The Astronomy of

Indigenous Australians
By Purdy Matthews-Barnard

The World’s First Astronomers

Believed to be the oldest continuing culture Indigenous Australians occupied the Australian

continent for over 60,000 years before British occupation. During this time there were around 400

unique cultures, all with a strong astronomical knowledge system incorporated through their social,

cultural, and spiritual lives.1 When detailing the night sky, Indigenous Australians did not look at

just the brightest stars, like the ancient Greeks did, they also incorporated the dimmer stars, black

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 space, and space dust into their constellations and stories.2 Though it is impossible to answer

conclusively, it is widely believed that Indigenous Australians were the first astronomers.

Documenting and naming the stars and celestial bodies long before any of the ancient civilisations,

like the Greeks, Egyptians, or Mesopotamians. This is reflected in their interpretation of the iconic

southern cross constellation. In 1515 the southern cross constellation was first documented by

Andrea Corsali, who, due to the influence of his Christian culture, saw the distinctive shape as a

cross similar to the one Jesus Christ died on.3

Figure 1. First European depiction of the Figure 2. The Great Emu Figure 3. Nunganari constellation
Southern Cross

Similar to how Corsali was influenced by his culture, the southern cross has been depicted as

numerous other images depending on the Indigenous culture viewing it. Most commonly, it is

known as the Great Emu, as the dust from the Milky Way surrounding the constellation form the

shape of an emu. In south-eastern Australia, it is known as Mirrabooka, who was a man chosen to

watch over his people and was given hands and feet of light so he could be stretched out in the sky

to do so. Alternatively, the Ngarrindjeri people, who lived in the coastal regions of South Australia,

they know the Southern Cross as Nunganari and see a stingray being chased by sharks.4

The British colonisation of the land had a devastating effect on the knowledge held by the

Indigenous people. Knowledge was passed down in oral form from generation to generation and,

after the British occupation, a lot of this knowledge was lost. This is due to factors like the

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suppression of Indigenous knowledge in the attempt to assimilate them into white British culture.

As such since the information was passed down in oral form, it was lost without the ability to pass

it on to future generations. This means all writing done on the topic of Indigenous Australian

astronomy was all created post-colonisation. Such writing was often done by amateurs not trained

in ethnography or anthropology and displayed clear misinformation due to prejudice.5 As such

many of the early writings on Indigenous Australians were subject to a fundamental lack of

understanding of the complex culture of the Indigenous people due to bias. As well as there tended

to be more of a focus on documenting the spiritual aspects of Indigenous culture, and less so on the

intellectual aspects of the society, once again due to prejudice.6

Ethnoscience and Astronomy

Astronomy practised by the Indigenous Australians differs from what we commonly think of as

astronomy from a western scientific standpoint. In that, it does not follow the ‘Western’ scientific

model, involving hypothesis and experimentation. Astrophysicist Ray Norris describes this style of

astronomy as a form of ethnoscience, meaning the knowledge of the stars and the night sky are

framed within the context of Indigenous culture.7

When thinking about Indigenous Australian culture, one of the most prominent features is of the

stories they tell, often concerned with the ‘Dreaming’. These stories connect the constellations to

their spiritual beliefs and were used to convey their knowledge about the stars throughout the

generations. These stories show that the Indigenous people had a fundamental understanding of not

only the celestial events that occurred in the sky, but also the characteristics of the stars and the sky,

and the impact they had on the natural world.

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In 1616 Galileo Galilei put forth his explanation for the ebb and flow of tides, theorising that they

were created by the acceleration and deceleration of the ocean caused by the Earth’s rotation. His

theory also concluded that there was only one tide a day.8 The Indigenous people, however,

understood that the moon was responsible for creating the ebb and flow of the tides. It was believed

that the tide was caused by the moon moving through the ocean as it rose and set, it also took into

account how the various phases of the moon would create smaller or larger tides.9 Though their

explanation would not be accepted by modern science, they still had a stronger understanding of

the effect the moon had on the ocean one that is consistent with the modern scientific understanding

of the tide.

