 The Aborigines of Australia are a relatively well- known culture. They are one of the oldest cultures that are still in existence today  Of the estimated 300,000 Aborigines once living in the Australian bush, there are only 76,000 part-Aborigines, and 45,000 full blooded Aborigines today.

 The Aboriginal Flag is divided in equal halves of black on top and red on the bottom, with a yellow circle in the centre. The flag was designed by Harold Joseph Thomas, an Aboriginal man from Central Australia, in The black symbolizes Aboriginal people and the red represents the earth and the peoples' relationship to the land. It also represents red ochre, a kind of mud paint which is used by Aboriginal people in ceremonies. The yellow circle represents the sun.

 In much of Australia there are sweltering deserts. Another part of Australia is covered in thick rainforests. In both of these places there are many Aborigines living today.  Some Aborigines live in the cities, and have become totally modernized. Most Aborigines live in the desert part of Australia, which covers much of Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia, and part of Queensland

 The Aborigines first came to Australia at least 40,000 years ago  Dutch, Spanish, French, and British ships sailed into Australian waters in the 16 th and 17 th centuries. This changed the lives of the Aborigines forever.

 According to the Aborigines, the Dreamtime is the time before men and women were created, when there was no earth and no sky.  Many Aborigines are Christians today, but they also still believe the Dreamtime stories.

 The appearance of most Aborigines can be quite varied. They mostly have dark brown hair that can be straight, wavy, or curly. Young children may have blonde hair, but the blonde fades away as they get older

 First, you would wake up around sunrise. Your family would begin to build a fire  The women would go and fetch water and more firewood. If there were any food left over from last night’s dinner, you would eat that for breakfast. Otherwise you would have nothing. Almost three-quarters of the day you spent looking for food.

 After breakfast the men would get their spears and boomerangs and go out hunting. The women went off in search of food also, but food from the ground.  After dinner, you would gather around a central fire with your family. The boys and men would do most of the dancing and chanting, but the women were allowed to get up to do one dance.  Men who were actors came forward and acted out a story. Some of the stories were about the terrifying Bunyip. These were told to scare the children and also teach them lessons.

 Any food that comes from the land the Aborigines call "bush- tucker". The women hope that the men bring back an animal after their hunt. Kangaroos, euros (a type of kangaroo), opossum, emu, wallaby, dugong, flying foxes, goannas (a type of lizard), turtles, crocodiles, sharks, fish, and shellfish of all kinds including mussels, oysters, and periwinkles, are eaten.  They also trapall kinds of birds, hunters take the eggs from the nests and eat them. Among the insets eaten are honey ants, white ants, locusts, beetles, grasshoppers, and moths.

 There are a few different instruments played by the Aborigines during their dances and ceremonial gatherings, which are called corroborees. There is the bull-roarer, the clapping sticks, and the didjeridu  The bull-roarer is a long, slender, flat piece of wood with string tied to it. When you twirl the string through the air, it makes a roaring sound. This instrument is often used during the Bunyip stories.

 The didjeridu is played by men to accompany singing and dancing during corroborees. It is a unique musical instrument that is end-blown and trumpet-like. The didjeridu is traditionally made from a termite- hollowed eucalyptus branch. The Aborigines decorated them with bright paints made from natural substances

 As soon as they are old enough to join the corroboree, young children learn about the Bunyip from the village storytellers. Bunyips are legendary mythical creatures. Bunyips supposedly haunt rivers, swamps, creeks, waterholes, and billabongs. Their lifelong goal is to cause nighttime terror by eating anyone who dares to come to the water to drink  click here for story click here for story

 Aborigines in the bush mostly preferred to go without wearing any clothes, but if you lived where it was cold, you would have a warm cloak made out of opossum or kangaroo fur. They would rub their bare bodies with animal fat as protection against cold wind and insects

 The toys that they make are sometimes miniature versions of the tools that their parents use, such as boomerangs, baskets, spears, or boats  String games are also very popular, along with swimming.