Most people worked in rural industries. As will appear in the next Chapter, the histories of the three States are different in detail, but in Victoria and New South Wales very similar outcomes have been reached. Tasmania lacks the outback of the mainland, and Aboriginal traditions there have been largely linked with the islands of Bass Strait. Where Boards did not exist, many features of the Boards' intrusions were reflected by the police and welfare agencies. Perhaps the most distinctive features of the Aboriginal communities which is linked to the pre-invasion past is the close knit, community based life.
Families are large and several generations often share a house with extended kin.
There is a loyalty to kin such that they are all family. Links between communities and kin are a central focus of life. There is visiting between families and travelling across the country to relations. Itinerant labour such as fruit picking and cotton chipping is still part of the annual round for many people.