Resourceful

The original caretakers used the remarkable variety of plant life at Couran Cove in many ways. They observed the natural calendar of flowering trees and shrubs to determine the best hunting seasons. As well as finding food in the flour, honey, berries and other 'bush tucker,' they also turned plants into nets, bags, boomerangs and shields.

South of Couran Cove, it's still possible to find shield-shaped depressions in the bark of some grey mangroves. The fibres of this tough tree run at different angles in each growth ring, making it a natural plywood. Aborigines marked an outline of the shield on the mangrove's bark and then cut around the shape. When wedges were driven into the cut, the shield would separate easily from the tree. The leaves of another native plant, the aptly named sandpaper fig, could then be used to smooth the shield for use.