ARCHAEOLOGY BRANCH

Department of Aboriginal and Islanders Advancement

UNIVC.HSITY OF C'l!~f 'J~U'.NO LIBR. ~ -.. ~

UNDERGRADI.JAfE LIBRARY

CONTENTS:

PADDLE- YOUR OWN CANOE

·-· :' '"J.l' ERSITY OF QUEENSJ-,

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Archaeology Bl'aMh, Derxzrtment of Aboriginal and Islanders Adva:rzoerren.t,

P.O. Box ~69~ Foratitud2 VaUey~ Q. 4006. Phone 224 5?15. Ranger HeadquaratePs: Mt. Isa - P.O. Box 309, ~- lea.

CairrtE - 6 Abbott Street, Cail"n.8. Roakhfznrptor. ·· J5 William Street, Rockhampton.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Inju.JW - CO'POnation .c-treet, TnjtlYU2. Laura - C/- Poet Office, Laura.

This article was prepared from a script supplied by M~. Barry Struber, Honorary Warden. Hareeba.

PER10DICA[

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PADDLE YOliK 0~1N CANOE

Watercraft played a very important role in the daily life of many of the Aboriginal tribes of A us t l·al in, as they moved across the terrai n '"i th the seasons, searching for food.

T:te first Aborigines "to arrive on Australia's shores 1wuld have usea rafts or canoes to journey from the land of their origin. The map below shows the areas to the north of Australia from where it is believed the Aborigines came. (Fig. 1) They started moving south approximately 60,000 to 70,000 years ago "'hen the seas \<Jere lower during the Ice Ages (the Pleistocene). At that time, there \vas a land bridge between Papua Ne1.; Guinea and northern Australia and access to the southern continent was relatively easy.

The Aborigine s continued to use canoes after their arrival in Australia as they spread to other parts of the continent. Different types of canoes were developed, dependent upon the materials a vailab lc and the use to which the canoes \\'ere put.

TI:roughout the continent there were many tYPes of lvatercraft , from the single log to the fast moving sea-\.;orthy outri gger canoes. The latter were us e e! only in what is now called North Queensland , and were probably a later introduction from Papua-New Guinea.

;

·,\] ., I

(a f t er Une s co 1973 )

1

Logs were mainly used for the crossing of streams and to journey from the mainland to nearby islands. To manufacture this simple ftmctional craft the trunk of some very light tree was cut to approximately two metres in length. In the water, it easily supported a man who stretched hirnsel f along it. He was then able to paddle with one hand and carry his spears etc., in the other. Occasionally bundles of ti-tree were tied together and ti-tree bark laid on top as a stable platform. All the belongings, infants and the younger children unable to swim were placed on top, as the adults swam beside. This method was used to cross short distances. (Fig. 2) For longer j oumeys of up to 8km between islands, logs of 3 to 5 metres long were used with several persons riding on each one.

FIG 2

----------------------- --~---------·-

(after Roth, W.E. 1910)

Larger log rafts were used in various parts of the east coast of Australia when crossing wider tracts of water. They were made by tying a number of logs together using native rope, lawyer cane or sui table vine. These rafts were propelled by a long pole or by hand paddles made of bark or wood. Small pieces of timber were placed across one end and on it clay or sand was heaped so that a fire could be kept smouldering. These rafts were used for fishing as well as for crossing larger rivers, lakes, bays, etc.

The simplest type of canoe made by the first Austral i a.rs cons is ted of a 1 arge sheet of bark s tripped from a suit able tree, e.g. river red gum. This often necessitated climbing to a considerable height to obtain suitable bark. The bark had to be removed at a time when the sap was flowing freely in the Spring time for some trees and during the wet season for others. At this time, the be1rk 'vas much easier to remove in one piece than at other times of the year"

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Using a stone axe, the bark was cut to the required length and the strip was then carefully removed using pieces of stick an d s tones as wedges. Vine or rope was tied around the tree so that the bark would no t f~ll and be damaged. When the bi.i1·,~ was free it was lowered carefully to the ground with these ropes.

Along the Murray River, on removal of a suitable length of bark (Fig" 3) the two ends were pointed and the b.1.rk manipulated while still fresh and pli ab le, to form a very crude canoe. Strong sti;:k 11 spl'caders" were inserted during the drying process. This was the simplest form o f the bark canoe and was only suitable for use in the protected inland river systems. It was used for crossing rivers and for L shing the many inland lakes and waterways. (Edwards, R. 19 72)

FIG 3

(a f ter Edwards , R. 1972)

A more complex type of can0e (Fig. 4) was made from cylinders of bark from three metres to five metres l on g. Afte r the bark h ad been removed from the tree the outer surface was stripped an d the ends thi nned in prep:-· -:-ation for tying. The bark was held over a f ire an d the heat ma de it pliable. The bark was turned inside out and the en ds t ied. Thin, strong Sfl.plings were used as spreaders to maintain the desired wi dth. Strong, thin green branches were forced into the craft to act as ribs The "tied bark C?!)oe", as this tYPe is called, was much more seaworthy than the simplier form of bark canoe descril"led above.

FIG4

Sket ch taken from Thomas D:~_ ck' s Et:hnographic Photos

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On the northern coast of Australia and along the Queensland coast two more advanced types of canoe were used, the sewn bark canoe (Fig. 5) and the d~gout canoe.

fiGS

After stitching the prow the stem is treated in the same way but using a longer "spreader".

