> **AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL PEOPLE**

The continent \"Down Under\", Australia, has five deserts and, together,
they cover more than one---third of the land mass or 890,000 sq. mi.
(2.3 million km). The Great Sandy, Victoria, and Simpson Deserts are
sandy with a high barometric pressure system; while the Gibson and
Stuart are stony and are in the mountain\'s rain shadow.

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Australia separated from Antarctica about 40 million years ago and
consequently its plants and animals evolved in isolation, developing
into unique flora and fauna. Among the plants are: acacia, eucalyptus,
saltbush, spinifex grass, and bottlebrush, which the natives soaked in
water for a sugary drink. The animal species include: blue---tongued
lizard, dingo, kangaroo, rabbit-eared bandicoot, koalas, wombats,
cockatoos, galahs; and the primitive and very unique egg laying mammals,
the platypus and echidna.

The worldwide symbol for Australia is Uluru, or Ayers Rock. A geological
upheaval occurred 600 million years ago when the world's southern
continents collided, forming \"Gondwana\" and causing a thousand---mile
range of mountains to rise. Over the eons, the mountains wore down into
piles of rubble. Some of the heaps fused to form three geological
features: Mount Connor, the Olgas, and Uluru.

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Brick red in color, Uluru is shaped like a loaf of bread, being round at
the ends and slightly humped in the middle. Many groups of indigenous
peoples, or \"Aborigines\", came to the rock for more than 20,000 years
for its freshwater springs. In the Aborigine folklore, the creation of
Uluru is told in the story of the Mulga Seed Men, the Carpet Snakes, and
the Marsupial Rats. According to the folktale, the horrific fighting
among these created the ridges and gullies on the face of the Rock. To
this day, the native people tell this story to their children to remind
them of the importance of social commitments and the danger of breaking
them.

It is theorized that the Aboriginal people came to Australia from
Southeast Asia and the islands to the north, with small sea voyages of
perhaps 50 miles at a time until they reached Australia. This was,
perhaps, the first time mankind had ever colonized by sea. (North and
South America were probably not inhabited at this time, the Pleistocene
era.) As the oceans rose and took over the coastal land, the people
moved southward in all directions. By 20,000 B.C., they had reached
present-day Sydney Harbor. By the time James Cook, and, later, the First
Fleet arrived, there were probably 300,000 Aborigines throughout
Australia, most living along the coasts where there was more rain and
food.

These first Australians were divided into tribes which grew or shrank
with the availability of food. Each tribe of hunter/gatherers moved
within a proscribed area dictated by their hunting customs and totemism.
They did not have any notion of private property or leaders. The land
was of the greatest importance, dictating their identity, language, and
religion. They had their own stories of the Dreamtime and the landmarks
of their area. Even today, natives who have lived away from their
territory for two or three generations still identify with it.

The main food source for the early Aborigines came from the sea. Their
boats were made by cutting a long oval of bark from an eucalyptus tree
and binding both ends. A fire was kept in the bottom of the boat, on
clay, so that the fish could be cooked and eaten at sea. The fragility
of these boats suited the nomadic way of life as they were easy to carry
and just as easy to replace. The men hunted emus, kangaroo, lizards, and
geese, with spears, stone axes, and a fire stick. The women did their
vegetable/fruit collecting with digging sticks. They also gathered
turtles, insects, nuts and honey. The only semidomestic animals were the
wild, young dingos, who probably migrated with the original natives.
Water holes and rain pools were the source of water. There was no
indication of planned agriculture. There was no surplus since there was
no means of storage. There has been no evidence of property ownership,
money, or outside trade.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="3.5034722222222223in"
height="2.4833333333333334in"}Caves or branch---grass dwellings were the
main types of shelter. Home was indicated by the hearth fire, and the
fire stick made that portable. Clothing was probably at a minimum, but
plagues of mosquitoes and flies were battled by keeping fish oil on the
body. To this was added animal grease, sand, dust, and sweat. Their
muscular development and stamina was outstanding.

Aboriginal art, religion, and music are based on the stories of the time
of the Tjukurpa, or Dreamtime. The stories tell of the land being
created by the Ancestors, who had some characteristics of animals and
some of human beings. In addition, they were able to change from animal
to human. As these Ancestors moved across the land they created the
mountains, valleys, rivers, sand dunes, and waterholes. Wherever there
was an important adventure or event, energy was left in the ground. The
native people believe that they can draw on this energy, thus making
many places, all across Australia sacred places to different tribes. As
well as telling the creation story, the Dreamtime states the laws for
human behavior, including: how to relate to other people, how to care
for the land, and even how to prepare certain foods.

