Animals/Hunting
Dingos
The Dingo, the wild dog of Australia was used by the Aboriginals to hunt and protects their Wuurns.
Every Wuurn had a pack of wild dogs to protect it, they would fly at intruders necks and kill in incredible speed, This also explains why they were domesticated and were used in hunting, they were very successful at killing kangaroos as the wild dogs were quick viscous and would sneak up on prey and would never bark. They were rarely ever cut with the powerful hind toes. When the wild dogs killed a Kangaroo the would yelp so that there owner could locate them. Some of the well trained dogs would even come home and get its master to lead it to the fresh game.
In the Otway rangers the wild un-owned or untrained wild packs would hunt in such large packs that the natives would be afraid to venture with them, some natives even fleeing up trees.
Every Wuurn had a pack of wild dogs to protect it, they would fly at intruders necks and kill in incredible speed, This also explains why they were domesticated and were used in hunting, they were very successful at killing kangaroos as the wild dogs were quick viscous and would sneak up on prey and would never bark. They were rarely ever cut with the powerful hind toes. When the wild dogs killed a Kangaroo the would yelp so that there owner could locate them. Some of the well trained dogs would even come home and get its master to lead it to the fresh game.
In the Otway rangers the wild un-owned or untrained wild packs would hunt in such large packs that the natives would be afraid to venture with them, some natives even fleeing up trees.
Possums
The Possum supplied the principle food for the Aboriginals. The Aboriginals of Victoria were very clever in the way they would hunt a possum, they would track a possum to a tree. Some trees didn't have branches til 70 feet up so the natives of Victoria and other areas would take their axe and cut small holes in the trunk for their fingers and toes. Once they reached the hole in the trunk, the would poke the possum with a stick, this would aggravate the possum and it would come out to be caught by the hunter and then have it's head hit on the tree trunk and thrown down below to the ground, the hunter would then scour the tree for more nests before returning to the fresh game on the ground. The fur of a possum was also used for small items of crudely made clothing, shawls and blankets.
Kangaroos
Kangaroos were hunted with ease and thought to be a great meal as it would supply for a multiple amount of people. They were speared, hunted by dogs and bludgeoned, making them not to difficult to kill. One of the techniques for hunting a kangaroo or several was to light a small controlled fire and wait for the spooked animals to run at you. The hunter would then wait and have a stick or solid piece of timber to knock Kangaroos on the head as they ran past.
Eels
Eels were a major part of the average south western aboriginals diet, They were caught in amazing and clever ways. A woven eel catcher was round and wide at one end so the eel could swim through but get caught at the end of the woven tube. The aboriginals used to wait for the wetlands to fill up with water, they would then build little dams, or piles of rocks at the waters entrance. They would leave small gaps to put the eel catchers in. When it came time for the eels to return to the ocean the food was plentiful because the eels were caught when following the tide back towards the ocean.
Fish
Fish were a steady food source to the south western Indigenous people. They were speared caught on line and also netted.
In particular the aboriginal males were very successful in spearing fish. A majority of the nets were woven by the elderly women of a community, the nets were of good quality and would bring in plenty of fish.
Fish were caught in the ocean, lakes and rivers.
In particular the aboriginal males were very successful in spearing fish. A majority of the nets were woven by the elderly women of a community, the nets were of good quality and would bring in plenty of fish.
Fish were caught in the ocean, lakes and rivers.
Molluscs
Clams, Mussels and all sorts of shell fish were very easy to gather and were plentiful on the coast. There have been small areas found on beaches with remains of hundreds of clams, proving they were eaten a lot by the indigenous Australians.