Aboriginal Memories of Inundation of the Australian Coast Dating from More than 7000 Years Ago

ABSTRACT

Stories belonging to Australian Aboriginal groups tell of a time when the former coastline of mainland Australia was inundated by rising sea level. Stories are presented from 21 locations from every part of this coastline. In most instances it is plausible to assume that these stories refer to events that occurred more than about 7000 years ago, the approximate time at which the sea level reached its present level around Australia. They therefore provide empirical corroboration of postglacial sea-level rise. For each of the 21 locations, the minimum water depth (below the present sea level) needed for the details of the particular group of local-area stories to be true is calculated. This is then compared with the sea-level envelope for Australia (Lewis et al., Quaternary Science Reviews 74, 2013), and maximum and minimum ages for the most recent time that these details could have been observed are calculated. This method of dating Aboriginal stories shows that they appear to have endured since 7250–13 070 cal years bp (5300–11 120 bc). The implications of this extraordinary longevity of oral traditions are discussed, including those aspects of Aboriginal culture that ensured effective transgenerational communication and the possibility that traditions of comparable antiquity may exist in similar cultures.

KEYWORDS:

• Australia
• Aboriginal stories
• sea-level rise
• coastal flooding
• oral traditions
• cultural continuity

Acknowledgements

With respect and gratitude, we acknowledge the original Aboriginal owners of the stories we cite, even though their identities are largely lost. We thank Col Freeman for alerting us to Frances Bodkin's story about the origin of Botany Bay. We thank Katie Glaskin (University of Western Australia) for sharing information about the submergence of Brue Reef. We thank Sheila Murray for drawing our attention to the Aboriginal stories about Oyster Harbour. We also thank Paul Memmott (University of Queensland) for sharing his insights about the Wellesley Islands and Siri Veland (Brown University) for sharing hers about the Goulburn Islands. Spanning several decades, we acknowledge the research of Margaret Sharpe (University of New England) in stimulating our interest in this subject. The original manuscript was improved by comments from three referees.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Patrick D. Nunn http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9295-5741

Notes

1 Answer to Q. 213, Report of Select Committee, Victoria, Legislative Council Votes & Proceedings, 1859, 12.

2 A musical instrument made in Gippsland from cherry-tree wood and used in ceremonies (Fison and Howitt 1880, 267–268). The turndun was traditionally only for men's use so its discovery by children and women was an invitation to disaster.

3 This story was related by Frances Bodkin, a Dharawal woman, who heard it from her mother.

4 These are likely to have been either Hicksbeachia pinnatifolia or Macadamia integrifolia, both of which bear edible fruits/nuts.

5 This story was told by Peter Namiyadjad in the Maung language.

6 Told by Mangurug of the (northern) Gunwinggu people.

7 All stories related in this section come from research by Dr Katie Glaskin.

8 Rhipidura leucophrys.

9 35 km south of the coastal town of Eucla, the sea floor is just 55 m deep (data from Australian Hydrographic Service chart Aus4709 (2004).

10 This latter detail is part of a story recounted by Mushabin (Bidjandjara), Harry Niyen (Antingari), and Marabidi (Ngalia-Andingari).

11 Using data in Gautney and Holliday (2015), the original area of Sahulland was 11 021 024 km²; modern areas of Australia, Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya (Indonesian Papua) are 7 692 000, 462 800 and 319 036 km² respectively, meaning that an area of about 2 547 188 km² (26 per cent) was inundated within this 12 000-year period. Gautney and Holliday (2015) also show that 9 418 731 km² (85.5 per cent) of Sahulland was habitable during the Last Glacial Maximum.