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AUSTRALIA

Aboriginal Tours in Australia

WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND TOURISM FORUM

Aboriginal Australians conserve the world's oldest culture.

PHOTO GALLERY: 2007 Corroboree
SLIDESHOW

Human occupation of Australia started about 65,000 years ago with successive waves of immigration from south and southeast Asia. Archaeologists continue to revise the date of early settlements.

The word 'aboriginal' has appeared in the English language since the 17th century and means 'first or earliest known, indigenous.' This term has been used to describe its indigenous peoples as early as 1789. It was appropriated when the English colonized Australia. Before colonists arrived from Europe, there were no aboriginals, just people.

The world's oldest surviving man-made houses are situated in Victoria at Lake Condah. They are about 8,000 years old and pre-dated the Egyptian pyramids by about 5,000 years. Curiously, the site has no World Heritage listing.

RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL

Many Aboriginal communities require permits to enter their lands. This helps insure the privacy of locals. If you are visiting an Aboriginal community, wait until you are invited to approach people's homes or groups of people. Funerals and cultural ceremonies are times of special privacy in communities. Use extra sensitivity in communities at these times.

Visitors can make contact with Australia's Aboriginals on their turf. In Sydney Aboriginal guides conduct Heritage Walks in the Melbourne's Royal Botanical Gardens and ferry travelers on cruises.

FYI

The Torres Strait Islanders are considered a distinct ethnic group.

Many of the national parks, including Kakadu and Uluru (Ayers Rock), are owned and jointly run by their traditional owners

Aboriginal people use 'songlines' to pass down creation stories, laws and trading routes through generations

Aboriginal people may have a number of names, for example a European first name and surname, a bush name, a 'skin name' (based on 'skin names' of parents) and perhaps a nickname.