1. Aboriginal Technology
9/20/ :56 PM
Aboriginal Technology
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2. My Place: Bunda - Fishing

3. List Skills, Knowledge and Technology
As a class, view the clip My Place: Bunda – Fishing and note the solutions that the brothers come up with for catching fish. The clip illustrates the education of the boys in the ways of bushcraft, bush medicine and working as a team.
List the skills, knowledge and technologies that the boys are learning to use.

4. View the clips of the Brewarrina Fish Traps.
TASK
View the clips of the Brewarrina Fish Traps.

5. The Story of Brewarrina Fish Traps

6. Brewarrina Fish Traps

7. Research Fish Traps
Find Brewarrina on a map. Now find Sydney on a map. The Ngemba people of Brewarrina have a different language and culture to Bunda's people. What language group are you from?
Research the different types of fish traps, weirs and other technologies for catching fish from around Australia. Investigate how fish traps and weirs utilise the natural ebbs and flows of water bodies.
Investigate other technologies for catching fish in your local area, among your family, in your heritage and/or around the world. Discuss some of the similarities and differences.
Research the fish traps at Arrawarra
Sydney is where Bunda is from but you might prefer to have students find Grafton and the Arrawarra fish traps instead.

8. Aboriginal Language Groups Maps

9. Activity – Research Fish Traps
Indigenous groups around Australia have intricate understandings about their environment: the climatic conditions and weather patterns, and the landforms and materials found there that have developed over tens of thousands of years.
Reflect on the different locations, physical environments such as coastal or river country, styles, designs and materials used in their fish traps and weirs. Name the language groups associated with the different technologies and find the associated areas on a map

10. Activity: Understand and Design a Fish Trap
Complete an interactive activity setting up a traditional fish trap as used by the Burarra people in rivers and creeks. This site can be downloaded and made available offline.
Read through the explanation of how such fish traps worked, on the following websites: 'Catching Barramundi'
Queensland Government Department of Environment and Resource Management, 'Fish Traps and Weirs',
Using your research findings, draw a diagram explaining how the different types of fish traps were used to catch fish.
Click on the ‘invitation to visit the Burarra People’. Type in your class name. Have students view the video clip then at the end they can make an interactive fish trap.

11. Activity – Make a Fish Trap
Form small groups and make your own fish trap based on the ones you have investigated. Gather natural materials such as wood, stone and flexible plant material from the local area. Research local weather conditions and environmental features, such as tides on the coast, which will influence the success of catching fish in your area or neighbouring areas. Discuss how weather conditions will affect your closest rivers and creeks.
Your teacher will provide each group with an alfoil tray. As groups you should create your fish trap in the centre of the tray, using the materials that you have gathered. Simulate high tide by filling the tray with water. Float sequins in the water to represent fish. Drain the water from the tray to simulate low tide and see how many 'fish' have been caught in the fish trap.
Consider why the Brewarrina Ngunnhu and the Arrawarra Fish Traps are significant cultural site for Aboriginal people of the areas (Hint: Sites such as stone fish traps help to preserve valuable information about Aboriginal knowledges, lifestyles, cultures and economies of the past, present and the future. For this reason, many fish traps are heritage listed and protected by state Cultural Heritage Acts and cultural management plans).
Teacher background reading - Cultural management plan for the Arrawarra fish traps:

12. It was interesting to learn about Aboriginal technology.