Aboriginal Australians and Their Sacred (and Healthy) Millennial Diet

They were there before the pyramids were built, before Julius Caesar met Cleopatra and before Romulus and Remus founded Rome. Indigenous Australians have survived wars, famines, and invasions and survive to this day thanks to their diet. Herbs, fruits, spices, and local animals make up theBush Tucker‘, a basket of raw materials that has been the basis of all Aboriginal dishes for thousands of years. Dale Tilbrook, a Wardandi Bibbulmun of Margaret River, city of Busselton District, Swan Valley opened in 1998 Malinobe Gallery; Dale and his brother Lyall search across the continent for art, objects and components which can also be purchased online from the site. After spending many years gathering knowledge from the Elders and other sources, Dale became the “Queen of the Jungle”. “People, Dale explains, have called me ‘The Jungle Queen Tucker’ ever since I have a passion, I would better say an obsession, for the edible plants of the aborigines and their healing properties. I have developed my passion for more than 20 years and never get tired of looking for new ingredients and discovering their properties.”

Thanks to her, the food of the aborigines crossed the borders of Australia …
“Educating the world about indigenous Australian foods is an important part of my cultural journey. I represent the Swan Valley region for every occasion. I bring my people’s knowledge to Turin through the Swan Valley and the Eastern Region from the Slow Food Convivium in Turin. Terra Madre to ‘Cooking in Australia’” Dinner for 100 people and a great course was a great promotional opportunity.I was also part of the Swan Valley delegation that launched the Swan Valley Trails in Singapore in 2019 The knowledge track I created is called ‘Bush Tucker and Beyond’.

How would you rate the ancestral relationship between the indigenous people and their land?
“In our culture the land is sacred and should not be plundered. An example is Quondong. It is a desert tree up to 4 meters high, a staple food of the Pitjabtjara people for more than 50,000 years, and was considered a substitute for meat, while the leaves and bark were used for ceremonial and medicinal purposes. Obtaining a license to harvest the fruit. Once the pulp is used, the seeds are returned to the country of origin of the fruit. In addition, during harvesting, one must pay attention not to damage the trees and leave enough fruit for the anemone.”

What we today call nutraceuticals has always been a part of Aboriginal baggage…
“Food is our medicine. Here are some examples to explain it. Kakadu plums have the highest amount of vitamin C of any fruit in the world. It takes more than 100 oranges to equal Kakadu. Emu meat is very low in fat,” contains a high amount of protein, is rich in omega acids 3 essential fatty acids while low in cholesterol and sodium. Lemon myrtle, a plant endemic to subtropical rainforests, is the most concentrated source of plant citral (>90%), a substance with potent antimicrobial and antifungal properties. It is also an exceptional vegetarian source of calcium and a good source of lutein, a carotenoid vitamin that plays an important role in eye health. These are just three foods, but everything that goes into the indigenous diet also has healing properties.”