Investigating the past

How have Australia’s First Peoples maintained sustainable food systems for over 65,000 years?

Kooyang (eel) diorama, demonstrating how eel traps were used by Indigenous people in Victoria.

Before urbanisation and modern farming technology, First Peoples of Australia managed water and land sustainably by following environmental cues and engaging in the agricultural production of indigenous species.

As students begin to develop a better understanding of the impacts of land degradation, challenges of urbanisation and water scarcity, and the impacts these factors have on liveability, encourage them to look to the past to consider other methods and techniques which have been successful over time. This section provides a range of opportunities for cross curricula studies and for students to gain an appreciation for the complex societal structure and agricultural processes of First Peoples’ communities.

Activity 1

Watch:

Where would this bread have originated? 
Who were the first people to make bread? 
Who may have made the bread? 
Why would it have been made? 
What is it made from? 
How would it have been made? (What tools, ingredients etc.) 
When was this bread made?

Read: The plants of Milarri garden (Bunjilaka, Museums Victoria)

Search for ‘kangaroo grass’, describe its characteristics.
Consider the water scarcity issues we face today and discuss why it may have been a reliable staple food crop for First Peoples in Victoria.

Observe the two seeds in the kit:

Research how kangaroo grass was used to make food products such as bread.
Sketch a diagram of a kangaroo grass seed and compare it to the size and shape of a wheat seed. What are the similarities and differences? Why might we use wheat today rather than native crops such as kangaroo grass? How does this alter water and land use?

Activity 2

Encourage students to use the mortar and pestle to crush some seeds. You may like to purchase whole roasted wattle seed or kangaroo grass seed and use this to make damper.

How might this process compare to current-day bread making?
Research videos or images of domestic and industrial bread making machinery and compare current-day bread production to First Peoples methods.

Compare the sustainability of different methods
Discuss why bread can be sold so cheaply in Australia.

Activity 3

Make wattle seed damper with your class. You may like to use the mortar and pestle to prepare your grain.

Recipe: How to make wattle seed damper (South Australian Museum)

How does this process differ from present day bread making techniques?
How has technology improvements changed our level of food security over time?  List some trade-offs that have occurred (consider: sustainability, traditional practices etc.)

Activity 4

Read Chapter 7: Bruce Pascoe: Aboriginal agriculture, technology and ingenuity (ABC Education Digibook)

What is Murrnong and how is this this plant interconnected with ongoing food security for First Peoples?
Research some tuber vegetables we regularly eat today. Compare the uses of these vegetables to the Murrnong.
How is this crop interconnected with seasonal variation, landscape management and water scarcity?

Activity 5

Read: Food and agriculture (Deadly Story)

Observe the replica eel trap and scaled image (fabric).

Describe the key characteristics of this artefact (use your senses to describe the object).
Discuss the size of the trap and why it may have been so large.
Discuss what the trap may have been made from and how the trap may have been used.
Describe how the eel trap is evidence of First Nations Peoples’ use and connection with water and landscape.

Observe the image of the eel trap in Millari gardens

Read Chapter 9: Bruce Pascoe: Aboriginal agriculture, technology and ingenuity (ABC Education Digibook)

What is distinctive about the environment of this area?
How did First Peoples respond to this environment?
What sort of understanding of the climate, vegetation and soils of this landscape would First Peoples have needed to create these systems?
How did the eel trap work?
What is the key lesson that we can learn about land and resource management from the First Peoples practices?
Discuss how this is an example of First Nations Peoples connection with place.

For further information about World Heritage site and land and resource management strategies used by First Peoples to achieve food security and economic stability visit:

In groups, research and use a jigsaw activity to discuss the following suggested questions:

Discuss the phrase ‘sense of place’. How is this interconnected with First Peoples’ land and water management techniques?
How are First Peoples connected to landscapes and water resources?
How might agriculture have contributed to trade within and between communities?
What natural characteristics influenced the land management practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples?
Why is it important to preserve artefacts such as the bread and grinding stone?

Activity 6

Watch:

Describe the importance of water for First Peoples. List the reasons communities have a strong connection with water and landscapes.
How does food growing and harvesting provide opportunities for social connection within and between communities?
Explain how First Peoples used seasonal variation and signals from native animals and plants to understand what and when to grow food.
Compare the perspectives of First Peoples to modern day farmers on Australia’s dry and variable climate.
Review the ingredients used to make the bread sample and research the conditions required for these crops to grow. How do these compare to modern day crop species.

Approximate values of seasonal crop water needs

Crop	Crop water need (mm/total growing period)
Banana	1200-2200
Barley/Oats/Wheat	450-650
Citrus	900-1200
Cotton	700-1300
Maize	500-800
Potato	500-700
Rice (paddy)	450-700
Sorghum/Millet	450-650
Sugarcane	1500-2500
Sunflower	600-1000

Data source 

Research the conflict that exists with water control and management in Australia between First Peoples, governments, and farmers. Consider each stakeholder and write their view point.

Activity 7

Using SHEEPT, complete a class brainstorm identifying all the key factors that makes a ‘place’ liveable today. Consider how agriculture and proximity to farms contributes to liveability.

Access: Food and Agriculture (Deadly Story)

Complete a think, pair, share which explores the question: ‘How liveable was Australia before colonisation?’

Consider landscapes, climate, water access, agricultural practices and access to technologies.

Break the class into four groups and explore:

The types of environments used by First Peoples for agriculture. Highlight their key characteristics and any changes that have occurred over time.
How water was used as a resource before colonisation and how it connected people and places.
How did First Peoples manage the land for agriculture sustainably? How was their approach similar or different from today’s farming practices? How is present day farming interconnected with land degradation?
List the goods and services we rely on in present day Australia. Compare these to pre-colonial Australia. Consider how the environment acted as a service to First Peoples in providing food, water, and understandings of time and place.

Ask each group to create an AVD or written response with evidence to share with the class.

Curriculum links: (VCGGK120) s (VCGGK119) s (VCGGK116) s (VCGGK111) es (VCGGK112) (VCGGK114) a (VCGGK108) es (VCGGK109) s (VCGGC099) (VCGGC101) (VCGGC102) (VCGGC103)