Suchergebnisse

Fred Cahir tells the story about the magnitude of Aboriginal involvement on the Victorian goldfields in the middle of the nineteenth century. The first history of Aboriginal–white interaction on the Victorian goldfields, Black Gold offers new insights on one of the great epochs in Australian and world history—the gold story.

In vivid detail it describes how Aboriginal people often figured significantly in the search for gold and documents the devastating social impact of gold mining on Victorian Aboriginal communities. It reveals the complexity of their involvement from passive presence, to active discovery, to shunning the goldfields.

This detailed examination of Aboriginal people on the goldfields of Victoria provides striking evidence which demonstrates that Aboriginal people participated in gold mining and interacted with non-Aboriginal people in a range of hitherto neglected ways.

Running through this book are themes of Aboriginal empowerment, identity, integration, resistance, social disruption and communication.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Indigenous peoples and the environment -- Aboriginal Biocultural Knowledge -- South-eastern Australia as a biocultural region -- Sources -- Aim -- Spelling -- Warnings -- Chapter 1 Totemic life -- Introduction -- Aboriginal beliefs -- Eaglehawk and Crow narratives -- Life among whales -- Discussion -- Chapter 2 Terrestrial spirit beings -- Introduction -- Ethnographic details -- Totemic protectors -- Spirit beings and Aboriginal Biocultural Knowledge -- Chapter 3 Water spirit beings -- Introduction -- Bunyips -- The European discovery of bunyips -- Discussion -- Chapter 4 Plant food -- Introduction -- Plant foods -- Making wild foods 'useful' -- Discussion -- Chapter 5 Animal food -- Introduction -- Invertebrates -- Fish -- Birds -- Reptiles -- Terrestrial mammals -- Marine mammals -- Discussion -- Chapter 6 Water -- Introduction -- Reading the signs: animals and insects as indicators of the presence of water -- Hydronyms as clues in the cultural landscape -- Rock-holes -- Water from plants -- Owarine -- Waterholes beside dry lakes -- Waterholes dug to retain rainwater -- Adaptations in times of water scarcity -- Thirst quenchers -- Dew water -- Strainers and filters -- Village sites and campsites at sources of permanent water -- Drought conditions blamed on the arrival of Europeans -- Rainmakers or charmers -- Limiting water spillage -- Water extractors -- Water storage/vessels -- Bark buckets -- Waterbags made from animal skins -- Drinking vessels -- Conclusion -- Chapter 7 Fire in Aboriginal south-eastern Australia -- Introduction -- The historical record -- Customary burning -- Motivations for burning -- Knowledge of Aboriginal fire -- Fire as an offensive weapon -- Recognising fire skills -- Discussion -- Chapter 8 Watercraft -- Introduction