First Nations Songlines - Why did they go?
Let's find out!
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples arrived in Australia at least 60,000 years ago. They were the first navigators to make long sea crossings in watercraft and walk across ancient land bridges. Over thousands of years, an amazing diversity of cultures formed across the continent.
Just like today, people travelled to find essential things for survival (like food, water, warm clothes, and shelter), to socialise with friends and family, share news, attend special events, and trade gifts and goods from other places.
The chapters in this module focus on trade. Today, we mainly trade money in exchange for things we need, like food and clothes, or things we want, like a new computer game. Before money existed, goods were swapped or bartered for other goods that people needed.
[icon] Trade is when people buy, sell or swap goods or services.
[icon] Barter is a type of trade that involves swapping goods or services without using money.
By trading, people obtained useful goods that were not available close to home. Trees with the best hard wood for making tools may have only grown in one forest, while strong rocks for axe heads may have been found in distant quarries. The idea of trade has not changed much over time, but today goods travel to us by truck, train, plane and cargo ships instead!
People also benefited through the trade of knowledge and skills, such as how to make hooks or spearheads for fishing.
Objects sometimes had spiritual meaning and were high prized by people in far-off places.
The time and effort needed to make an object also determined its value. Sometimes it is easier to swap something we’re good at making, for something another person is good at!
Trade is not only about material goods; it brings communities together and enriches people’s lives through the sharing stories, songs, and art.
The environment and seasons also shaped when, where and how people travelled. People walked around deserts when water was not abundant, while communities met at markets to enjoy seasonal harvests. In the Australian Alps, for example, hundreds of people gathered for months to feast on the seasonal migration of Bogong moths.
Today, Australia is lucky to be home to the world’s oldest continuing cultures – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. We hope you enjoy the journey and learn new things along the way!
First Nations Australians
Australia’s First Nations peoples are two distinct cultural groups: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
In the Navigators and Traders Learning Hub we use the term First Nations Australians to collectively refer to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This is a term preferred by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). It is based on advice from its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Advisory Group.
We also refer to local language group names when telling stories about a specific area or location.
Learn more about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority in the Australian Curriculum.
Aboriginal Australia
Aboriginal Australia is made up of many different cultures, each with their own customs, language and laws. These cultures continue to be expressed in dynamic and contemporary ways.
In Australia, there are more than 250 First Nations languages, including 800 dialects. Each language is specific to a particular place and people.
Throughout the Navigators and Traders Learning Hub we refer to the Map of Indigenous Australia. This map is a great visual reminder of Australia’s First Nations cultural diversity. It’s a useful resource to locate the stories featured in the Hub and identify the Country on which your home or school is located.
The Aboriginal flag was designed by Harold Thomas, a Luritja man from central Australia. The flag represents the Aboriginal people of Australia and their spiritual connection to the land and has become a symbol of the unity and identity of Aboriginal people.
Torres Strait Islander Peoples
The Torres Strait is the water between the tip of the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland and Papua New Guinea. It also known as Zenedth Kes. This is an acronym based on words from the Torres Strait language.
ZE – Zey (South)
NA – Naygay (North)
D – Dagam (Place/Side)
TH – Thawathaw (Coastline)
KES – Passage/Channel/ Waterway
[icon] Zenedth Kes means ‘we are located on the waters between, and connected to, the coastline of the northern and southern continent’.
The term ‘Torres Strait Islander’ is used to describe people who come from the islands of the Torres Strait. There are almost 300 islands in the strait, but people only live on 17 of them.
Between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago, sea levels were far lower than they are today. During this period, the ancestors of First Nations Australians could walk across a land bridge between Australia, New Guinea and south-east Asia. As the last ice age ended, melting ice caused sea levels to rise. The Torres Strait islands of today are the highest peaks that remained above the water.
Learn more about Zenedth Kes on the Torres Strait Island Regional Council website.
The Torres Strait Islander flag was designed by the late Bernard Namok of Waiben (Thursday Island). The flag symbolises the unity and identity of all Torres Strait Islanders.
