Aboriginal Australia

Aboriginal people have a spiritual culture that is portrayed in every aspect of life.  This spirituality is evident in the variety of Aboriginal art, craft and performance exhibited across Australia. Throughout Australia, Aboriginal people are able to share their insights into an ancient land. They tell creation stories thousands of generations old and demonstrate bush survival skills. Some of the world’s finest prehistoric artworks adorn the weathered landscapes of Australia. At sites across the country, rock paintings and etchings testify to artistic traditions dating back over 30,000 years.

Australia’s Aboriginal people have a long tradition of making and decorating artefacts. These range from musical instruments to weapons and wooden sculptures of ancestral beings, birds, fish and animals. The artistic heritage of Aboriginal people attracts tourists keen to add extra depth to their explorations. Art galleries run specialist Aboriginal sections, with permanent displays as well as visiting exhibitions.

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Australia’s Aboriginal peoples are custodians to one of the world’s oldest continuous cultures. Aboriginal society predates the Roman Empire and the building of the Pyramids. Researchers remain divided, but Australia may have been populated before Western Europe. Aboriginal occupation for 50,000 years is generally accepted, some experts believing it began well before that. More than two-thirds of Australia’s Aboriginal people live in smaller towns or rural areas.

Traditional ways of life blend with today’s commercial realities to create a variety of unique experiences. Spirit ancestors breathe life and energy into traditional Aboriginal dance, song and design, playing a crucial role in indigenous culture throughout Australia.

Aboriginal culture and spiritual belief are bound intimately with the land. “Dreaming trails” crisscross Australia, connecting important waterholes, food sources and landmarks. The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory houses a fine collection of work by Australian artists, an outstanding collection of Aboriginal art and South-East Asian and Oceanic artworks, and objects of cultural and archaeological significance.

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Australia has been populated for over 40,000 years, making Aboriginal society one of the world’s oldest continuous cultures. In pre-Colonial times, Australia’s Indigenous inhabitants lived in about 300 major groups, similar to nations, speaking different languages and dialects.     
                             
One of the world’s oldest continuous cultures, Australia’s Indigenous society pre-dates the Roman Empire. Australia’s nomadic Aboriginal peoples travelled widely, trading commercial and ritual goods. The current global focus on conservation, eco-tourism and the natural environment has spurred much interest in the history and culture of Australia’s Indigenous people.

The ability of Aboriginal people to live in Australia’s challenging natural environment for many thousands of years is more relevant to the world now than ever. For countless millennia, Aboriginal people lived in ways that sustained their societies while conserving resources, protecting fragile soils and leaving a light footprint on the environment. Their descendants seek to continue these practices. For many thousands of years before white settlement, Aboriginal people were distributed throughout Australia in up to 300 major groups, similar to nations. They spoke up to 300 languages and perhaps 700 dialects. Their religion and folklore were deeply linked to the land and their languages were vital to their culture. Aboriginal people in Australia today differ in beliefs, lifestyles, cultural practices and skin colours. Their Indigenous identity is expressed in many ways, some traditional and others modern. Learning some cultural etiquette can help ensure a harmonious visit. Traditional Aboriginal law goes deeper than the concept of “law” familiar in most other cultures. Instead of just an enforceable set of rules, Indigenous Australian law covers a body of spiritual, cultural and social knowledge, bound together by social and religious obligations.

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Aboriginal people have a spiritual culture that is portrayed in every aspect of life.  There are now many Aboriginal owned and operated enterprises that offer to help you explore this dramatically different world. Throughout Australia, Aboriginal people give visitors insights into an ancient land. You can take part in a great many Aboriginal cultural activities. The many unique Aboriginal experiences on offer around Australia draw many visitors from all over the world each year. 

Tours are available to suit any traveller with an interest in Aboriginal culture. Aboriginal people are very proud of their culture, and are enthusiastic storytellers.  There are many unique and varied experiences waiting to be had right across Australia. Whether you are interested in visiting a remote Aboriginal community or a contemporary art gallery in the city, we have put together sample itineraries that will help you start planning your unique experience in Aboriginal Australia.

Many Aboriginal communities have developed Cultural Centres to record the history of the local people.  These Centres offer a rare glimpse into traditional culture and history, as well as showcasing contemporary lifestyles and art. Aboriginal cultural festivals, in which people gather for traditional activities, as well as modern diversions such as football and athletics, take place regularly.

One of the best known is the annual, five-day Garma Festival, held in August. Garma celebrates Yolngu culture, Yolngu  being the Indigenous peoples of Arnhem Land and the Northern Territory in Australia’s far north. Australia's Aboriginal people are active participants in the country's tourism industry, and experiencing Australia's wonders on an Aboriginal-led tour will leave you with cherished memories.

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Australians are a nation of festival-goers, always keen to celebrate the nation's comedy and arts, food and wine, music and culture, sport and heritage.
Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra each boast major arts festivals which spotlight the best in dance, jazz, theatre, opera and more.

Discover our unique sense of humour at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival or experience Canberra's National Folk Festival. Indulge yourself with our food and wine at festivals in our Barossa or Hunter wine regions. Let music sooth your ears at our annual blues or jazz events, or set your feet tapping at the Carlton Country Music Festival in Tamworth. Let your hair down at one of the biggest and brightest events - the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade, or discover our indigenous heritage at the Festival of the Bogong Moth.

If that sounds unusual, try taking part in the annual Stroud International Brick Throwing Contest or the Northern Territory's Beer Can Regatta. Floriade is Canberra's colourful spring festival, when the parks and gardens surrounding the lake explode with the colourful rhythms of many thousands of massed tulips, commencing in mid-September. An all-January celebration of culture when the whole city gets into party mode, the Festival of Sydney encompasses opera, fireworks, ferry races, street theatre, art and free open-air concerts.

The largest independent arts festival in the country, the Adelaide Fringe Festival is a showcase for young, irreverent and emerging talent in the performing arts and comedy, held in even-numbered years. Held in January each year in a lyrical part of Tasmania, the Tamar Valley Folk Festival is a three day celebration to the tunes of fiddles, flutes, hand drums and dulcimers.

A New Year festival set against Queensland's majestic Sunshine Coast hinterland, the Woodford Folk Festival is an excursion into the worlds of music, storytelling, film, theatre and Aboriginal life. Blues at Bridgetown is a three day festival of Australian blues music held in one of Western Australia's loveliest villages, with non-stop music and enthusiastic audience participation. A major contemporary arts festival, the Biennale of Sydney brings a galaxy of performing arts superstars to the city and provides an international showcase for groundbreaking Australian work.

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Source: Tourism Australia 2006