Ancient swivel gun
The trepang trade is
Australia's first documented export industry, occurring before European
settlement.
Macassans would sell the
trepang harvested on the beaches of north Australia to the Chinese in
Singapore. For the Chinese, trepang was a rare delicacy with aphrodisiac
properties.
The Macassan presence is
still visible in the Northern Territory today, in the tamarind trees the
trepangers introduced, as well as in the language and traditions of the Arnhem
Land people.
Aboriginal rangers from
the Marthakal Homelands Resource Centre at Elcho Island shared this valuable
knowledge with the scientists during their recent expedition, pointing out
still-existing stones where the Macassans laid their pots while boiling the sea
cucumber.
Historical: This is one of the first ever maps of Australia and shows an adventurer's ship
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