Native Plants, Foods and Medicinal Elements
Medicinal Plants and Healing Smokes of Victoria and Australia: Traditional Medicines of the Land and People
MLA Educational Series — Country, Medicine, and Healing
For tens of thousands of years, Indigenous peoples across Australia have practised one of the world’s oldest and most holistic systems of medicine — a form of environmental and spiritual pharmacology that unites the chemistry of plants with the law of Country. In Victoria and across the continent, every leaf, bark, resin, and smoke had meaning and purpose.
Healing was not limited to treating symptoms; it involved restoring balance between body, spirit, and land. Plants were the intermediaries — carrying both physical medicine and ancestral power. Smoking ceremonies, poultices, infusions, and oils were part of daily and ceremonial life, guided by knowledge held by Elders and healers such as the Ngangkari in Central Australia and women’s healers across the Kulin Nations and Wadawurrung Country (Atkinson 2002; Clarke 2009; DEECA 2022).
Today, both Indigenous communities and scientists recognise the sophistication of these systems — evidence of deep ecological understanding and spiritual connection to the healing energies of the Australian landscape.
Foundations of Indigenous Medicine
Traditional healing across Australia is built on five interwoven principles:
Connection to Country — All healing derives from land and spirit; illness is often a sign of imbalance with Country.
Plant Knowledge — Healing plants are known through story, observation, and kinship between species and people.
Smoke and Cleansing — Smoke purifies air, spirit, and place, connecting human breath with the breath of the earth.
Touch and Ceremony — Massage, song, and ritual align the body’s energy with ancestral pathways (Atkinson 2002).
Balance and Reciprocity — Medicine is taken only with ceremony and permission, ensuring respect and sustainability (RBGV 2023).
Across Victoria, the Kulin Nations — including Wadawurrung, Wurundjeri, Dja Dja Wurrung, Taungurung, and Boon Wurrung peoples — each maintained detailed pharmacopeias of local plants, built from millennia of observation and experimentation.
Medicinal Plants of Victoria
Eucalyptus (Gum Trees)
Perhaps the most versatile medicinal plant in Victoria, Eucalyptus leaves were crushed and inhaled to treat colds, fevers, and congestion. The kino resin, rich in tannins, was used to treat wounds and diarrhoea. Smoke from burning leaves purified spaces and removed “bad wind” (Clarke 2009; RBGV 2023).
Among the Wadawurrung, eucalyptus smoke was used to cleanse newborns and travellers returning from other Country, symbolising spiritual protection.
Tea-Tree and Paperbark (Melaleuca and Leptospermum spp.)
Leaves and bark were crushed to make antiseptic washes and infusions for coughs, cuts, and skin infections. The volatile oils contain terpinenes and phenolics, compounds now used commercially as “tea-tree oil.” The Boon Wurrung and Gunaikurnai peoples used steam from boiling leaves to open the chest and sinuses, while bark was used for swaddling and wound dressings (Clarke 2008; Gott 2019).
Cherry Ballart (Exocarpos cupressiformis)
A semi-parasitic tree found across the Kulin Nations, Cherry Ballart was both food and medicine. The fruit was eaten to restore energy; the leaves were heated and applied to sore joints or wounds. The wood was burned for cleansing smoke used in healing ceremonies, especially on Wadawurrung and Wurundjeri Country. Its parasitic connection to other plants symbolised interdependence and shared vitality (Gott 2019).
Old Man’s Weed (Centipeda cunninghamii)
A potent herb used across Victoria for skin conditions, joint pain, and respiratory illness. Leaves were crushed into poultices or steeped in hot water for inhalation. Modern pharmacology confirms its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial compounds (Kellerman et al. 2005). It continues to be used in contemporary Indigenous health products.
Native Mint (Mentha australis)
Infused as a tea or used in steam therapy, Native Mint relieved headaches, digestive issues, and colds. Its calming aroma also made it central to smoking ceremonies for soothing grief or anxiety. Among Wadawurrung healers, it was used to “cool the head and heart,” restoring emotional balance (RBGV 2023).
Wattle (Acacia spp.)
The bark and gum of wattles, particularly Acacia mearnsii (Black Wattle), were boiled into teas for throat infections, colds, and diarrhoea. The smoke was used for spiritual cleansing and as an insect repellent. The Golden Wattle, Victoria’s floral emblem, symbolises renewal after fire — both ecological and spiritual (Clarke 2009).
She-Oak and Bull-Oak (Casuarina and Allocasuarina spp.)
The bark was steeped for washing wounds, while cone smoke treated colds and sinus issues. The Wadawurrung and Gunditjmara used she-oak smoke in healing baths to reduce fever and “clear bad wind.” Its tannins acted as natural antiseptics, and the tree’s gentle voice in the wind symbolised peace and balance (Southcott 1976).
The Language of Smoke: Healing and Spirit
Smoke was medicine. Each plant created a distinct kind of healing energy through its aroma, chemistry, and spiritual association.
Traditional healers used combinations of leaves, bark, and resins to treat illness, cleanse the body, and restore harmony.
Types of Healing Smoke (Victoria and Kulin Nations)
Eucalyptus Smoke — Cooling and cleansing; used after sickness, childbirth, or journeying.
Cherry Ballart Smoke — Protective; burned to connect with ancestors and balance energy during mourning or initiation.
Wattle and She-Oak Smoke — Purifying and insect-repelling; used in camp maintenance and after ceremonies.
Native Mint and Lomandra Smoke — Soothing; calmed the mind and was used in women’s healing circles.
Grass Smoke (Kangaroo or Wallaby Grass) — Used in seasonal renewal fires, representing the rebirth of Country.
