Aboriginal Australian Canoes
From Natives of Australia by Northcote W. Thomas, 1906.
Location: Australia
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From Natives of Australia by Northcote W. Thomas.
It must not be supposed that he never goes to sea; it is recorded that the Port Jackson natives went out to sea to a distance of several miles, but as a rule the voyages were confined to landlocked harbours and rivers. In fact, from Adelaide westwards along the south coast and thence as far as Gascoyne River, not far from North-West Cape, there were absolutely no means of conveyance by water. Some authors go so far as to say that the natives could not even swim, but this is certainly not true of all parts in which boats or means of conveyance by water were wanting.
From North-West Cape as far as Port Essington, and sporadically at other points, such as the south of the Gulf of Carpentaria, on Lake Alexandrina, etc., the main or only method of voyaging was by means of a raft. In its rudest shape this was simply a log on which a man sat, his legs in the water, and propelled himself with hands or feet.
A stage above this is the raft of several logs, which was sometimes simply a mangrove-tree of the right shape; on this one or more individuals sat and propelled themselves with paddles or spears. A form depicted by Saville-Kent shows the raftsman standing on a few branches, his feet in the water. More elaborate forms were composed of logs pegged together.
Apparently raft-like was a curious form of canoe (?)reported from Adelaide River, N.T., which was composed of several layers of bark to a depth of nine inches; one end was pointed, the other about four feet broad; it was sixteen feet long and large enough for ten persons. This must have borne some resemblance, so far as the bows are concerned, to the canoes of the now extinct Tasmanians.
Perhaps the commonest form of Australian canoe was the sheet of bark, carefully removed from the tree and shaped over the fire; the ends were then tied or sewn up, and sometimes caulked with mud. For temporary use this kind was very quickly completed, but where the canoe was expected to last for years, much care was shown in shaping it, and the processes, especially those of drying and hardening, took several days.
The usual length did not exceed twelve or fourteen feet, but twenty feet has been recorded; eight or ten men was the utmost capacity of the large one, and the smallest were intended for a single individual. As a rule, they were for use on rivers only, the main area in which they are found being the Riverina, and the water frequently came within an inch or two of the gunwale. In the very largest we find a transitional form between the whole-sheet and the sewn-bark canoe.
The sewn-bark canoe (PI. XIX.)was in use, concurrently with the whole-sheet form, from just north of Brisbane, northwards as far as Rockingham Bay; it is also found on both sides of the Gulf, but not at the southern end, and on the north coast as far as Port Essington. Many different types are found, in some of which two, in others three, seven, or many pieces are stated to be used.
Spencer and Gillen describe the Anula boat as follows: It is seventeen feet long with a beam of four feet; the bark is gum-tree, seven strips being used in all—two for each side of the bow and stern, and three for the body of the boat. One of these forms the whole of one side, save for a short distance at each end; the others form the opposite side; there is no keel. The gunwale is strengthened by a mangrove pole, and the canoe is prevented from collapsing inwards by cross-pieces and ribs; ties of bark rope hold them together. It is, of course, necessary to caulk the seams of such canoes, and Spencer and Gillen give grass filling as the Anula method; elsewhere the boats seem to be caulked with wax or gum.
The single-sheet canoes were propelled by poling, by the hands, by short scoops of bark, or by regular paddles; the latter method was in use for sewn-bark canoes. In New South Wales there was always a fire in the canoe when they went fishing, at which the fish were broiled and eaten half warmed. When a woman paddled to the fishing-ground, she placed her child on her shoulders, so that it could cling on by her hair; she then dropped on her knees in the middle of the canoe and squatted on her heels, jamming her knees against the side. The position can hardly have been comfortable, even without the fire to roast the small of her back, which is recorded to have left conspicuous scars in many cases.
The third Australian type is the dug-out; this is found in the north of Queensland (PI. XIV.)and at Port Essington with an outrigger, which has certainly been introduced from New Guinea. In the extreme north, near Cape York, they use the double outrigger. At Port Essington, and in various parts of New South Wales and South Queensland, a simple dug-out was also used, probably small, concurrently with other forms.
It is rather doubtful whether the Port Essington form is purely Malay, or whether the Malay form now in use superseded an older native form. In the eastern area the foreign origin is improbable; north of Sydney these dug-outs are said to have been no more than four feet long, just large enough for one person. It is difficult to see how they came to be introduced, or what advantage they have over the bark canoe.
The outrigged canoe was much more imposing; at Cape York they have a length of fifty feet sometimes, and are navigated with sails as well as paddles; the single outrigger canoe is sometimes over twenty feet long. The sails are in the bows, and though they make a good deal of leeway under ordinary circumstances, when they are running free they attain the respectable speed of seven or eight knots.
The paddles are diamond- or bat-shaped, according to the locality. Although they are very long, these canoes are extremely narrow, and their capacity was not much greater than that of the bark canoe, though they are, of course, much safer. The largest crew recorded of any outrigged canoe is fifteen men.
It seems pretty clear that the outrigged canoe is not Australian in origin, and equally clear that the bark canoe is so. But whether the sewn-bark canoe may not have been due to the drifting ashore of some Melanesian canoe is another question. There are several well-authenticated instances of New Caledonian canoes coming ashore on the coast of Queensland, and it is just here that the sewn-bark type is found. Probably the matter will never be settled.
Thomas, Northcote W. Natives of Australia. Archibald Constable and Company, 1906.
About TOTA
TOTA.world provides cultural information and sharing across the world to help you explore your Family’s Cultural History and create deep connections with the lives and cultures of your ancestors.
