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Eel traps and stone houses, Budj Bim, VIC

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Eel traps and stone houses, Budj Bim, VIC

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Budj Bim is a dormant volcano that is also the location of one of Australia’s oldest and largest aquaculture systems. Research shows that it is around 6600 years old. Budj Bim was the home to an Aboriginal tribe that lived in stone houses. Today, the remains of 300 stone houses lie within the site. In the 1800s, when the Europeans started to settle into Australia, they wanted to take the Gunditjmara’s people’s homes which ultimately forced them to move.

The Gunditjmara people’s Dreamtime story is that four Creator Beings were sent by the Great Creator Being and created the features of the land. Then, one day, Budj Bim erupted and the Great Creator Being revealed itself to the Gunditjmara people. The Gunditjmara people shaped the lava flows from the volcano to create a complex water channeling system. Weirs were placed in strategic locations to trap eels and fish. The community channelled the water flow and harvested the eels in such a way so that there would be enough food for the year.

The Gunditjmara people were very sophisticated and intelligent for their time- they were able to use the lava flows to create a catchment system to farm eels effortlessly. It has a level of efficiency similar to trawl fishing. After gathering food, they would give some to other communities, in exchange for the items they wanted.

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Grinding stones for bread, Cuddie Springs, NSW

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Grinding stones for bread, Cuddie Springs, NSW

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The Aboriginal grinding stones are estimated to be approximately 30,000 years old. The rocks were made of sandstone and were almost 30kg in weight. When the stones became worn and smooth from wear, they roughened it with a hammer. They ground seeds to make flour which was then used to make bread. This was one of the sources of food in Cuddie Springs.

The stones were used to grind spinifex and wattle seed, which took 2 hours to produce about half a kilo of flour. This suggests that the Cuddie Springs people mainly lived on a diet of bread and hunted meat. There is also a possibility that they could have used the stones for other things, like sharpening their spears.

The stones played a significant part in the preparation of their staple diet. The grinding stones tell us that the Gunditjmara people knew how to harvest and process the seeds, so that they could create the flour for bread-making. They used the grinding stones similarly to how we use the mortar and pestle today.

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Madjedbebe, the earliest known site of habitation in Australia 

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Madjedbebe, the earliest known site of habitation in Australia 

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Madjedbebe, uncovered in 1972, is the earliest known site of habitation in Australia. Research shows that it is around 50,000 years old. The sandstone walls were covered with intricate rock art. Stone tools, animal bones, seashells and ochre can be found lying on the grounds of the shelter.

The shelter shows that Aboriginals had strong survival skills, even in harsh conditions. The animal bones and stone spear tips suggest that they hunted animals for food, and the shells on the floor show that they ate shellfish. The stone axes would have been used to chop wood for the fire, and the ochre to paint rock art on the walls.

The Aboriginals had a complex lifestyle and showed that they had a level of sophistication. They knew how to sharpen their spears for hunting and roughen their grinding stones for maintenance. They also knew how to make their own paints using ochre. They painted on walls, displaying their artistic talent and telling stories with it.

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Grampians National Park (traditionally called Gariwerd) is an iconic rock art site in Aboriginal culture. 86% of all Aboriginal rock art in Victoria is located in the park. Some artwork is almost 22,000 years old.

The paints used to create the rock art were made by grounding ochre into a fine powder then, mixing it with a liquid (usually water or saliva) to form a thick paste. It was then used to paint onto the walls- the Aboriginals liked to use their fingers or a frayed stick that acted as a brush. They usually painted pictures of bars, emus, tracks and handprints.

The art tells us this might have been a form of communication and could have been used to tell Dreamtime Stories. The rock art tells the stories of the Aboriginal way of life, such as a man throwing a spear at a kangaroo. The paintings on the walls were very intricately patterned, showing strong artistic talent, most likely because of thousands of years of experience passed through each generation.

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In 1973, boomerangs were discovered in Wyrie Swamp. Research showed that some of the boomerangs were almost 10,000 years old. The boomerangs were very versatile tools- they were mostly used for hunting, as well as Aboriginal dance and music.

The boomerangs were up to 2m tall and were deadly weapons- able to kill prey from up to 100m away. They could be thrown in two ways: directly at the target, or to ricochet back to the owner. The boomerangs would have been a very significant part of life- they used it for hunting, ceremonial purposes and other everyday tasks. Simple things like starting up a fire or scraping away ashes from the fire were done using a boomerang. They even used it like the modern shovel to dig up root vegetables.

The boomerangs show that Aboriginals had a level of sophistication in their technology. They had some understanding of physics- they knew how to carve and throw the boomerang so it would ricochet back to them.