AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL CULTURE

Indigenous Australians are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) people of , descended from groups that existed in Australia prior to British colonisation. They have a culture that is represented in numerous ways including language, music, food and art. Aboriginal art is thousands of years old. The best known forms are rock art and bark painting. Evidence of Aboriginal art in Australia can be traced back at least 30,000 years.

Dot painting is well recognised Australian Art and consists of various paint colours like yellow (the sun), brown (the soil), red (desert sand) and white (the clouds and the sky). Dot paintings can be painted on anything! In aboriginal times they used to paint dot pictures on rocks and caves to represent stories and legends.

ACTIVITY 1 – Dot painting

Provide the Guides with some smooth pebbles, paint and cotton buds and let them do their own dot painting. Alternatively purchase some wooden and use these. Inspire the Guides by showing them some Aboriginal Artwork (available on the Internet).

ACTIVITY 2 – Origami making All boomerangs fall into four categories:

Hunting --- they can kill a small animal. Killing --- These are held. They were used in hand to hand combat. Music --- Two are clapped together to produce a rhythm or sound effect. Returning --- Originally made of wood, most of these boomerangs are now made of plastic. (Refer to Resource - Boomerang facts – cut each fact out and distribute to each Girl Guide. Ask each Guide to read out to the group an interesting boomerang fact).

Make a (paper) returning boomerang and see who’s boomerang is the most accurate when it returns. How to make a paper boomerang can be found on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVTWe_XYNNE

ACTIVITY 3 – Aboriginal Game Weme - A stone bowling game where one player threw a stone which was then used as a target by the next player. Players take turns. See who get closest to the “target” stone (or jack). This traditional game was played by the Walbiri people of Central Australia.

Optional Make some damper. Damper is a traditional Australian soda bread. (Refer to Resource - How to make damper)