The characteristics of the stars were also observed and noted, the Indigenous people could

differentiate between red, yellow, blue, and white stars. They understood which stars where

circumpolar, meaning stars that did not rise or set. And, had divided the night sky into winter and

summer skies based on the groups of stars that could be seen during the seasons.10 They used these

observations to explain natural phenomena, keep track of food supplies, and record their belief

systems. There is also evidence of stone formations that show us that the cardinal directions were

known and predicted to within a few degrees, a feat that is difficult for experienced navigators.11

Integration into Daily Life

Like most known societies, the celestial bodies in the sky

where used for time-keeping. In particular, the moon was

widely used among many Indigenous cultures. For some,

the cycles of the moon were used to keep track of the age

of an individual.12 There is also evidence of message

Figure 4. Message sticks depicting the phase of the moon as a way

to denote the time

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sticks that were passed among groups that indicated a time and place in which a gathering was

going to be held. The message stick was handed out on the new moon and the time for the

gathering was indicated by the image of the moon shown in a certain phase.13

In addition to time-keeping, the Indigenous peoples also used the night sky to keep track of the

seasonal food cycles as well as help to regulate

fishing and agriculture. For example, the

appearance of the star Arcturus in Arnhem land

indicated that it was time to harvest the plants

used to make baskets for food and fish traps.14

However, for the Boorong nation in Victoria,

Figure 5. Arcturus, fourth brightest star in the sky. Found in the
Boötes constellation.
Arcturus represents the spirit of the one who

showed them where to find the wood ants to eat. So for the months when Arcturus is in the sky they

know that wood ants are in season.15

For most Indigenous Australian groups, the core beliefs are centred around the ‘Dreaming’ which

was a period of creation in which the ancestral spirits also laid out laws and morality for the living.

These laws encompassed many aspects of day to day life and were reflected in the constellations

and the night sky.

The effects and impact of the laws written out in the sky are still being seen today. The Meriam

people who are the Torres Islander people of Mer on Murray Island had been following Malo’s Law

for generations and the case of ownership of the land was put to the High Court. Malo’s law was a

law passed down by an ancestral spirit that set the law on the possession, succession and trespass of

the land. It was in the stars of Tagai, where the paths were laid out for the Torres Island people to

follow, dividing up the land.16 This law had been passed down, like all their knowledge, in oral

form. This could have potentially caused complications as oral testimony in a court case is

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inadmissible evidence, however, a majority of the judges accepted this oral evidence of the law.

This gave the Meriam people a right to use the land of the Murray Island and Malo’s law was put

on par with British common law.17 The recognition of Malo’s law as legitimate in common law also

had a wider impact. The acknowledgement of the Meriam people’s ownership of the land proved

that the term ‘Terra Nullius’ was a falsehood.

Laws are not the only aspect of Indigenous astronomy that has had an impact on our society. The

stars and the stories within them were used as

navigational tools. Certain stars were used as a path

and also used to indicate the presence of certain

landmarks, like water, mountains, and boundaries.

These paths in the stars are referred to in English as

songlines, an oral map that helps to navigate the land

while showing where to find food and water.18 Long

Figure 6. Songline route to Carnarvon Gorge
distance songlines where an indication of important

trading routes. It is these long distance songlines that have provided the foundation for many of

Australia’s highways. For example, Darug elders indicate that the Great Western Highway follows

the path of two songlines, this is supported by the fact that Darug rock engravings can be found

near sections of the highway near the Blue Mountains.19

Need for Recognition of Indigenous Contributions

to Australian Astronomy

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The leading view of Indigenous Australians post-colonisation was one of a primitive people.

Though views have rightly changed throughout the decades, we are still seeing the effect of this

preconception in our education and general understanding of what Indigenous life was like before

colonisation. For example, the prevailing understanding was that the Indigenous people were all

hunter-gatherers with no form of agriculture, could not navigate, nor count and had no civilisation.