C:.::::er Roth~ W .:::. 1910)

The sewn bark canoe could be made of a single piece of bark or three sheets of bark. The single sheet was made in a similar way to the tied bark canoe, the difference being that the ends were sewn together through holes drilled with a bone. They were usually sewn with lawyercane and caulked with gum.

According to Roth, 1 ~lree-piece canoes (Fig. 6) which were used in central and north coastal Queensland~ were made by extending one piece of bark lengthwise

FIG6

(after Roth, W.E. 1910)

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from bow to stern along the bottom of the canoe and sewing two sheets together to form the two sides. The two sides were then joined along the bow, stern and kee I and then caulked with gum. Stretches, braces and ribs were used to maintain the shape. The bark was obtained from the iron-bark, a blue gum.

These canoes were taken to sea and used in travelling from the mainland to offshore islands as well as for 'fishing and carrying goods.

The dugout canoe is thought to have been introduced to Australia by the fishermen of Indonesia who visited the north of Australia to gather trepang, a suasage like slug that lives on the seabed.

To build a dugout canoe the Aborigines felled a suitable softwood tree. This was roughly shaped and hollowed out on the spot. It was then taken to the water• s edge where the final shaping took place. Careful chipping was necessary to work the sides down to a uniform thickness. There was no keel on a dugout canoe. Dugouts could be six metres long and about three-quarters of a metre wide.

The use of an outrigger (Fig. 7) with a dugout canoe was possibly introduced to the Queensland coast from Papua New Guinea.

FIG 7

(after Roth, W.E. 1910)

The importance of watercraft to the Aborigine cannot be overemphasised as they were an integral part of the life of most of the tribes who lived by the seashore or along the large rivers of the continent.

No doubt watercrafts were used by the Aborigine during their exploration and settling of the continent. In many cases, they would have been used in crossing and exploring rivers, 1 ak.es and in visiting offshore islands.

5

One of the mos-r important uses would have been in hunting and food gathering. Fishing, dugong and turtle hunting, collecting of water plants, visits to islands for hunting and the gathering of birds and turtle eggs would have been a few of the main uses. Watercraft would also have been extremely important as a means of travel and transporting belongings when visiting '"ith relations and friends in neighbouring territories.

All that remains of the canoe making industry of the Aborigine is the occasional 11 canoe tree". These may be found \vi.thin several kilometres of water and take the form of a large scar on the trunk of a tree where bark has been removed in a particular shape. (Fig. 8)

FIG 8

Photo - Archaeology Branch, D .A .I .A.

In parts of northern Australia, log rafts are sti ll made by the local people. On Mornington Island, North QueensLmd, the skills of sewn bark canoe making are still known and the occasional canoe is constructed.

This paper has given a brief outline of the use and the importance of watercrafts to the Aborigines. It does not by any means cover the entire subject and further reading is advisable. A fe,~ suggestions are included in the Bibliography.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Edwards, R.

Roth, W.E.

UNESCO

FURTHER READING

Berndt, R.M.

Black, E.

Curr, E .M.

Davidson, D.S.

Eyre, E.J.

Haddon, H .J. and Hor-nell, J.

Harney, W .E.

Holland, R. C.

Howitt, A.W.

Mathews, R.H.

McConnel, U. H •

1972

1910

1973

1941

.194 7

1883

1935

1845

1937

1974

1976

1904

190 7 I 8

195 3

7

Aboriginal Bark Canoes of the Murray River, Adelaide.

Transport and Trade

Records of the Australian Museu.l1, Bulletin No .14, North Queensland Ethnography.

Australian Aboriginal Culture

Canberra

The Bark Canoes of the Lower River Murray, South Australia

Mankind, Vol.3, No.1, 17-28'.

The Canoes and Canoe Trees in Aus-r--··alia

Mankind, Vol3, No.12, 351-361

Recollections of Squatting in Victoria

Melbourne

The Chronology of Australian Watercraft

Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol.44, 173-76

Journal of Expeditions of Discovery into Central Australia

2 vols • Lon don

Canoes of Oceania

Bernice P., Bishop Museum, Honolulu

Life Among the Aborigines

Sydney

Distribution and Methods of Construction of Aboriginal Bark Canoes

The Native Tribes of South-East Australia

London

Aboriginal Navigation

Queensland Geographical Journal, Vol.23, 66-81

Native Arts and Industries on the Archer, Kendall and Holroyd Rivers, Cape York Peninsula, North Queensland

Records of the South Australian Museum, Vol.11 No.1, 1-42 and 17 plates.

Petrie, C. 1975

Roth, W .E. 1904

Roth, W .E. 1908

Thomas, N.W. 1905

Thomson, D.F. 1949

Tin dale, N .B. 1926

Warner, W. 1932

Tom Petrie's Reminiscences of Early Queensland

Sydney

Domestic Implements, Arts and :.-.=mufactures

North Queensland Ethnography, Bulletin No.7, Brisbane

Australian Canoes and Rafts

Man, Vol.B, No.2, 161-2

Australian Canoes and Rafts

Journal of the Anthropological Institute, Vol. 35, 56-71

Arnhern Land: Exploration Among an Unknown People

The Geographical Journal, Vol.114~ No.3, 53-67

Natives of Groote Eylandt and of the West Coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria

Records of the South Australian Museum, Vol.3, (2), 2, 103-35

Malay Influences on Aboriginal Culture

Oceania, Vol.2 (4), 476-95

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Native Outrigger Canoes, Cooktown, North Queensland.