The first documented European to visit Australia was William Jansz, who
had been sent by the Dutch East India Company in 1605. Dutch exploration
attempts continued through 1644 but, by then, the Company had lost
interest in the land to the south. The Aboriginal people were to be left
in relative peace from the outside world for a while yet.

However, on April 1, 1770, Captain James Cook officially took possession
of New Zealand for Great Britain and then anchored in Botany Bay on the
April 29. "I now once more hoisted English Colours, and in the name of
His Majesty King George the Third take possession of the whole
Easterncoast \... after which we fired 3 Volleys of small Arms."(3.)
Cook made two more voyages to the 'Great South Land' before he was
killed in Hawaii. (He made remarkably accurate maps, even though he did
not have the use of a chronometer until his second voyage. He had made
known to Europe more of the world than anyone else at that time.)

3\. "Captain Cook" poster. Artarmon, N.S.W., Australia, Peter Leyden
Pub. House, n.d.

Exploring with Cook was the botanist, Joseph Banks. It was his report
back to the British government that paved the way for the first penal
colony. The few Australians he observed were reported to be
"ill---armed, backward, and timid; most of them ran at the sight of a
white face; and they had no goods or property to defend." (4.)

> 4\. Hughes, Robert. [The Fatal Shore]{.underline}. New York, Knopf,
> 1986. p. 57.

A little known result of the American Revolution was the establishment
of the British colony of New South Wales. With the thirteen American
colonies closed to the shipment of convicts as indentured servants,
Great Britain realized that it had to find a new site for its convicted
felons, and that it must be across an ocean. Unrest in Ireland,
Scotland, and Wales, as well as the French Revolution, made the choosing
of a distant site increasingly important. The number of prisoners was
rising steadily. Old ships, called "hulks,\" were moored in the Thames,
and other rivers, housing the extra prisoners under terrible conditions.
Taking into consideration Cook's and Banks\' recommendation that the
east coast of Australia might be a good site for a settlement, the
government decided in August 1786 that Botany Bay, New South Wales would
be the site of a new penal colony.

Captain Arthur Phillip was placed in charge of the expedition, and the
First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay between the 18th and 20th of January,
1788. Finding no fresh water, he moved the eleven ships to Port Jackson,
now Sydney. Between 1788 and 1868, 160,000 convicts (men and women) were
transported to Australia.

Although the local tribe had greeted the First Fleet in a friendly
manner, hostilities soon broke out. Trying to avoid any tribal warfare,
Governor Phillip's instructions stated that they should "conciliate
their affections, enjoining all our subjects to live in amity and
kindness with them." The governor stated that anyone who harmed the
natives would be punished. As the settlers began to move inland,
resistance increased, even as cholera, influenza, and smallpox germs
from the ships began to take their toll on the Australians.

As new colonies, sheep stations, and farms developed, colonists urged
the governor to drive out the Aborigines. Only one treaty was ever
signed with the natives. It was in Melbourne in 1835, purchasing 600,000
acres of land with blankets, knives, and tomahawks. This "treaty" was
never recognized by the British government. By 1838, Robert Hughes, in
[The Fatal Shore]{.underline}, reports that "probably between 2,000 and
2,500 European settlers were killed, and upwards of 20,000
Aborigines."(5. ibid. p.85) The native population dropped to about
70,000 by 1900, and some thought that the race might die out.

However, over the years, with increased medical care, food, and shelter
at church missions and government settlements, the population began to
increase, especially in the Northern Territory.

In 1931, as in the United States, native children were taken to
settlements, with schools, where they were forbidden to speak their
native language, forced to abandon their heritage, and taught to be
culturally white.

During the 1970s, many Aborigines in northern Australia moved off the
large reserves which had housed mixed tribal groups and established
communities away from the white influences. Now there are about 500 of
these outstations. Each works to re---establish the values and culture
of its tribe. Most have about 30 to 50 people at each outstation. Here,
they are able to enjoy their music with clapsticks and didjeridoos, hold
private, secret ceremonies to initiate young men into adulthood, and
attend a corroboree, an evening of singing and dancing.

Also in the 1970s, there was a new artistic development in the Northern
Territory. Students at the Papunya School, as well as seniors, were
encouraged to paint their tribe's traditional Dreamtime designs on wall
murals, using acrylic paints, which were ideal for the desert
conditions. Soon many artists were painting their Dreamings on portable
canvases, bark and wood. Being easy to transport, the paintings sold
well and brought a new source of income to the people.

Expressing their relationship to nature, as well as the creation
stories, the dots and the x-ray style of images, with a bold use of
color, became popular with Australians and tourists. In 2003, the Museum
of Contemporary Art in Sydney, working with Sotheby's auction firm, held
a sale of Aboriginal art, bringing in \$7,000,000.00. The ancient cave
paintings and rock carvings of 30,000 years ago had entered the modern
era.