Haynes (2000) states that concepts of numeracy and temporality were not considered in regards to

astronomy and that indigenous Australians did not engage in even the most basic of mathematical

calculations.20

These beliefs are only recently being acknowledged as false, and there is still a long way to go in

incorporating the valuable knowledge held by Indigenous Australians into modern astronomy. As

well as recognising the contributions of Indigenous knowledge that have already been made toward

Australian astronomy. There also needs to be an effort made in reducing the divide between

‘Western’ astronomers and Indigenous astronomers which begins with a greater effort of

comprehension of Indigenous Astronomy.

In 2013 a report was released concerning Indigenous engagement with science. The report

highlighted the importance of involving Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the growth

of Australian science. The report highlighted that acknowledgement needed to be made in regards

to the contributions already made to the progression of science in Australia. As these contributions

were often not acknowledged as scientific. In addition to recognition, the need for conservation of

Indigenous knowledge and language to prevent further loss was also emphasised.21

We are seeing a move to bring Indigenous Astronomy to the wider public as well. Developed as

part of the Reconciliation Action Plan for the 2018 Commonwealth games, the Brisbane

planetarium now has the first-ever exhibition dedicated to Indigenous Australian astronomy.22

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Indigenous Australian astronomy is also being recognised on an international level. In an effort to

assign names to the popular stars, in addition to the already assigned Bayer designations, the

International Astronomical Union assigned four stars’ names from Indigenous Australian culture.23

BIBLIOGRAPHY

SECONDARY

Aiton, E. J. ‘Galileo’s Theory of the Tides’, Annals of Science, 10/1, (2006), 44-57.

Bhathal, Ragbir, ‘Astronomy in Aboriginal Culture, Astronomy and Geophysics, 47/5, (2006), 5.27-5.30.

Christensen, Lars Lindberg (IAU Press Officer), IAU Approves 86 Star Names from Around the World [press release],
11 Dec. 2017, International Astronomical Union, https://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau1707/, accessed 18
Oct. 2018.

Corsali, Andrea and Medici, Giuliano de, ’Letter form Andrea Corsali with additional material’, retrieved 16 Oct. 2018
from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-234719683.

Expert Working Group, ‘Indigenous Engagement with Science: Towards Deeper Understanding’, Inspiring Australia,
(2013), 1-34.

Hamacher, Duane W. And Norris, Ray P. ’Bridging the Gap Through Australian Cultural Astronomy’, Proceedings of
the International Astronomical Union, 7/S278, (2011), 282-290.

Haynes, Rosalyn D. ‘Astronomy and the Dreaming: The Astronomy of the Aboriginal Australians’ in Helaine Selin
(ed), Astronomy Across Cultures, (New York: Springer, 2000), 53-90.

Jones, Kate (Minister for Innovation and Tourism Industry Development and Minister for the Commonwealth Games),
Australian First Indigenous Astronomy Exhibition Opening Today [media statements], 27 March 2018, Queensland
Government, http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2018/3/27/australian-first-indigenous-astronomy-exhibition-
opening-today, accessed 18 Oct. 2018.

Norris, Ray, ‘Searching for the Astronomy of Indigenous Australians’, Conference Proceedings, 1, (2007), 1-8.

Norris, Ray, ‘Written in the Stars’, New Scientist, 232/3104-3106, (2016), 53-55.

Norris, Ray P. and Hamacher, Duane W. ’The Astronomy of Aboriginal Australia’, Proceedings of the International
Astronomical Union, 5/S260, (2009), 39-47.

Norris, Ray P. and Harney, Bill Yidumduma, ‘Songlines and Navigation in Wardaman and Other Australian Aboriginal
Cultures, arXiv preprint arXiv:1404.2361, (2014), 1-13.

Stanbridge W. E. ‘Some Particulars of the General Characteristics, Astronomy, and Mythology of the Tribes in the
Central Part of Victoria, Southern Australia’, Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London, 1, (1861), 286-304.

IMAGES

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Figure 1. Corsali, Andrea and Medici, Giuliano de, ’Letter form Andrea Corsali with additional material’ [image], in
Trove [online database], http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-234719683, accessed 16 Oct. 2018.

Figure 2. Norris, Barnaby, The emu in the sky stretches across the Milky Way [image], in ABC [website], (2009), http://
www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/07/27/2632463.htm, accessed 19 Oct. 2018.

