant species in diverse regions. This long held and sophisticated knowledge is today being used to inform land management practices and restoration processes in areas where the impact of colonisation and introduced species have damaged environments. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples understand the fragility of their ecosystems and are acutely aware of the impact that alterations in physical conditions may have on these environments. For example, one of the most significant environmental issues of the Murray-Darling Basin wetlands, the traditional lands for more than 40 Aboriginal Nations, is the increased soil salinity that has resulted from land clearing and irrigation schemes. Traditional Owners of the area, represented by the Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations and the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations organisations, are working with scientific and government organisations to restore the Murray-Darling Basin wetlands through water research, planning and management. This includes the reintroduction of salt tolerant native flora, such as saltbush, to improve the health and biodiversity of the ecosystem.
This elaboration provides the opportunity for students to understand how the growth and survival of plant and animal species are influenced by the physical conditions of the environment they inhabit. Students will gain an understanding of how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples used, and continue to use, this environmental knowledge to maintain balanced ecosystems and sustainably acquire resources. Students will be informed of long held, deep understandings about the unique physical requirements of species, and the critical role this knowledge plays in contemporary land management practices and land rehabilitation projects.