Biggest Estate on Earth, The: How Aborigines Made Australia

Allen & Unwin, Australia, 2012. Softcover. Near Fine. AUSTRALIANA AUSTRALIAN FLORA FAUNA AGRICULTURE ABORIGINAL""Across Australia, early Europeans commented again and again that the land looked like a park. With extensive grassy patches and pathways, open woodlands and abundant wildlife, it evoked a country estate in England. Bill Gammage has discovered this was because Aboriginal people managed the land in a far more systematic and scientific fashion than we have ever realised. For over a decade he has examined written and visual records of the Australian landscape. He has uncovered an extraordinarily complex system of land management using fire, the life cycles of native plants, and the natural flow of water to ensure plentiful wildlife and plant foods throughout the year. We know Aboriginal people spent far less time and effort than Europeans in securing food and shelter ... . With details of land-management strategies from around Australia, The biggest estate on earth rewrites the history of this continent, with huge implications for us today.""Australia in 1788 Introduction - The Australian estate - 1. Curious landscapes - 2. Canvas of a continent Why was Aboriginal land management possible? - 3. The nature of Australia - 4. Heaven on earth - 5. Country How was land managed? - 6. The closest ally - 7. Associations - 8. Templates - 9. A capital tour - 10. Farms without fences Invasion - 11. Becoming Australian - Appendix 1: Science, history and landscape - Appendix 2: Current botanical names for plants named with capitals in the text xxiii, 434 p. : col. ill. ; 25 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. 379-415) and index. #160124 Aboriginal Australians -- Agriculture -- History Land use -- Australia -- Management -- History Natural resources -- Australia -- Management -- History Australia -- History Australian Elizabeth's Bookshops have been one of Australia's premier independent book dealers since 1973. Elizabeth's family-owned business operates four branches in Perth CBD, Fremantle (WA), and Newtown (NSW). All orders are dispatched within 24 hours from our Fremantle Warehouse. All items can be viewed at Elizabeth's Bookshop Warehouse, 23 Queen Victoria Street\, Fremantle WA. Softcover Near Fine