Figure 3. Curnow, Paul, Sketch of the Southern Cross as seen by the Ngarrindjeri people [image], in BBC News
[website], (2003), http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2668539.stm, accessed 19 Oct. 2018.

Figure 4. Australians Message-sticks [image] in Matthews, R. H. ‘Message-Sticks Used by the Aborigines’, American
Anthropologist, 10/9, (1897), 292.

Figure 5. King, Bob, Alpha star in the constellation Boötes [image], https://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/
walking-with-arcturus/, accessed 19 Oct. 2018.

Figure 6. Starry Night Education, Star Map Route to Carnarvon Gorge [image], http://
www.aboriginalastronomy.com.au/content/topics/starmaps/, accessed 19 Oct. 2018.

Endnotes
1Ray P. Norris and Duane W. Hamacher, ‘The Astronomy of Aboriginal Australia’, Proceedings of the International
Astronomical Union, 5/S260, (2009), 39.
2 Ragbir Bhathal, ‘Astronomy in Aboriginal Culture, Astronomy and Geophysics, 47/5, (2006), 5.28.
3 Andrea Corsali and Giuliano de Medici, ‘Letter form Andrea Corsali with additional material’, retrieved 16 Oct. 2018
from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-234719683.
4 Ragbir Bhathal, ‘Astronomy in Aboriginal Culture, Astronomy and Geophysics, 47/5, (2006), 5.27.
5 Ray Norris, ‘Written in the Stars’, New Scientist, 232/3104-3106, (2016), 53-54.
6 ibid. 54.
7 ibid. 55.
8 E. J. Aiton, ‘Galileo’s Theory of the Tides’, Annals of Science, 10/1, (2006), 45.
9 Ray Norris, ‘Searching for the Astronomy of Indigenous Australians’, Conference Proceedings pp, 1, (2007), 3.
10 Ragbir Bhathal, ‘Astronomy in Aboriginal Culture, Astronomy and Geophysics, 47/5, (2006), 5.28.
11 Ray Norris, ‘Written in the Stars’, New Scientist, 232/3104-3106, (2016), 55.
12Duane W. Hamacher and Ray P. Norris, ‘Bridging the Gap Through Australian Cultural Astronomy’, Proceedings of
the International Astronomical Union, 7/S278, (2011), 283.
13 ibid. 283.
14 Ragbir Bhathal, ‘Astronomy in Aboriginal Culture, Astronomy and Geophysics, 47/5, (2006), 5.29.
15W. E. Stanbridge, ‘Some Particulars of the General Characteristics, Astronomy, and Mythology of the Tribes in the
Central Part of Victoria, Southern Australia’, Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London, 1, (1861), 301.
16 Ragbir Bhathal, ‘Astronomy in Aboriginal Culture, Astronomy and Geophysics, 47/5, (2006), 5. 30.
17 ibid. 5. 30.
18
Ray P. Norris and Bill Yidumduma Harney, ‘Songlines and Navigation in Wardaman and Other Australian Aboriginal
Cultures, arXiv preprint arXiv:1404.2361, (2014), 6.
19 ibid. 7.

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20Rosalyn D. Haynes, ‘Astronomy and the Dreaming: The Astronomy of the Aboriginal Australians’ in Helaine Selin
(ed), Astronomy Across Cultures, (New York: Springer, 2000), 54.
21Expert Working Group, ‘Indigenous Engagement with Science: Towards Deeper Understanding’, Inspiring Australia,
(2013), vi.
22Kate Jones (Minister for Innovation and Tourism Industry Development and Minister for the Commonwealth
Games), Australian First Indigenous Astronomy Exhibition Opening Today [media statements], 27 March 2018,
Queensland Government, http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2018/3/27/australian-first-indigenous-astronomy-
exhibition-opening-today, accessed 18 Oct. 2018.
23Lars Lindberg Christensen (IAU Press Officer), IAU Approves 86 Star Names from Around the World [press release],
11 Dec. 2017, International Astronomical Union, https://www.iau.org/news/pressreleases/detail/iau1707/, accessed 18
Oct. 2018.

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