@ Joe,

Eloquent and sensible as usual. And of course there was every chance the child could have ended up as dinner.

Is there evidence that Aborigines ground seeds to make a flatbread? What seeds did they use?

I know I have said this before, but, why is there so much hysteria about the British seeking to draw, drag, move, encourage Aborigines into the then modern, more developed world, when that is exactly what we spend billions of dollars today doing through Third World aid?

Now, I don't happen to believe Aid works, but, surely it is exactly the same principle. The Brits really thought the level of development at which Aborigines lived was primitive and it was, and Aborigines, like those in the Third World today, certainly wanted all the stuff the British had, at least in material terms, so why was it wrong for the British to try to improve their lot and yet not wrong for us to still be doing it today for those who are considered less developed?

That is probably a far too sensible question for any but yourself to answer.

Hi Rhross,

They probably used every sort of grass seed hey could find, except maybe for kangaroo grass seed, which has no nutritional value although it is found everywhere.

A friend was telling me about a major three-months-long gathering during the 1980s in central Australia, for which the women had to gather grass seed to make damper for the all-important men - until they went on strike and the gathering dispersed in haste.

Probably Lysistrata had something to do with it too.

Cheers,

Joe