Mutton Fish

They used to gather mutton fish and trade with Chinese people ...it would really be a family gathering, where men would be diving, gathering the mutton fish, bringing it to share and women and kids would be lighting the fires. So our people started trading way back then. This is the story of the Aboriginal people of the south coast of New South Wales. Mutton fish, or abalone, is a subsistence food -- easy to find and harvest, extremely rich in energy, and accessible for as long as the beaches are freely open to all. The people of the south coast of NSW have a long and complex relationship with the coastal environment; one that has nurtured them for thousands of years. Mutton Fish, unique in its breadth and accessibility, seeks to tell of this relationship and what has happened to the south coast people as their access to the coastal resources has been progressively restricted by European competition. The authors present a thoroughly researched history which includes interviews with Koori people who have participated in the traditional as well as the modern fishing practices in the south coast of NSW. Mutton Fish also introduces the current issues of Indigenous cultural practice versus white law, and the story of how it has come about.