When Europeans were first settling the continent (from 1788 in
Sydney Cove) the Aboriginal people were satisfying their food
needs by hunting and gathering.
Aboriginal men and women who lived in coastal regions or in areas
where there were rivers, caught and collected food by fishing.
Males usually used spears, while females used hand lines with
hooks made from shells and rocks as sinkers. Fish species were
also caught by the use of fish traps. Some traps were made from
rocks in the form of a pen. At high tide fish could swim in and
out of them, but some were trapped within the rock walls at low
tide. Traps were also constructed from sticks and tree branches
across rivers to make a dam. When sufficient numbers were trapped
the people would enter the water, scoop up the fish in their hands
and throw them onto the riverbank to be collected for cooking.
Males hunted animals such as kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas and
possums. But also reptiles (snakes and lizards) and birds such
as ducks, swans and parrots.
They used spears and boomerangs to hit, catch and kill - but also
climbed trees to get their food. Sometimes they hunted in parties
or groups and each person shared the catch. On these occasions
some of the men acted as 'beaters' driving animals towards another
group of men whom were armed and waiting to spear the animals
that were driven towards them. Sometimes they used fire to drive
the animals forward.
At least half of the food eaten by Aborigines came from plants,
and it was the task of the women to collect them. Fruits, seeds
and greens were only available during their appropriate seasons,
but roots could usually be dug up all the year round, because
the earth acted as a natural storage cupboard.
Aboriginals learned to manage their country in such ways that
its resources renewed themselves and were not used up. By controlled
burning, they kept the bush open and allowed the growth of new
seedlings in the ash-bed.