Each Nation and community had its own blends and purposes. For instance, Wadawurrung healers used soft smokes from eucalyptus, cherry ballart, and she-oak to cleanse newborns and return vitality to those recovering from illness. Among the Wurundjeri, a combination of eucalyptus and acacia smoke was used before major gatherings to purify participants and Country alike.
In Dja Dja Wurrung traditions, specific smokes were made to cleanse tools and ceremonial items, recognising that even crafted objects carried spiritual energy that needed renewal.
Healing Practices Beyond Victoria: Australia-Wide Connections
While each region had unique flora, the healing principles were consistent across the continent: plants heal through relationship — with the healer, the land, and the spirit world.
Central Australia – Ngangkari Medicine
In the deserts of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, the Ngangkari use plant-based balms made from emu bush (Eremophila spp.), rich in antibacterial resins, alongside massage and song. Emu bush smoke is used to treat colds and cleanse the air after death (Clarke 2009).
Northern Australia – Yolŋu Healing
Among the Yolŋu peoples of Arnhem Land, paperbark and ironwood are burned to create heavy protective smoke, while stringybark bark is used in poultices for infections. The smoke represents the presence of ancestral beings, forming a direct dialogue between the healer and spirit.
Western Australia – Noongar Country
The Noongar people use balga (grass tree) resin, peppermint (Agonis flexuosa), and marri gum for disinfecting wounds and making cough medicines. Smoke from burning balga resin purifies the spirit and marks safe passage between lands (DEECA 2022).
Despite regional variation, the spiritual and ecological logic remains the same: each plant carries both chemistry and spirit, and the healer must know how to balance both.
Wadawurrung Healing Knowledge in Practice
On Wadawurrung Country, healing was a communal act that integrated medicine, ceremony, and ecological care. Elders taught younger generations how to harvest leaves respectfully — never taking more than needed — and how to give thanks through song or offering.
Typical healing processes included:
Smoke cleansing with eucalyptus, mint, and she-oak.
Poultices made from lomandra roots or wattle bark.
Infusions of cherry ballart and native mint for inner cooling.
Ground ochre and ash applied with plant paste to wounds as antiseptic and symbolic protection.
Illness was treated as disconnection — between person and Country — and the goal of healing was to restore flow, breath, and belonging.
Science Meets Tradition
Modern science now recognises many of the bioactive compounds used in traditional Indigenous medicine:
Eucalyptus oils: cineole, terpenes, and phenolics — antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory.
Tea-tree oils: terpinen-4-ol — antiseptic, antifungal.
Old Man’s Weed: sesquiterpene lactones — anti-inflammatory.
Acacia tannins: wound-healing and antiviral.
Casuarina bark: natural astringent and antibacterial (Kellerman et al. 2005; RBGV 2023).
Yet, beyond chemistry lies philosophy: healing is relational, not transactional. Plants are not commodities; they are living ancestors and teachers (Atkinson 2002).
Colonisation and Knowledge Loss
Colonisation disrupted the practice of Indigenous medicine across Victoria. Mission policies banned ceremonial healing, and sacred sites where medicinal plants grew were cleared or fenced off. Much knowledge was carried quietly within families or recorded by early ethnographers such as Howitt (1904) and Dawson (1881), though often filtered through colonial bias.
Despite this, oral traditions preserved much of the core knowledge, which is now being revived through community-led education, gardens, and research partnerships (DEECA 2022).
Revival and Cultural Healing
Today, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Victoria and Australia are leading a revival of plant medicine and smoke practices. Cultural gardens — such as those at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Budj Bim Cultural Landscape, and Wadawurrung Healing Gardens — serve as living classrooms for traditional ecology and health.
Healing today bridges ancient and modern worlds: Elders, Ngangkari, and Aboriginal health practitioners collaborate with scientists to validate, protect, and teach the wisdom of Country.
In this revival, smoke is once again rising over Country — a visible sign of healing, truth-telling, and renewal.
Conclusion
From the cooling leaves of eucalyptus to the calming smoke of she-oak and the soothing tea of native mint, Indigenous medicine reveals a sophisticated understanding of chemistry, ecology, and spirit.
For the peoples of Victoria — especially the Wadawurrung and the Kulin Nations — healing has always meant more than treating the body; it means restoring relationship with the land that sustains life.
Across Australia, this same philosophy endures — in the deserts of the Ngangkari, the forests of the Noongar, and the wetlands of the Gunditjmara. In the breath of smoke and the touch of leaves, the ancient medicine of Country continues to speak: heal the land, and you heal the people.
References
Atkinson, J 2002, Trauma Trails: Recreating Song Lines, Spinifex Press, Melbourne.
Clarke, PA 2008, Aboriginal Plant Collectors: Botanists and Australian Aboriginal People in the Nineteenth Century, Rosenberg Publishing, Sydney.
Clarke, PA 2009, Australian Aboriginal Ethnobotany: An Overview, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
DEECA Victoria 2022, Protecting Victoria’s Biodiversity – Traditional Plant Use, Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Action, Melbourne.
Dawson, J 1881, Australian Aborigines: The Languages and Customs of Several Tribes of Aborigines in the Western District of Victoria, George Robertson, Melbourne.
Gott, B 2019, The Yam Daisy: A History of Aboriginal Plant Use in Victoria, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra.
Kellerman, T et al. 2005, ‘Pharmacological potential of Centipeda cunninghamii’, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, vol. 96, pp. 177–185.
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (RBGV) 2023, Traditional Plant Use and Healing Practices in Victoria, RBGV, Melbourne.
Southcott, R 1976, Medical Uses of Australian Fungi and Plants, Australian Journal of Ethnobotany, Canberra.
UNESCO 2019, Budj Bim Cultural Landscape World Heritage Listing, UNESCO, Paris.
Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter (22 September 2025)
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Magic Lands Alliance acknowledges 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 respect 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 their respective communities.