ABSTRACT
It is difficult to assess whether the Barunga region sustained a similar level of loss. Much of the worst violence was associated with the strategies used by pastoralists for making land ‘suitable’ for their activities (Rose 1992:9; see also Merlan 1978). The first pastoral lease to encompass the country around Barunga and Beswick was that of Fisher, Lyons and Co., which was taken out in 1881, but intensive pastoral activity did not occur in this region until earlier this century (see Maddock 1965:5, 1969). Aboriginal people who lived around the townships of Barunga and Beswick would have been fairly vulnerable to pastoralist violence. However, those living in central Arnhem Land would have been protected to a certain extent since this area was gazetted as an Aboriginal reserve which limited non-indigenous use of the land (but see Forrest 1985:3)
Contact has had differing degrees of influence on different aspects of Barunga society. The economic base has changed radically and Barunga people are now part of a European-style market economy. The staple diet of European foods, such as flour and tea, is supplemented by occasional, high-status ‘bush foods’, such as bush turkey, turtle and kangaroo. Contemporary social structures, however, are fundamentally different to those of non-Aboriginal societies. These structures have been less subject to radical change not only because of the relatively short period of colonial influence but also because Aboriginal people in the region are committed to their continuance. Indigenous culture and values are highly prized, and a common derogatory term given by Barunga people to other Aboriginal people who have acted poorly is that they’ve ‘got no culture’. In short, Barunga people incorporate non-Aboriginal foods into their diet as this suits them, but see little or no merit in adopting non-Aboriginal social structures.
