Bags

Water Bags

Water bags were commonly made from kangaroo skin. However, they were sometimes also made of smaller animals, including rabbits, in more recent times. This bag is made from the tanned skin of a Bridled Nailtail Wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata) which is now extinct in New South Wales.

B.8551 Skin water bag (50 cm long) used by Aboriginal people living between the Lachlan and Darling Rivers, New South Wales. Acquired 1885. Photo: S Humphreys.

Food Bags

Bags of this shape and style were used to carry nardoo seed and are unique to this region of Queensland. In Western New South Wales, particularly after good seasons, seeds were stored in bags made of animal skin. Stores of seed served as a form a food-insurance against drought.

E.14859 Bag (40 cm long) from Boulia, Queensland. Acquired 1905. Photo: S Humphreys.