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Twentieth-century Aboriginal harvesting practices in the rural landscape of the Lower Murray, South Australia

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Philip Allan Clarke at South Australian Museum
Philip Allan Clarke
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Abstract

Since European settlement, Aboriginal peoole living in rural areas of southern South Australia have had a unique relationship to the landscape, reflecting both pre-European indigenous traditions and post-European historical influences. Aboriginal hunting, fishing and gathering practices in the twentieth century were not relics of a pre-European past, but were derived from cultural forces that have produced a modern indigenous identity. The Lower Murray ethnographic data presented in this cultural geography study were collected mainly during the 1980s, supplemented with historical information concerning earlier periods.
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TWENTIETH-CENTURY ABORIGINAL HARVESTING PRACTICES IN
THE RURAL LANDSCAPE OF THE LOWER MURRAY, SOUTH
AUSTRALIA
P.
A. CLARKE
Summary
Since European settlement, Aboriginal peoole living in rural areas of southern South Australia have
had a unique relationship to the landscape, reflecting both pre-European indigenous traditions and
post-European historical influences. Aboriginal hunting, fishing and gathering practices in the
twentieth century were not relics of a pre-European past, but were derived from cultural forces that
have produced a modern indigenous identity. The Lower Murray ethnographic data presented in this
cultural geography study were collected mainly during the 1980s, supplemented with historical
information concerning earlier periods.
... 3. MAAS (2020). 4. Clarke (2003). 5. Clarke (2007). ...
... Examination of some of the specific items made using sedge fibres provides insights into the complexity and nature of the civilisation that produced them. The Ngarrindjeri people along the lower Murray River in South Australia used pinki-moranyi (Lepidosperma canescens Boeckeler) to make a range of complex traps for catching fish, eels and yabbies, as well as highly artistic baskets including in the form of a turtle (Clarke 2003;MAAS 2020). Across southern Australian indigenous communities, woven items, including table mats, basketry items, crafts and toys, were commonly made from flat-leaved Lepidosperma species, or from derived fibres, as they were very durable (Anonymous 1895; Campbell et al. 1946;Clarke 1986Clarke , 1999Clarke , 2003Clarke , 2007Clarke , 2015McCourt and Mincham 1987;Bonney 2004;Stephens and Sharp 2009). ...
... The Ngarrindjeri people along the lower Murray River in South Australia used pinki-moranyi (Lepidosperma canescens Boeckeler) to make a range of complex traps for catching fish, eels and yabbies, as well as highly artistic baskets including in the form of a turtle (Clarke 2003;MAAS 2020). Across southern Australian indigenous communities, woven items, including table mats, basketry items, crafts and toys, were commonly made from flat-leaved Lepidosperma species, or from derived fibres, as they were very durable (Anonymous 1895; Campbell et al. 1946;Clarke 1986Clarke , 1999Clarke , 2003Clarke , 2007Clarke , 2015McCourt and Mincham 1987;Bonney 2004;Stephens and Sharp 2009). ...
Lepidosperma prospectum (Cyperaceae), a new species from Sydney coastal heath and notes on usage of sword sedges
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Lepidosperma prospectum G.T.Plunkett & R.L.Barrett (Cyperaceae tribe Schoeneae) is here described as a new species from the Sydney region of New South Wales. It is highly restricted in distribution, occurring at Manly (Sydney Harbour National Park), Kamay Botany Bay National Park and Royal National Park in dense coastal shrublands behind coastal cliffs. These locations are within the traditional lands of the Gamaragal, Gweagal and Dharawal people respectively. Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander were the first Europeans to explore the flora of New South Wales in 1770 around Botany Bay but they did not collect this species. Lepidosperma prospectum is superficially similar to L. sieberi Kunth, which occurs in adjacent habitats, but molecular data have shown that it is more closely allied to Western Australian species. A brief review of recorded indigenous and European knowledge and utilisation of the genus Lepidosperma Labill. is presented to highlight the varied uses of the genus.
