Permanent sheltered living places or large half-domed bark huts were constructed from peppermint gum (kinship tree) and swamp teatrees.  Sheets of bark were cut using heavy stone axes and wedges pulled off in long strips and then interwoven. The structures were made by placing boughs in the ground to form a half-domed shape.  One of the largest huts with a number of hearths placed around the front, was in the lower reaches of the Great Forester...

Canoes were constructed from the paperbark tree  which was in plentiful supply in the area.  They were  probably up to 5 metres long and made from thin strips of  the bark tightly bound and lashed together with string for  strength. Canoes were used to travel both long and short  distances to the offshore islands.

Wood from dogwood and manuka was gathered to make  implements and weapons. The ends were fire hardened and then  made into short chisel type digging sticks, firebrands, spears,   music sticks and waddis.  The firebrand was carried for protection against the bad spirits   as the people travelled, and for immediate use in cooking, firing    the land and as well as for warmth.

Living near or in the river systems of the Coastal Plains were a variety  of animals including snakes, echidna, eels, native cat (quoll), platypus,  possums, fish, burrowing and freshwater crayfish.  Most of these animals comprised an important part of the leenerrerter  diet.

Grandfather and grandmother peppermint gum were culturally  significant to the leenerrerter clanspeople both as a ceremonial tree and burial tree, and remain so for their descendants . The leenerrerter people practiced complex forms of reverence  towards the remains of the dead. One practice was to place  the deceased in an upright position in the burnt-out hollows  of the living peppermint gum using lengths of brushwood or  spears. Strips of...

The Native Cherry (Exocarpus cupressiformis) tree is a semi-parasitic plant. It attaches to the roots of the dominant black peppermint eucalypt trees around it.  It is an attractive conical shaped tree with bright green dense foliage.

“Yah Pulingina” -Welcome to Country. In respect and recognition of the leenerrerter the traditional owners of the coast and hinterlands around Bridport.    

Ochre was an important cultural resource for the  leenerrerter . Aboriginal women obtained and prepared ochre.   It was ground into a sacred powder and used for ceremonial  body and tree marking. It was also mixed with grease to  waterproof the body, hair and beards of the men.  Present day Tasmanian Aborigines still consider ochre to   be a special cultural resource.  Polelerwine  (red ochre) is  highly prized.  ...

The She-oak  ( Allocasuarina littoralis )  ‘closed’ forests are remarkably quiet.  It is the most drought resistant  tree in Tasmania.  The needle like foliage is a dull dark grey.  The fallen needles create a soft cushioning mat. The nut of the she-oak is also an important cultural resource for the Aboriginal people.