The objects in this showcase all come from tropical North Queensland, one of the world’s most biodiverse regions.
Aboriginal people lived within this extraordinary environment for thousands of years. They had extensive knowledge about local plants and animals – the foods and medicines they provided, and the tools into which they could be turned. These three shields were made by the Koko-Yellani people of Cape York, who cut them from the wood of rainforest fig trees and painted them with natural pigments taken from the environment around them. Above the shields is a wallaby trap woven from lawyer cane, a vine endemic to North Queensland’s rainforests.
Like the Koko-Yellani, we are all dependent on the environment for our most basic needs, such as food, water and shelter. Yet only now are we coming to understand the significance of our biodiversity and the need to protect it from adverse human impact.
Standing resplendent under the glass dome in the centre is a taxidermied specimen of the Paradise Parrot. It is likely to be the only example of this species you will ever see: the Paradise Parrot is the only mainland bird to have become extinct since the arrival of Europeans in Australia. Last seen alive in 1927, the bird’s demise is thought to have been caused by habitat loss, the introduction of cats and dogs, and hunting by bird collectors.
At the front of the showcase, small jars hold fish larvae collected along Australia’s east coast. These are just a few of the more than one million larval fish in the Museum’s collection. Today, scientists at the Museum’s Lizard Island research station are investigating the habits of larval fish. This will help us understand how Australia’s fish populations are naturally maintained, and to protect habitat around important fish nurseries.