Indigenous History and Natural Science
Sustainability Methods of Indigenous People in Victoria: Caring for Country, Past and Present
For over 65,000 years, Indigenous peoples across Australia developed advanced systems of sustainability, grounded in deep ecological knowledge, spiritual law, and intergenerational stewardship.
In Victoria, groups such as the Kulin Nations, Gunditjmara, and Wadawurrung engineered landscapes, cultivated plants, and maintained ecosystems through regenerative management designed to renew, not deplete, resources (Pascoe, 2014; Gammage, 2011).
Far from being “hunter-gatherers,” Victorian Indigenous societies practiced aquaculture, cultural burning, and seasonal harvesting that supported dense populations and ecological diversity. Their methods remain vital to climate adaptation and sustainability science today.
Sustainability Methods in Victoria
1. Cultural Burning (Firestick Farming)
Indigenous people used low-intensity, cool burns to regenerate vegetation, reduce fuel loads, and stimulate biodiversity (Gammage, 2011; Yibarbuk et al., 2001).
In Victoria, cultural burning maintained open grasslands for kangaroos and protected crops like murnong (yam daisy) (Clarke, 2007).
Fires were guided by phenological indicators—plant flowering, animal movements, and seasonal stars (Pascoe, 2014).
These burns built fire-resilient mosaics, in contrast to modern large-scale wildfires exacerbated by colonial fire suppression (Russell-Smith et al., 2013).
2. Aquaculture at Budj Bim (Gunditjmara Country)
The Gunditjmara constructed stone weirs, channels, and ponds over 6,600 years ago to trap and farm kooyang (short-finned eels) (McNiven & Bell, 2010).
These systems enabled sustainable surplus production, with eels smoked and traded along regional networks (Clark, 1990).
Channels were adaptively managed with seasonal flows, ensuring regeneration of eel populations.
In 2019, Budj Bim became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognised as one of the world’s oldest examples of sustainable aquaculture (UNESCO, 2019).
3. Yam Daisy (Murnong) Cultivation
Murnong (Microseris walteri) was a staple crop cultivated across Victoria (Clarke, 2007; Pascoe, 2014).
Women harvested tubers with digging sticks, aerating soil and leaving smaller roots to regrow.
Managed burning maintained yam fields that resembled European agriculture in scale and productivity.
These systems collapsed after colonial grazing and soil compaction, leading to the destruction of murnong landscapes (Broome, 2005).
4. Seasonal Movement and Resource Sharing
Indigenous Victorians followed six to eight distinct seasonal calendars, moving across Country according to resource cycles (Clarke, 1997).
Harvesting only occurred during times of abundance, ensuring regeneration.
Examples include:Eels and fish in winter and autumn.
Bogong moth gatherings in alpine areas during summer.
Kangaroo hunts following post-burn vegetation growth (Gammage, 2011).
This movement ensured sustainability through restraint, embedding balance in the social and ecological fabric.
5. Material Sustainability
Tools, clothing, and housing were made from biodegradable and recyclable materials (Broome, 2005):
Possum-skin cloaks provided warmth and ceremonial value.
Mia-mias (bark shelters) were lightweight and left no permanent trace.
Stone tools were re-used and re-sharpened over generations.
These practices embodied zero-waste design, now mirrored in modern circular economy models.
Broader Australian Context
Brewarrina Fish Traps (NSW): Complex systems of stone weirs enabled sustainable fish harvesting for thousands of years (McNiven & Bell, 2010).
Desert Water Systems: Rock wells and claypans provided enduring freshwater in arid landscapes (Rose, 1996).
Torres Strait Islanders: Practiced reef rotation and ceremonial hunting to preserve marine resources (Johannes, 1981).
These examples reveal a continent-wide Indigenous science, diverse in form but unified in ecological ethics.
Cultural and Spiritual Dimensions of Sustainability
Sustainability was inseparable from spiritual law (Lore):
Totemic responsibilities tied individuals and clans to species and landscapes, forming obligations of care (Clarke, 2007).
Songlines transmitted ecological and cosmological knowledge across Country (Neale, 2017).
Ceremonial law determined when, where, and how resources could be harvested.
This ensured human actions never exceeded ecological limits, reinforcing reciprocity between people and environment.
