Kangaroos in Australia and Victoria: History, Culture, Economy and the Stars
Kangaroos (Macropodidae), the most iconic marsupials of Australia, hold a profound place in both ecological and cultural landscapes. In Victoria, kangaroos have long been central to Aboriginal Peoples’ lives — providing food, clothing, tools, ceremony, and story. They are also written into the night sky, where ancestral beings such as Purra, the kangaroo in the stars, guided seasonal law and moral teaching (Stanbridge 1857; Hamacher 2012). Today, kangaroos remain abundant across much of Victoria, symbolising both resilience and the complex legacies of colonisation, land clearing, and wildlife management.
Deep History and Distribution
Kangaroos evolved in Australia from small arboreal ancestors during the Miocene epoch, around 25 million years ago, adapting as the continent’s forests gave way to open grasslands (IUCN 2016). Fossil evidence reveals a remarkable diversity of extinct forms, from the giant short-faced kangaroo (Procoptodon) to tree-dwelling species in ancient southern forests.
The large grazing kangaroos of today include the Red Kangaroo (Osphranter rufus), found mainly in north-western Victoria; the Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), widespread across the state; and the Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus), common in the Wimmera, Mallee and Gariwerd/Grampians regions (DEECA 2021; Parks Victoria 2021). Though largely absent from dense urban areas such as Melbourne, kangaroos thrive in peri-urban grasslands, farmland, and conservation reserves.
Kangaroos in Victorian Aboriginal Culture
Everyday and Ceremonial Uses
For Aboriginal communities across Victoria, kangaroos were integral to daily survival and ceremony. The meat provided a staple protein, hunted using boomerangs, spears, and cooperative drives. The tail was considered a delicacy when roasted over fire. Skins were used to make cloaks, particularly in drier northern districts, often decorated with incised clan patterns (Museums Victoria 2023). Sinew from the tail served as strong binding material, while bones were crafted into awls, spear points, and ornaments (Deadly Story 2023). Teeth and bones also featured in ceremonial regalia and were traded across Nations.
Rock art at sites such as Gariwerd depicts kangaroo motifs in ceremonial and mythological scenes, revealing the animal’s deep integration into visual culture and law.
Totems and Law
Kangaroos serve as important totem animals across many Nations of Victoria, embodying both privilege and responsibility. Totems defined who could hunt, eat, or speak for the kangaroo, embedding sustainability within cultural law (Broome 2005). Hunting was restricted to certain seasons and guided by observation of the environment — for instance, breeding times or the flowering of specific plants. The kangaroo thus functioned not only as food but also as a teacher of restraint, reciprocity, and respect for Country.
Kangaroos in the Stars: Purra and Celestial Law
Aboriginal cosmology across Victoria encodes knowledge of the kangaroo in the sky. Among the Kulin Nations, particularly the Wurundjeri and Wadawurrung, the story of Purra, the giant kangaroo, connects celestial observation to hunting law. According to Wurundjeri accounts recorded by Stanbridge (1857), Purra leapt into the heavens after being hunted, his body now traced among the stars near the Southern Cross. When these stars rise at dusk, they mark the beginning of the kangaroo hunting season; when they fade, it signals a time of rest (Hamacher 2012).
In this way, astronomy and ecology intertwined — the stars served as both calendar and moral compass. The Purra story parallels other Aboriginal constellations such as the Emu in the Sky (Tchingal), which governs egg-harvesting ethics. These sky teachings reinforced ecological balance, embedding the kangaroo’s story into both law and landscape.
Wadawurrung Case Study: Kangaroo, Country, and Ceremony
On Wadawurrung Country, which spans Geelong, Ballarat, and the Bellarine Peninsula, kangaroos were deeply connected to both subsistence and ceremony. Historical records and oral traditions describe organised drives along the Moorabool and Barwon Rivers, where families worked collectively to corral kangaroos into nets and spears (Clark 1990).
The Purra story is also remembered within Wadawurrung cosmology, linking the kangaroo’s celestial presence to social teaching and local topography. Ceremonies such as tanderrum (welcoming gatherings) included the sharing of kangaroo meat as a sign of peace and reciprocity between clans (Broome 2005).
Colonisation profoundly altered this relationship. Pastoral expansion from the 1830s devastated grasslands and disrupted kangaroo populations. European hunters harvested skins in mass numbers, while introduced livestock competed for feed. Yet Wadawurrung Elders today continue to speak of Purra’s spirit in the land and sky, using his story to teach balance and ecological responsibility. Modern Wadawurrung cultural programs now integrate kangaroo totem stories into education, land management, and conservation projects, reaffirming kinship between people and Country.
Ecology and Plant Connections
Kangaroos are ecosystem engineers, maintaining grasslands through controlled grazing that reduces fuel loads and supports native grasses such as kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra) (Gammage 2011). This grass, also harvested by Aboriginal women and ground into flour, formed an ecological and symbolic pairing with the animal itself. Together, kangaroo and kangaroo grass embodied the reciprocal principle of giving and taking that underpinned Aboriginal land management.
