The Biggest Estate on Earth

How Aborigines made Australia

Nonfiction, History
Cover of the book The Biggest Estate on Earth by Bill Gammage, Allen & Unwin
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Bill Gammage ISBN: 9781742693521
Publisher: Allen & Unwin Publication: October 1, 2011
Imprint: Allen & Unwin Language: English
Author: Bill Gammage
ISBN: 9781742693521
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Publication: October 1, 2011
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Language: English

Explodes the myth that pre-settlement Australia was an untamed wilderness revealing the complex, country-wide systems of land management used by Aboriginal people. Across Australia, early Europeans commented again and again that the land looked like a park. With extensive grassy patches and pathways, open woodlands and abundant wildlife, it evoked a country estate in England. Bill Gammage has discovered this was because Aboriginal people managed the land in a far more systematic and scientific fashion than we have ever realised. For over a decade, Gammage has examined written and visual records of the Australian landscape. He has uncovered an extraordinarily complex system of land management using fire and the life cycles of native plants to ensure plentiful wildlife and plant foods throughout the year. We know Aboriginal people spent far less time and effort than Europeans in securing food and shelter, and now we know how they did it. With details of land-management strategies from around Australia, The Biggest Estate on Earth rewrites the history of this continent, with huge implications for us today. Once Aboriginal people were no longer able to tend their country, it became overgrown and vulnerable to the hugely damaging bushfires we now experience. And what we think of as virgin bush in a national park is nothing of the kind.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Explodes the myth that pre-settlement Australia was an untamed wilderness revealing the complex, country-wide systems of land management used by Aboriginal people. Across Australia, early Europeans commented again and again that the land looked like a park. With extensive grassy patches and pathways, open woodlands and abundant wildlife, it evoked a country estate in England. Bill Gammage has discovered this was because Aboriginal people managed the land in a far more systematic and scientific fashion than we have ever realised. For over a decade, Gammage has examined written and visual records of the Australian landscape. He has uncovered an extraordinarily complex system of land management using fire and the life cycles of native plants to ensure plentiful wildlife and plant foods throughout the year. We know Aboriginal people spent far less time and effort than Europeans in securing food and shelter, and now we know how they did it. With details of land-management strategies from around Australia, The Biggest Estate on Earth rewrites the history of this continent, with huge implications for us today. Once Aboriginal people were no longer able to tend their country, it became overgrown and vulnerable to the hugely damaging bushfires we now experience. And what we think of as virgin bush in a national park is nothing of the kind.

More books from Allen & Unwin

Cover of the book The Silence by Bill Gammage
Cover of the book 101 Weird Words (and Three Fakes) by Bill Gammage
Cover of the book Henrietta the Great Go-Getter by Bill Gammage
Cover of the book Fizz and the Show Dog Jewel Thief: Fizz 3 by Bill Gammage
Cover of the book Easy Eats: Vegetarian by Bill Gammage
Cover of the book Early Childhood Leadership in Action by Bill Gammage
Cover of the book How To Balance Your Life by Bill Gammage
Cover of the book Mindfulness for Mums and Dads by Bill Gammage
Cover of the book Getting Equal by Bill Gammage
Cover of the book New Guinea Moon by Bill Gammage
Cover of the book Slow Journeys by Bill Gammage
Cover of the book What Made You Think Of That by Bill Gammage
Cover of the book Sweet by Bill Gammage
Cover of the book Lost Relations by Bill Gammage
Cover of the book Cherry Pie by Bill Gammage
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy