The First Australians
Prior
to 1788, Aborigines occupied all of mainland Australia and most of the
inhabitable islands near the coast, including Tasmania.
'Aborigines' was not the name these people used to describe themselves. It was the name given to the first Australians by the Europeans because it means the original inhabitants of the country.
Aborigines use the names applicable to their own groups.
They are likely to call themselves by the name of the language or territory group to which they belong, for example, Wiradjuri, Pitjantjatjara, Kamilaroi, Gurnai, Aranda.
They may also use a general term like Murri, Koori, Nunga, Nyoongah or Yolgnu.
Human History
- European Discovery
- Australian Whaling History
- Bundjalung
- Minjungbal
- Arakwal (external)
- The First Settlers:
Tomewin - The New Settlers
- Natural History
Related Links:
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- Cook's Secret Instructions
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission
- Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Studies
- New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council
- Many Rivers Regional Council
- Agreements, Treaties & Negotiated Settlements Project
- ABC TV - Message Stick
- SBS TV - Living
Black
- Naidoc Week: 3 to 10
July 2005
Other Interesting Links:
Hint: use your right mouse button to open a new window for external sites.
Torres Strait Islanders use the name of their island community to describe themselves, for example, Badu, Murray, Yam, Boigu. The Torres Strait Islands lie in the Torres Strait which is the stretch of water that separates Cape York Peninsula in north Queensland from Papua New Guinea.
Throughout the 50,000 years or more that Aboriginal people have been on the continent, they have had to adapt to dramatic changes in their environment caused by variations in climate and movement of landmasses. Wooden tools rarely survive in the earth, but we know from one unique archaeological find that the boomerang (and the barbed spear) was invented more than 10,000 years ago.
Rock art shows changes in wooden tools and such other perishable items as headdresses. Around 5,000 years ago there was even a radical change in the stone tools themselves, with small, delicately worked points and blades beginning to be produced. This change may have been associated with the use of composite tools, that is, with points used on a spear in place of a sharpened wooden end.
Throughout the ancient history of the Aboriginal people there were many changes more important than technological ones. Many different styles of rock art appeared in different regions and changed over time, from the stylised, symbolic ancient engravings to the colourful X-ray art of the north and the vivid hunting scenes of east and west. Together with changes in burial practices, such differences undoubtedly reflect changing religious beliefs and rituals.
