Vatican Museums

Trade routes criss-crossed Australia, from the tropics in the north, to alpine country in the south, to central deserts and the vast west coast. Survival in a continent so large and so diverse depended on travel and the exchange of food and resources over long distances, and also for marriage and ceremonial obligations. Complex networks operated through kinship systems, totemic associations, and blood line connections and responsibility to one’s country. This also ensured that wars with neighbouring clans were less likely.
Message sticks like this were used as a form of communication. Etched with angular lines and dots, they were carried with a messenger or passed between different clans and language groups to establish information and transmit messages, like an invitation to a corroboree or gathering, for example. After colonisation, Aboriginal people were restricted in their travel and traditional pathways were crossed with fences. Because of their thorough knowledge of the country, some found work as mailmen, carrying English mail in regional areas and there are instances where message sticks like this were transported in English mailbags to their destination.