Australia was declared terra nullius or ‘no one’s land’ by Lieutenant James Cook when he voyaged around the island in 1770. Had he not encountered any of the over 750,000 aboriginal inhabitants at the time?
Or perhaps, like most settlers that arrived shortly after, the natives were viewed akin to kangaroos, dingoes and emus – strange fauna to be eliminated to make way for development and civilisation.
For thousands of years, the aboriginal people have lived as one with their surroundings. The concept of property ownership does not exist, as land was part of their culture, identity and spirit. Food and bush medicine were respectfully harvested in different areas from time to time and allowed to replenish, nourishing over 400 different tribes with abundance.
They spend about 5 hours a day hunting and gathering, and the rest of their time developing a rich and complex ritual life – language, customs, spirituality and kinship with the land.
What they did not have however was the natural resistance against diseases introduced by European settlers. A large part of their population perished within a few years.
Unsustainable hunting, water pollution and land clearing wiped out more. Those who survived the invasion continue to lose their way of life as their numbers steadily declined.
Today, where aboriginal people once lived freely and in huge numbers, I see none, in no man’s land.