Impact of Colonisation
Sheep and cattle destroyed yam fields and compacted soils.
Suppression of cultural burning disrupted ecosystem balance, increasing catastrophic bushfires (Gammage, 2011).
Aquaculture systems such as Budj Bim were damaged or decommissioned.
Colonial anthropology dismissed Indigenous land management as “primitive,” legitimising dispossession under terra nullius (Reynolds, 1987).
Colonisation thus fractured sustainable lifeways that had preserved Country for millennia.
Comparison with Modern Sustainability Frameworks
Regenerative Agriculture
Focuses on soil health, biodiversity, and cyclical renewal.
Murnong cultivation and burning anticipated these principles, regenerating soil naturally (Pascoe, 2014; Gammage, 2011).
Permaculture
Mimics natural ecosystems through diversity and interdependence.
Wetland management at Budj Bim reflects ancient polycultural design, balancing water, plants, and animals.
Conservation Science
Indigenous totemic law functioned as species conservation, assigning custodianship to ensure no overharvesting (Clarke, 2007).
Ceremonial restrictions acted as ecological regulations, equivalent to modern conservation zones.
Climate Adaptation
Cultural burning is now integrated into bushfire management policy (DELWP, 2022).
Seasonal ecological knowledge—based on stars, animal behaviour, and plants—provides vital climate indicators for contemporary science (CSIRO, 2021).
Victorian Indigenous sustainability thus prefigured modern ecological ethics, integrating spirituality, science, and responsibility.
Revival and Contemporary Relevance
Cultural burning is being revived by Dja Dja Wurrung, Wurundjeri, and Taungurung communities in partnership with state agencies (DELWP, 2022).
Murnong restoration projects are replanting native yam fields for both cultural and ecological renewal.
Budj Bim aquaculture has been reactivated as a centre for education and sustainable tourism (UNESCO, 2019).
Indigenous leadership is central to climate change adaptation, biodiversity policy, and land healing (Wadawurrung TOAC, 2021).
Conclusion
The First Peoples of Victoria practised sustainability as law, science, and cultural responsibility. Their systems—cultural burning, aquaculture, yam cultivation, and seasonal movement—ensured balance between people and environment.
Modern frameworks such as regenerative agriculture, permaculture, and climate resilience echo these ancient methods but often lack their ethical depth.
Indigenous sustainability models remain critical guides for the future, reminding us that caring for Country is both science and spirit.
References
Broome, R. (2005). Aboriginal Victorians: A History Since 1800. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Clark, I.D. (1990). Aboriginal Languages and Clans: An Historical Atlas of Western and Central Victoria, 1800–1900. Melbourne: Monash Publications in Geography.
Clarke, P. (2007). Aboriginal People and Their Plants. Sydney: Rosenberg Publishing.
CSIRO (2021). Indigenous Climate Knowledge and Adaptation. Canberra: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.
DELWP (2022). Cultural Fire Strategy for Victoria. Melbourne: Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
Gammage, B. (2011). The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Johannes, R. (1981). Words of the Lagoon: Fishing and Marine Lore in the Palau District of Micronesia. Berkeley: University of California Press.
McNiven, I. & Bell, D. (2010). ‘Fishers and Farmers: Historicising Aboriginal Aquaculture and Agriculture in Victoria.’ Aboriginal History, 34, 165–193.
Neale, M. (2017). Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters. Canberra: National Museum of Australia.
Pascoe, B. (2014). Dark Emu: Black Seeds – Agriculture or Accident? Broome: Magabala Books.
Reynolds, H. (1987). The Law of the Land. Ringwood: Penguin.
Rose, D.B. (1996). Nourishing Terrains: Australian Aboriginal Views of Landscape and Wilderness. Canberra: Australian Heritage Commission.
Russell-Smith, J. et al. (2013). ‘Fire Regimes and Carbon Storage in Australian Savannas.’ Biogeosciences, 10(13), 7991–8002.
UNESCO (2019). Budj Bim Cultural Landscape: World Heritage Listing. Paris: UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (2021). Caring for Country and Cultural Knowledge. Geelong: WTOAC.
Yibarbuk, D. et al. (2001). ‘Fire Ecology and Aboriginal Land Management in Central Arnhem Land, Northern Australia.’ Journal of Biogeography, 28(3), 325–343.
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.
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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.