Australian Alps education kit
Australian Alps Liaison Committee, November 2005
Fire in the Australian Alps
Fires have been a natural part of the landscape in south-eastern Australia, including the Australian Alps, for thousands of years. Many plants in the Australian Alps have evolved to live with fire and some plants have developed special adaptations in response to fire.
Fire has been used by Aboriginal people to flush out game or encourage grasslands for hunting, to help seed production, for cooking food, to clear trails through dense vegetation, for signalling, ceremonies and warmth.
Tim Flannery, in his book The Future Eaters, argues that Australia’s landscape had been changed prior to the coming of European people because of the use of fire by Aboriginal people. Yet, as Mitch Tulau explains (1998), Aboriginal people did not use the same firestick practices over the entire continent:
There is no doubt that Aboriginal people did use fire to change parts of the landscape. The question is which parts of the landscape were burnt, and what were the effects? Aboriginal people understood that certain landscapes were less productive than others, and directed their attentions accordingly.
Many different groups of Aboriginal people understand fire management under customary law. Customary law determines not only how fire should be used but who should be involved. For example, it is forbidden to burn Country that they do not have responsibility over.
It was common practice in the first half of the 1900s for graziers to burn to encourage new growth of grass shoots. As a result, frequent burning became an important part of grazing in many parts of the high country, particularly where sheep were grazed.
Cattle have selectively grazed Alps vegetation, changing the mix of species and hence affecting fire behaviour.
Download this chapter
This chapter is available as a PDF and file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to view the PDF file.
- Download Fire in the Australian Alps (fire.pdf - 1046 KB)
If you are unable to access this chapter, please contact us to organise a suitable alternative format.