Aboriginal Australian Economies
A short synopsis of the traditional economies of Aboriginal Australian peoples.
The traditional economies of Aboriginal Australians focused on subsistence. Their nomadic lifestyle left little room for personal wealth, creating a culture that valued sharing as a virtue. Day to day activities included hunting and fishing among men and gathering for women. Certain parts of the continent yielded valuable goods like ochre and pearls. These could be traded over large distances as part of larger trade networks. Manufactured items like tools, boomerangs, and didgeridoos were similarly valued. Trade frequently occurred at tribal gatherings. There, families exchanged knowledge, songs, and stories alongside physical goods. Despite their relative isolation, the early people of Australia were not cut off from the rest of the world. The dingo, for example, likely arrived by sea around 4,000 years ago, evidence of trade with South Asia.
With the arrival of European settlers, trade in Australia grew more localized. The colonists had little respect for the nomadic lifestyles of indigenous people. They saw unworked land and assumed it was free for the taking, a principle known as terra nullius. The settlers traded food and other goods to neighboring tribes, often in exchange for alcohol, tobacco, and opium. Addiction, combined with land loss and disease, significantly weakened indigenous communities. Some people of this time resorted to raiding local towns and livestock to survive.
Later, during the gold rush of the 1850s and ‘60s, indigenous people found employment on ranches and farms. They were frequently not paid in cash for their labor. Those that were tended to earn far less than white workers. Traditional Aboriginal lifestyles receded to the north, where they are still practiced today. Indigenous workers continued to face discrimination and low wages through much of the 20th century.
Modern economic issues remain important to Aboriginal Australian activists. Land rights, worker protections, and access to education are all ongoing political issues. Significant disparities in wealth exist between city workers and people of the rural northern territories. Land councils have attempted to correct these problems and represent citizens on both sides of the urban-rural divide. The relationship between public welfare, economic opportunity, and the preservation of culture continues to be debated within Aboriginal Australian communities today.
Further Reading:
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References
Bourke, Colin, Eleanor Bourke, and Bill Edwards, eds. Aboriginal Australia: An Introductory Reader in Aboriginal Studies. University of Queensland Press. 1994.
Broome, Richard. Aboriginal Australians: A History Since 1788. Allen & Unwin. 2010.
“Census: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Population.” Australian Bureau of Statistics, Commonwealth of Australia, 27 June 2017, www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/MediaRealesesByCatalogue/02D50FAA9987D6B7CA25814800087E03?OpenDocument.
Clarke, Francis Gordon. The History of Australia. Greenwood Press. 2002.
“The World Factbook: Australia.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 6 June 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html.
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