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... Historical accounts describe a riverine environment rich in subsistence resources at the time of European exploration in the 1830s and 1840s (Angus 1847; Clarke 2002Clarke , 2003Clarke , 2009Clarke , 2011Eyre 1845;Lawrence 1968;Pate 2006;Sturt 1833). The river with its associated floodplain, swamps, lagoons, creeks and flats, and adjacent mallee plains provided diverse habitats which supported a wide range of floral and faunal species. ...
... Lagoons and creeks were found adjacent to these savanna woodlands. Sand flats were stabilised by native pines (Callitris spp.) and perennial tussock grasses (Angus 1847; Clarke 2002Clarke , 2003Clarke , 2009Clarke , 2011Eyre 1845;Lawrence 1968;Pate 2006;Sturt 1833). ...
Diet, mobility and subsistence-settlement systems in the late holocene lower murray river basin of South Australia: Testing models of aboriginal seasonal mobility and sedentism with isotopic and archaeological data
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Bone collagen stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data for archaeological human remains suggest that the territorial behaviours reported in relation to Tindale’s ethnographic research for the lower stretches of the Murray River of South Australia in the vicinity of the river mouth and adjacent coastal regions can be extended back through the late Holocene. Testing hypotheses regarding the presence of late Holocene semi-sedentary and sedentary subsistence-settlement systems along various regions of the Lower Murray and adjacent coast requires comprehensive archaeological research, including improved chronometric dating for a range of archaeological sites, demonstration of the use of a range of key plant and animal foods, and expansion of stable isotope applications to include strontium and oxygen. This paper provides an overview of the natural environment of the Lower Murray River region of South Australia, including the availability of water and a range of food resources. The importance of foods available in the vicinity of the riverine zone that could have provided reliable dietary sources is emphasised. Such ecological data regarding the abundance and availability of key plant and animal foods are fundamental to improved understandings of hunter-gatherer behavioural variability in the region.
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... Since the late twentieth century, with changes to legislation, Aboriginal people in Australia have developed a voice in cultural heritage issues (Clarke 1994(Clarke , 2003bMcCorquodale 1987). There has been more engagement between environmental authorities and Indigenous communities over land management issues (Ens 2012a(Ens , 2012bKNYA Taskforce 2012). ...
... 36,No. 4 nomadic foragers and became subjects of a colonial welfare administration (Clarke 1994). By the early twentieth century, most Lower Murray people lived either on Aboriginal reserves, such as Point McLeay, or in fishing and work camps established on unused crown land near regional towns (Clarke 2003b;Gale 1969). Anthropologists then considered that much of the Aboriginal ceremonial life in the Lower Murray was over and they noted that the speaking of local Indigenous languages was in sharp decline (Berndt and Berndt 1951;Tindale 1941a). ...
Birds and the Spirit World of the Lower Murray, South Australia
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Beliefs in bird spirits are still widely held by the Indigenous people in the Lower Murray of temperate South Australia despite an overall decline in the perceived significance of creation ancestors since British colonization in the early nineteenth century. This paper investigates these cultural beliefs in avian spirits. Birds are seen as possessing transformative powers and being mediators between human society and the invisible world. Contemporary Aboriginal people utilize their bird spirit folklore to connect with their past and to highlight their cultural distinctiveness, from both other Indigenous groups and the modern settler society. They draw upon this ornithological body of knowledge that is framed outside of Western science for cultural maintenance, education, and the re-defining of the relationships between knowledge-holders and the broader society.
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... From the late twentieth century, anthropologists Bell (1998) and Clarke (1991Clarke ( , 1994Clarke ( , 1999aClarke ( , 1999bClarke ( , 2001Clarke ( , 2002Clarke ( , 2003Clarke ( , 2004Clarke ( , 2017Clarke ( , 2018aClarke ( , 2018b studied Indigenous relationships with the Lower Murray landscape. Ngarrindjeri people themselves, such as Brusnahan (1992), Cameron-Bonney (1990) and Wilson (1998) have also given accounts of their local culture and history. ...
