Aboriginal society was , and is , the absolute oposite of modern society . It was semi-nomadic rather than settle , and self-sufficient rather than dependent on other people for food and materials . The idea of private property was unknown : Aboriginals did not own the land but they belonged to the land . They lives in harmony with it . They were part of the land and it was part of them . When they lost their land they lost themself . They did not have money . They valued knowledge and held older people in great respect . Traditional stories tell how ancestral spirits came to earth and created the land , the animals and plants during “the dreaming” (the time when the earth and humans and animals were created ) . This is a story of Gulaga , our sacred mountain . Gulaga had two sons : Barranguba and Najanuga . The first one was the elder . He wanted to leave home . He asks his mum if he could move away to go into the sea and watch the fish and whales . Najagunga saw her big brother go and asked Gulaga :” mum , mum , can I go out too ? I’m big . I’m grow up . I want to go out and watch the fish and whales too” . She said , “No son , you’re too little , whether I let you to go out there , you’ll get swallowed up by Gadu , the sea . I’ll put you down right here so I can watch you and you can watch your brother out of the ocean . “So , he stayed there , watching his brother wile under the eyes of his mother . He became this little mountain that we call “mummy’s little boy” . In April 1770 Captain James Cook discovered Australia . Under English Law , the land that didn’t belong to anybody could be taken and Aboriginals didn’t exist . This law ignored their rights .
