Elder Doolann Leisha Eatts talks about hunting and gathering

Audio Recording

Doolann Leisha Eatts talks about hunting and gathering

Audio Transcript

Chris Owen: What were they eating or how were they living if they weren’t being paid or they were being shifted off the land?

Doolann Leisha Eatts: Well lot of ‘em it was good that they you know, went hunting. There was lots of kangaroos around. They lived off the land in lots of ways, you know they went kangaroo hunting, and they ‘ad guns and they ‘ad kangaroo dogs as well. That’s good they brought the rabbits out ‘cause the rabbits breed like flies. And another thing that they lived on was rabbits.

Chris Owen: Yeah, yeah.

Belinda Faulkner: So how would they cook those?

Doolann Leisha Eatts: Oh they cooked it in the ashes, they cooked their dampers in the ashes or they cooked it in the camp oven. You know they’d ‘ave a change, they’d cook the kangaroo tails in the ashes with the skin on, sometimes they’d skin it and make a stew in the hoven. And they done the same with the kangaroo meat itself. And the rabbits as well. They used to go and get the honey trees, look for the ‘oney trees and you know go and chop the tree down and get the honey out. And leave some ‘oney of course for the bees to build onto. And so they had their honey off the land and they had — they used to pick the quandong nuts in its seasons and make jam and make their pies and that, you know. But they just barely lived. A good meal was a luxury for them.

From: Doolann Leisha Eatts interview for South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council, 17 January 2007

Disclaimer
SWALSC followed cultural protocols to obtain permission to use this oral history on the Kaartdijin Noongar website.
It is also protected by copyright law and may only be used for private study, research, criticism or review. If you would like to use it for any other purpose, including publication, making copies or modifying it, please contact SWALSC at reception@noongar.org.au or Level 2, 100 Royal Street, East Perth WA 6004.
Note: In some cases the written transcript has been edited with permission from the person interviewed and may differ slightly from the audio recording.

Permission to use this audio recording kindly granted by Elder Doolann Leisha Eatts