The Coolamon: Carrying Knowledge and Sustenance in Victorian Aboriginal Culture
The coolamon was one of the most important multipurpose tools used by Aboriginal peoples across Australia, including Victoria. Shaped from wood and designed for portability, coolamons were used to carry food, water, fire, and even children. They embodied a union of practicality, ecological knowledge, and cultural symbolism, reflecting the intimate relationship between Aboriginal peoples, Country, and daily life (Howitt, 1904; Isaacs, 1987).
Construction and Materials
Coolamons were crafted with precision from carefully selected timbers, demonstrating an expert understanding of the environment and sustainability:
Wood: Typically made from eucalypt, acacia, or mallee species, chosen for their strength, flexibility, and natural curvature (Howitt, 1904; McCarthy, 1967).
Shaping: Naturally curved sections of wood were cut and hollowed using controlled fire and stone tools.
Finishing: The surfaces were smoothed with stone scrapers and edges hardened by fire. Many coolamons were decorated with ochre or incised geometric designs representing clan or Dreaming connections (Dawson, 1881; Clarke, 2011).
Size and Form: Varying from about 30 to 70 cm in length, coolamons were lightweight yet robust, allowing for multiple practical uses.
This careful craftsmanship reflected deep ecological knowledge of timber properties and sustainable use of local materials (Clarke, 2011; Howitt, 1904).
Uses of the Coolamon
Coolamons were versatile and central to Victorian Aboriginal life:
Food Gathering: Women used them to collect seeds, tubers, berries, shellfish, and other edible plants, including murnong (yam daisy) (Isaacs, 1987; Clarke, 2011).
Water Carrier: Some coolamons were lined with clay or leaves to carry water over short distances.
Cooking and Fire: Used for mixing food, roasting, and transporting glowing embers between camps (McCarthy, 1967).
Cradles for Children: Babies were carried in padded coolamons lined with soft grass or possum skin for comfort (Dawson, 1881).
Ceremonial Use: In corroborees and rituals, coolamons transported ochre, sacred items, or offerings.
Their multifunctional design made them indispensable to survival, daily routines, and cultural identity (Howitt, 1904; Isaacs, 1987).
Cultural and Symbolic Significance
Beyond their practicality, coolamons carried deep symbolic meaning:
Women’s Knowledge: Often associated with women, they symbolised nurturing, sustenance, and care—key roles in Aboriginal society (Isaacs, 1987).
Law and Ceremony: Carvings or painted designs could represent clan identity, Country, or Dreaming stories, marking them as carriers of law and lineage (McCarthy, 1967).
Symbol of Life: As vessels for both food and infants, coolamons embodied nourishment and the continuity of life itself (Dawson, 1881).
Thus, coolamons were not just utensils, but cultural artefacts and extensions of identity and responsibility.
Wadawurrung Context
For the Wadawurrung people, whose Country extends across Ballarat, Geelong, the Werribee Plains, and the Bellarine Peninsula, coolamons were central to both practical and ceremonial life (Dawson, 1881; Clarke, 2011):
Food and Seed Collection: Used for gathering murnong (Microseris walteri) and grass seeds across the volcanic plains.
Water and Fire: Carried water from the Barwon and Moorabool Rivers and transported embers between camps.
Childcare: Used as cradles for infants, lined with soft grasses or skins.
Ceremonial Role: In Wadawurrung gatherings, coolamons carried ochre and ceremonial items, symbolising women’s role in maintaining spiritual law and continuity.
These functions highlight how the coolamon connected Wadawurrung people to Country, community, and ceremony through everyday acts of care and sustenance (Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, 2023).
Impact of Colonisation
Colonisation severely disrupted the making and use of coolamons:
Suppression of Craft: Mission policies discouraged traditional tool-making and women’s gathering practices (AIATSIS, 2000).
Loss of Resources: Dispossession and land clearing restricted access to the tree species used for crafting.
Cultural Disruption: The decline of women’s roles in food gathering led to erosion of cultural knowledge attached to the coolamon (Isaacs, 1987; Clarke, 2011).
Museum Collections: Many coolamons were removed from communities and placed in museums, stripped of context and ceremonial meaning (AIATSIS, 2000).
Despite this, the coolamon endured as a symbol of Aboriginal women’s ingenuity, knowledge, and resilience (Clarke, 2011).
