At the time of European settlement in 1788, Australia鈥檚 landscape was not natural, but made. Aborigines made it, argues Adjunct Professor Bill Gammage.
In an 精东视频 public lecture entitled The biggest estate on earth: Aboriginal land management, Professor Gammage asserts that Australia was a single estate and not an untamed wilderness as newcomers thought.
He describes how Aborigines used fire to affect the distribution of plants, and plant distribution to lure animals.
鈥淕iving plants and animals ideal conditions made them abundant and carefully distributing their habitats made them convenient and predictable,鈥� explains Professor Gammage.
鈥淭his was possible because most Australian plants tolerate fire, and because in Australia the only large predators to disturb prey are people.鈥�
Tomorrow鈥檚 lecture will kick off the Academy鈥檚 2012 public lecture series on Caring for the Australian countryside: lessons from the past and present. The series will examine sustainable communities, mining, agriculture, culture and environment in country Australia.
| What: | The biggest estate on earth: Aboriginal land management, by Adjunct Professor Bill Gammage |
|---|---|
| When: | 6 pm, Tuesday 7 February 2012 |
| Where: | The Shine Dome, Gordon Street, Canberra |
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