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Outlook is fine as Aborigines help the weathermen

By Barbie Dutter in Sydney

14 April 2003 - The Telegraph (UK) - Weather forecasters in Australia are turning to the ancient lore of Aborigines to shore up scientific methods and gain a clearer understanding of one of the most complex climates in the world.

For tens of thousands of years, indigenous Australians have used nature's signposts - such as the flight patterns of fruit bats, or the flowering of certain grasses - to predict key changes in the weather.

Government meteorologists are now tapping in to the accumulated wisdom of the Aboriginal people to complement their own statistical and technical know-how.

The Indigenous Weather Knowledge project, co-ordinated by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, aims to gather a comprehensive database of Aborigines' understanding of weather patterns across the continent.

The first British settlers to arrive in Australia imposed four European seasons on their new homeland, but Aborigines in different parts of Australia counted between two and six seasons, each dictated by subtle environmental shifts such as the blooming of certain plants.

"Modern meteorology is around 150 years old, but the indigenous people have lived here for 40,000 years plus," said Dr Harvey Stern, a senior meteorologist and researcher with the bureau. "Our aim is to record their knowledge and traditional methods of interpreting the weather and, who knows, there may be some real gems.

"We could end up with a terrific amount of new information and understanding."

In the Northern Territory, the onset of rain has long been augured by the behaviour of the Brolga crane. The bird's migratory return to the territory points to a proliferation of river catfish - itself seen as a sign that downpours will cause river levels to rise.

In Kakadu national park, near Darwin, the flowering of rough-barked gum trees indicates that winds will blow from the south-east, heralding the start of the dry season.

In recent months vast tracts of south-eastern Australia were blackened by bushfires, which came as little surprise to indigenous "forecasters".

Frances Bodkin, a descendant of Sydney's D'harawal Aborigines, said: "Scientists today do their studies by measurements and experiments. Aboriginal people are also scientists, but they use observation and experience.

"If it's going to do this country good, by allowing the white man to live on the land without wasting our water and tearing down our trees, then we are happy to share that knowledge."

Clip from The Telegraph (UK)

Further reading

• Indigenous Weather Knowledge

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