Aborigines of the Sea Coast

Description: This film records the 1948 expedition to Arnhem Land sponsored by the National Geographical Society and the Smithsonian Institution. It shows the life of First Nations people of the sea coast at Yirrkala in the north-eastern corner of Arnhem Land. Demonstrates how, as children, they learn to handle canoes made from bark and as adults how they use them for fishing and hunting turtle. Shows how the canoes are made by stripping bark from a tree. The women of the tribe do the camp chores, collect firewood, make string bags, hunt goannas, and search for food plants.