The decline of traditional firestick farming and the introduction of exotic pastures have disrupted this balance, leading to altered vegetation patterns and ecological tension between conservation and agriculture (Pascoe 2014).
Colonisation and Change
European colonisation transformed kangaroo populations in both destructive and paradoxical ways. In the 19th century, millions of kangaroo skins were exported from Victoria as a commercial commodity, while habitat loss from grazing and cropping reduced natural ranges (Reynolds 1987). Fire suppression and rifle hunting further disrupted populations.
However, as dingoes declined and farm dams increased, conditions in some regions favoured kangaroo expansion, particularly for Eastern Greys (DEECA 2021). Today, Victoria manages both local overabundance — where kangaroos damage crops or cause road collisions — and areas of decline, where habitat fragmentation threatens smaller populations.
Economic Use and Management Today
The Victorian Kangaroo Harvest Management Plan (2024–2028) sets out a framework for sustainable, humane harvesting under scientific monitoring (DEECA 2023). Annual quotas generally account for around 10% of the state’s estimated kangaroo population.
In 2022, Victoria’s population was approximately 1.86 million, with 118,980 permitted for harvest (DEECA 2022). In 2023, 147,607 kangaroos were commercially or administratively harvested — about 7% of the total (DEECA 2023). Quotas were reduced in 2024 to 111,575 (DEECA 2024). Despite these allocations, fewer animals are typically taken than permitted due to market fluctuations and regional conditions (Herald Sun 2024).
Nationally, Australia’s kangaroo industry exports meat and leather to over 60 countries, contributing an estimated A$270 million annually and supporting around 4,000 jobs (DAFF 2023; Macro Group Australia 2025). While the industry promotes sustainability and low carbon emissions, critics question animal welfare and over-commercialisation (The Guardian 2025a, 2025b).
Cultural and Ecological Management Futures
Modern kangaroo management increasingly acknowledges Traditional Owner leadership. Projects across Victoria, including those led by Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, seek to re-embed cultural values into wildlife decisions — balancing ecological, agricultural, and ethical needs.
The return of cultural burning and traditional observation of animal movements re-aligns conservation with Aboriginal knowledge systems. Reviving stories like Purra in the Sky helps re-centre kangaroos not merely as resources but as kin and teachers, whose presence continues to regulate balance between people, Country, and cosmos.
Conclusion
Kangaroos are far more than national emblems; they are enduring symbols of Country, culture, and coexistence. For Victorian Aboriginal communities — especially the Kulin Nations and Wadawurrung — they represent law, sustenance, and celestial connection. From the Purra constellation above to the grasslands below, the kangaroo bridges ecology, spirituality, and economy.
Protecting kangaroos today requires honouring all these dimensions — scientific, cultural, and moral — ensuring that they continue to leap across the landscapes, stories, and skies of Victoria for generations to come.
References (Harvard Style)
· 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.
· DAFF (2023). Australian Kangaroo Industry Overview. Canberra: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
· Deadly Story (2023). Tools & Technology. Victorian Aboriginal Education Association. https://deadlystory.com/page/tools-technology
· DEECA Victoria (2021). Kangaroo Harvesting and Management Program. Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.
· DEECA Victoria (2022). Kangaroo Harvest Program Annual Report 2022. Melbourne: DEECA.
· DEECA Victoria (2023). Victorian Kangaroo Harvest Management Plan 2024–2028. Melbourne: DEECA.
· DEECA Victoria (2024). Kangaroo Harvesting Program Annual Summary Report 2024. Melbourne: DEECA.
· Gammage, B. (2011). The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
· Hamacher, D.W. (2012). “On Aboriginal Astronomy in Victoria.” Journal of Astronomical History & Heritage, 15, 121–134.
· Herald Sun (2024). “Not Making a Dent: Kangaroo Numbers Explode in Victoria.” 14 September.
· IUCN (2016). Macropus spp., The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
· Macro Group Australia (2025). About the Kangaroo Industry. https://macrogroupaustralia.com/sustainability/kangaroo-industry/
· Museums Victoria (2023). Kangaroo Artefacts and Cloaks. Melbourne: Museums Victoria Collections.
· Parks Victoria (2021). Kangaroos of the Grampians and Mallee Parks. Melbourne: Parks Victoria.
· Pascoe, B. (2014). Dark Emu: Black Seeds – Agriculture or Accident? Broome: Magabala Books.
· Reynolds, H. (1987). The Law of the Land. Ringwood: Penguin.
· Stanbridge, W.E. (1857). “On the Astronomy and Mythology of the Aborigines of Victoria.” Proceedings of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria, 2, 137–140.
· The Guardian (2025a). “Calls to Halt Kangaroo Culling in Grampians After Bushfires.” 13 January.
· The Guardian (2025b). “Wild Kangaroo Harvests Labelled ‘Needlessly Cruel’ by US Lawmakers.” 5 July.
· Wikipedia contributors (2025). Kangaroo Industry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo_industry
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.