The Ngarrindjeri nomenclature of birds in the Lower Murray River region, South Australia
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This paper is a literature-based study concerning avian nomenclature of the Ngarrindjeri language formerly spoken in the Lower Murray River region of temperate South Australia. Ngarrindjeri and modern European Australian classification systems for birds were structurally different. There was no single Ngarrindjeri word that covered all birds. Some species were clustered together under a single term, while others had separate gender-specific names. This study investigates how avian terms were incorporated into the naming of people and places. Analysis of avian classification adds to the understanding of early Aboriginal use and perception of the Australian environment. A detailed list of Ngarrindjeri names for birds is provided.
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... 4, 2014. Many Ngarrindjeri people still used Aboriginal terms for the local fauna in preference to European names, which they often did not know (Clarke, 2003, Table 1). Due to changes in residency patterns (Gale, 1969), the most knowledgeable informants were those people who had lived as adults in the Lower Murray prior to the mid-1960s. ...
Aboriginal foraging practices and crafts involving birds in the post-European period of the Lower Murray, South Australia
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This paper is an ethnographic study of Indigenous bird foraging post-European settlement of the Lower Murray in rural temperate South Australia. The Aboriginal people of this region have developed unique relationships with the landscape, reflecting the retention of some pre-European Indigenous practices and the development of new traditions. Aboriginal bird foraging practices after British settlement in 1836 were not just relics of a pre-European past but the product of cultural forces that shaped a modern Indigenous identity. Analysis of the continuity of bird foraging adds to the understanding of contemporary Aboriginal use and perception of the Australian landscape.
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... These traditional identities have been transformed by the disruption and influence of colonialism, and today an important part of being a contemporary traditional owner involves building on and reviving cultural practices from earlier generations, such as teaching the local traditional languages and the performance of welcome ceremonies (Sutton 1995:47). Significantly, the traditional owners also continue to collect bush foods and medicines as a means for independence and as part of connecting with and affirming their identity (Behrendt and Thompson 2003:8;Clarke 2003). More generally, the traditional owners actively seek to increase their involvement in natural-resource and land-management policies and programs, such as pursuing joint-management arrangements over national park lands and establishing Indigenous advisory committees that engage with catchment management authorities. ...
Water Planning and Dispossession
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This chapter discuss Indigenous peoples' experiences from along the Murray river, with the focus on the changes since river regulation in the twentieth century. It is based on my doctoral work. My doctorate is published as the book 'Murray River Country: An Ecological Dialogue with Traditional Owners', Aboriginal Studies Press, 2009.
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... Ng'weno, 2010;Sault, 2010;Tidemann, Chirgwin, & Sinclair, 2010), that cultural interpretations of birds and their role in the landscape required people to pay close attention to avian characteristics and behaviours. While Indigenous people in the Lower Murray today generally no longer practise bird foraging, they still consider that the knowledge of their former hunting and gathering life style to be an integral part of their cultural heritage and identity (Clarke, 2003b). The investigation of birds in the material culture of the Lower Murray is outside the scope of the present work. ...
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This paper is a literature review of bird foraging by Indigenous hunter-gatherers in the Lower Murray of temperate South Australia as observed in the early years of European settlement. The record is augmented with additional material from fieldwork in the 1980s and early 1990s. Bodies of knowledge associated with non-European experiences of the biota, such as the ethno-ornithological information discussed here, provide an alternative means for viewing avifaunal biodiversity in a manner that respects local cultural heritage. Analysis of bird foraging contributes to the understanding of Aboriginal use and perception of the Australian landscape.
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A review of early Indigenous artefacts incorporating bird materials in the Lower Murray River region, South Australia
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This paper is a literature review of the use of birds in the Indigenous material culture of the Lower Murray River region in temperate South Australia, as observed in the early years of British colonisation. This record is augmented with additional data from fieldwork in the 1980s and early 1990s. It was found that Aboriginal people in this region made artefacts incorporating avian materials based upon their perceived physical and cultural properties. Analysis of material culture with respect to birds contributes to the understanding of Aboriginal use and perception of the Australian landscape.
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