The Story of Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) — Western Arrernte Country on the Coolaman
In the heart of the West MacDonnell Ranges of Central Australia lies Tnorala (Gosse Bluff), a vast circular mountain formation that holds one of the most sacred and enduring stories of creation. To the Western Arrernte people, Tnorala is not merely a geological structure but a living reminder of an ancestral event that continues to shape their law, ceremony, and identity.
According to Aunty Mavis Malbunka, a senior Western Arrernte woman and traditional custodian of Tnorala, the story tells of a group of women from the Milky Way who were dancing across the sky, celebrating and carrying a baby in a wooden coolamon. During their dance, the baby slipped from the coolamon and fell to the earth, crashing into the ground with immense force. The impact created the circular mountain ring that we see today as Tnorala. The coolamon itself became the crater’s central peak, while the stars of the Milky Way—the women—remain above, watching over the child (Malbunka, 2003).
This story connects the cosmos and the earth, embodying a worldview where the sky and land are inseparable. It teaches about care, loss, and cosmic balance, while also serving as a celestial map—Tnorala’s position on earth mirrors the patterns of the stars above. Western Arrernte custodians continue to pass on this story through ceremony, teaching that Tnorala is a sacred women’s site, not to be disturbed, and reminding all visitors to walk with respect (ABC, 2003; Parks and Wildlife NT, 2020).
Tnorala also bridges traditional knowledge and science. In Western understanding, the site is the remnant of a massive meteor impact around 142 million years ago, yet for the Arrernte, this geological truth exists alongside the Dreaming story, not in conflict with it. Both are seen as parallel truths—one spiritual, one physical—each explaining the world in its own way.
The story of Tnorala, as preserved and shared by Aunty Mavis Malbunka, is a profound example of Aboriginal astronomy, cosmology, and intergenerational storytelling, revealing that creation is not confined to the past but continues to echo through Country, stars, and memory.
Revival and Continuity
Today, coolamons are being revitalised as powerful symbols of cultural renewal:
Education: Used in schools and cultural workshops to teach about Aboriginal daily life and traditional women’s knowledge (AIATSIS, 2000).
Art and Ceremony: Contemporary artists carve, paint, and exhibit coolamons as expressions of continuity and identity (Clarke, 2011).
Naming Ceremonies: Infants are often presented in coolamons during modern cultural ceremonies, representing care and connection to ancestry (Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, 2023).
Through these acts, the coolamon continues to carry not only sustenance but also cultural law, memory, and renewal.
Conclusion
The coolamon was—and remains—a vital tool of Victorian Aboriginal culture, combining functionality, artistry, and spiritual meaning. Among the Wadawurrung and other Nations, it sustained life, carried children, preserved fire, and held sacred substances. Colonisation disrupted its use, but the coolamon’s return in contemporary education and art reaffirms its enduring role as a vessel of cultural continuity, ecological wisdom, and community resilience (Isaacs, 1987; Clarke, 2011).
Reference List
ABC (2003) Message Stick: The Story of Tnorala. Broadcast by ABC Television, 7 September 2003.
AIATSIS (2000) Settlement: A History of Australian Indigenous Housing and Culture. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.
Clarke, P.A. (2011) Aboriginal Plant Collectors: Botanists and Australian Aboriginal People in the Nineteenth Century. Kenthurst: Rosenberg Publishing.
Dawson, J. (1881) Australian Aborigines: The Languages and Customs of Several Tribes of Aborigines in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. Melbourne: George Robertson.
Howitt, A.W. (1904) The Native Tribes of South-East Australia. London: Macmillan.
Isaacs, J. (1987) Bush Food: Aboriginal Food and Herbal Medicine. Sydney: Weldons.
Malbunka, M. (2003) Interview in Message Stick: The Story of Tnorala. ABC Television, Australia.
McCarthy, F.D. (1967) Australian Aboriginal Material Culture. Sydney: Australian Museum.
Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory (2020) Tnorala (Gosse Bluff) Conservation Reserve: Joint Management Plan. Darwin: Northern Territory Government.
Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (2023) Cultural Heritage Reports and Practices on Wadawurrung Country. Geelong: WTOAC.
Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter 16/09/2025
Magic Lands Alliance
Sharing the truth of Indigenous and colonial history through film, education, land and community.
Copyright of MLA – 2025
Magic Lands Alliance acknowledge the Traditional Owners, Custodians, and First Nations communities across Australia and internationally. We honour their enduring connection to the sky, land, waters, language, and culture. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging, and to all First Peoples communities and language groups. This article draws only on publicly available information; many cultural practices remain the intellectual property of communities.