Walkabout

For similar terms, see Walkabout (disambiguation).

Walkabout is a term dating to the pastoral era in which large numbers of Aboriginal Australians were employed on cattle stations. During the tropical wet season, when there was little work on the stations, many would return to their traditional life on country.

The term was also used to describe unexplained absences of any kind. This was commonly treated as the product of what was erroneously assumed to be a nomadic predisposition to wander aimlessly.^[1][2][3] Following is a definition of walkabout in respectful intercultural words: "A time of reflection of the soul, a return to one's roots and family ancestry, a joyous revisit to vistas creeks and waterholes. A time to replenish the food supplies from another region of Australia. A time of balance to harmonise with the sounds and sights of the great land of Australia." Godwinsdatter, M.G. (1981)

See also

• Australian Aboriginal culture
• Walkabout, a 1971 film based on a book of the same name
• The Songlines, a book combining fiction and non-fiction by writer Bruce Chatwin
• Australian Walkabout, television series

References

1. O'Kane, Michael (2013). "Project MUSE - Laws, Customs, and Practices in Australian Native Title". Collaborative Anthropologies. 6: 334–352. doi:10.1353/cla.2013.0013.
2. Peterson, Nicolas (2003). Myth of the “walkabout”. Routledge. ISBN 9780203464786.
3. Prout, S. (2008). "On the move? Indigenous temporary mobility practices in Australia". Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (48). ISBN 0 7315 4947 3. ISSN 1442-3871. Retrieved 8 March 2020.