Australia is a unique land. Its flora, its animals, and its aboriginal people differ significantly from those on any other part of the world's surface.
Before the white man reached Australia, the whole continent was peopled with brown-skinned aborigines of the same appearance, following the same way of life, and accepting a similar code of beliefs. No other race but the aborigines had established itself in Australia, nor, as far as we know, are there similar people in any other part of the world. And they have inhabited the continent for over 40, 000 years.
The life of the desert aborigines is one of continuous movement from one water-hole to the next and they seldom remain in any one place for more than a few days. The women quickly exhaust the supplies of grass seeds, yam and fruits within walking distance of the water supply, and the hunting activities of the men quickly drive the game to other places. In the dry weather, which predominates in the desert country, the aborigines sleep on the ground, with a small fire on either side, and a windbreak of boughs at their heads as protection. When the weather becomes stormy or wet, they will quickly build a light shelter of spinifex.
But on the northern coasts of Australia, where the aborigines are assured of food for weeks or even months, they build more substantial shelters. There along the sea-coasts, or the shores of some lagoons, the aborigines make their huts with sheets of bark, stripped from the eucalyptus trees, or a house of light branches roofed with soft paper-bark from the trees of the swamps. Even there, in the dry season, the aborigines often sleep out of doors. In the swamp country where mosquitoes are particularly troublesome, there is an interesting dwelling. The husband sleeps in the upper pat, his wives at ground level. It is the duty of the women to keep a smoky fire going, so that their husband will not be disturbed by the annoying attacks of the vicious insects.
The northern fringes of the continent are especially rich in food. The seas supply people with marine creatures of countless kinds--fish, and turtles. These the aborigines capture by fishing, or spearing with a harpoon. Moreover, there is also a wide range of foods available to those aborigines who live in the forest country, far from the sea and swamps. In this habitat many creatures are to be caught, fruit to be plucked from the trees, and tubers to be dug from the ground.
在白人到来之前，整个澳洲大陆都是长着棕色皮肤的土著人的天下；他们沿承一样的生活方式，一样的信仰。那时，除了他们，澳洲没有第二个种族的存在，而且就我们所知，在世界的其它地方，也找不出第二个类似他们的人种。他们在这片大陆上已生活了四万多年。
在澳洲，生活在沙漠地区的土著人是一个跟着水泉不断迁移的人群，他们在一个地方的滞留时间很少超过几天。因为在这么短的几天之内，女人们就会到有水源的地方，很快将草籽、山药和果子采摘完毕，而与此同时，男人们的打猎活动也会很快使猎物到了别的地区。沙漠里多的是干旱天气，每当这时，土著人便席地而睡，并在身体的两边生上一小堆火，在头的前方用树枝架起一个挡风屏障。如遇到暴雨或湿天，他们则会用三齿稃为自己建起一个简易的住所。
住在澳大利亚北海岸的土著人几周或几个月都不用为食物发愁。在这里，人们住的是比较坚固的房屋。他们沿着海岸或礁湖的岸边，用按树皮建起一个个茅屋；或用沼泽地里一种白千层属植物的树皮作为屋顶的材料，搭起一个个树枝做的房子。但即便是在这里，若遇上旱季，土著人也常常睡在户外。对于生活在沼泽地区的人们来说，蚊子是最让人头痛的东西。在这些地方，有一种有趣的住房，丈夫睡在房子的上层，妻子们刚睡在地面上的那层；女人的任务是看好冒烟的火堆，以便使她们的丈夫能免受可恶蚊虫的叮咬安然入睡。
澳洲大陆的北缘尤其的物产丰富。大海给人们带来了数不清的海洋生物--各种鱼类和海龟，土著人可以用鱼钩或鱼叉得到这一切。至于那些远离海洋和沼泽地、住在森林里的土著人，也同样能得到各种食物，他们不仅能捉到许多动物，还可以从树上搞到果子，从地下挖出可食的植物根茎。
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