traditions, language, music, entertainment, and food. History A Brief History of Australia’s Aboriginal People Australia’s aboriginal people were thought to have arrived via vessel from somewhere in the South East of Asia as early as the last ice age, which was roughly 50,000 years ago. During the 15th century close to one million aboriginal people lived throughout the continent. Today there is an estimated 458,520 indigenous people residing in Australia. Each clan was estimated to be between 10-50 or more people. The aboriginal people’s lives were based on hunting by the men and fishing and gathering by the women. Each clan held spiritual connections to certain parts of the land. However it was common for clans to travel widely for trade purposes which could…
In this world, each person can have a different perspective and opinion on one exact thing such as a political issue, the appearance of a certain individual, object, etc. The poems “My Country” by Dorothea Mackellar and “We Are Going” by Oodgeroo Noonuccal are both written in their own personal perspectives and give readers an insight into Australia’s exquisite environment and past tragedies. In Dorothea Mackellar’s poem “My Country”, she shares her admiration for Australia’s beauty and danger,…
Banjo Patterson was born in 1964 in New South Wales. He was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. Most of his ballads focused on the Australian way of life in the outback. He has produced many well-known ballads such as “The Man from Snowy River “and “Clancy of the Overflow” also his infamous ballad “Waltzing Matilda”. “Waltzing Matilda” was originally created in 1895 and the title is Australian slang for ‘going walkabout with your swag’. The ballad narrates the story of a lonely,…
The spirited paintings Emily painted were in response to the land of her birth using the shapes and patterns of the contours of the landscape as well as the cycles of the seasons and parched land of the Northern Territory (). Furthermore, she included the flow of flooding waters and sweeping rains in her paintings unlike Tjapaltjarri who painted the Dreaming Kngwarreye’s inspiration came from her land including things like the patterns of seeds and the shapes of plants as well as the spiritual…
The evident social issues in the texts above have been about the effects of colonisation and exploitation of the land by 'white Australians '. Issues raised include; the mining of land seen by aboriginals as destruction of sacred land, the modernisation of the Australian landscape away from the natural beauty described by the composer and the tragic fading away of the aboriginal culture after attempts to display a sense of conciliation. In the poem, 'Time Is Running Out ', the composer -…
example. (QLD Department of Education Training, 2015). This is an important protocol to Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples, as it shows respect for them as the original custodians of the land, their culture and customs. Reflecting on our history, which saw the European occupation of Australia, whereby the British Law declared…
What does it mean to be Australian? In Australian media, an Aussie is typically portrayed as a Caucasian, larger-than-life, masculine male who tames crocodiles for a living and lives in the bush; the vast, yet stunning landscape that occupies over 70% of the country (1). This is how Australians want their country to viewed in the national spotlight. The problem is, this is not at all realistic. Australia is becoming a very multicultural country, with the amount of residents born over seas…
than that of their Western European counterparts. The trouble with this concept being applied to anthropology is that when peoples are labeled as less developed it becomes easy to consider them less than human or primitive, thereby ranking another culture as superior. With these ideas of primitivism and unilinearism arose the concept of the non-adapting native or the native who cannot be taught. Alongside this trope was the development of the nonviolent native or the docile native trope. The…
As an Aboriginal man, my life experiences differ from many other non-indigenous Australians. My cultural identity and perceived place in Australian society have presented hardships and challenges such as racism and discrimination - inherent prejudices or preconceived ideas regarding Australia 's indigenous people, access to health and welfare services, unemployment and substance addiction. My story is one of hardship but also one of triumph - I am a survivor. As with many Aboriginal and Torres…
Australian Aborigines When learning about a new group of people it is best to understand their past and where they originated from. One of Australia’s indigenous groups is the Aborigines. The group is said to have migrated from Asia as early as 30,000 years ago. There are about 500-600 distinct groups of aboriginal people. Although there are different groups there are links between the groups that unify them such as their spiritual beliefs, storytelling and art. Their spiritual beliefs have a…