1788 CE
The indigenous people of Australia are traditionally largely nomadic, ranging over an area, depending on the availability of particular foodstuffs that could be gathered at different times of the year. They managed the land through which they travelled by biennial burning-off which stunted the growth of forests and encourage grassland from which seed crops and kangaroos could be harvested.
The housing of the people first encountered by Europeans in the Sydney region were simple shelters (commonly known as "Wurlies")constructed of a semicircle of stick, covered with large sheets of bark which could be conveniently stripped off Melaleuca trees which grew profusely along waterways. Other types of simple structures were seen including lean-tos and in tropical regions raised sleeping platforms. Grass, leaves and reeds were used as a thatch where suitable bark was not available.
There are isolated instances of indigenous peoples constructing partially using dry-stone wall techniques in Western Australia. The Aboriginal people also built dry-stone Fish Traps, of which the most extensive, ranging over 500 metres, is on the Barwon River at Brewarrina. Its age is unknown. It has been maintained and rebuilt after floods many times and is said traditionally to have been given to the local tribes by the Creator Spirit.
It appears that in conjunction with such catchment schemes, there may have also been nearby sedentary settlements of people who maintained them. There is evidence at Lake Condah in Victoria of houses in conjunction with eel traps dating back about 8,000 years.
In January 2006, bushfires uncovered another nearby site of a village of stone houses that are large enough to have provided sleeping space for several families.
Read more about this topic: Australian Residential Architectural Styles, Pre-Colonial Period 30,000 BCE