Makassan contact with Australia

Quick Facts: Who was Makassan contact with Australia?

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Makassan contact with Australia

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Makassan trade established vital 18th-century links between Sulawesi and Northern Australia via trepang.

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Origins & Early Life

Makassarese merchants and Sama-Bajau fishermen from Southern Sulawesi in Indonesia began visiting the coast of Northern Australia sometime around the middle of the 18th century, first in the Kimberley region, and some decades later in Arnhem Land. They were men who collected and processed trepang (also known as sea cucumber), a marine invertebrate prized for its culinary value and medicinal properties in Chinese markets. The term Makassan (or Macassan) is generally used to apply to all trepangers who came to northern Australia, referring to both Makassarese themselves as well as the Sama-Bajau that followed suit. The creature and the food product are commonly known in English as sea cucumber, bêche-de-mer in French, gamat in Malay, while Makassarese has 12 terms covering 16 different species. One of the Makassar terms, for trepang, taripaŋ, entered the Aboriginal languages of the Cobourg Peninsula, as tharriba in Marrku, as jarripang in Mawng or otherwise as darriba.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Trepang live on the sea floor and are exposed at low tide. Fishing was traditionally done by hand, spearing, diving or dredging. The catch was placed in boiling water before being dried and smoked, to preserve the trepang for the journey back to Makassar and other South East Asian markets. Trepang is still valued by Chinese communities for its jelly-like texture, its flavour-enhancing properties, and as a stimulant and aphrodisiac. Matthew Flinders made a contemporary record of how trepang was processed when he met Pobasso, a chief of a Makassan fleet in February 1803.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Trepanging fleets began to visit the northern coasts of Australia from Makassar in southern Sulawesi, Indonesia, from at least 1720 and possibly earlier. Campbell Macknight's classic study of the Makassan trepang industry accepts the start of the industry as about 1720, with the earliest recorded trepang voyage made in 1751. However, Regina Ganter of Griffith University notes that a Sulawesi historian suggests a commencement date for the industry of about 1640. Ganter also notes that for some anthropologists, the extensive influence of the trepang industry on the Yolngu people suggests a longer period of contact. Arnhem Land Aboriginal rock art, dated by archaeologists in 2010, appears to provide further evidence of Makassan contact in the mid-1600s.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1640: 1640 Milestone — However, Regina Ganter of Griffith University notes that a Sulawesi historian suggests a commencement date for the industry of about 1640.
2. 1720: 1720 Milestone — Trepanging fleets began to visit the northern coasts of Australia from Makassar in southern Sulawesi, Indonesia, from at least 1720 and possibly earlier.
3. 1803: 1803 Milestone — Matthew Flinders made a contemporary record of how trepang was processed when he met Pobasso, a chief of a Makassan fleet in February 1803.
4. 2010: 2010 Milestone — Arnhem Land Aboriginal rock art, dated by archaeologists in 2010, appears to provide further evidence of Makassan contact in the mid-1600s.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Makassan contact with Australia

True or False: “The initial contact between Makassarese merchants and Northern Australia occurred significantly later than the 15th century.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): Archaeological evidence from rock art suggests potential contact with Makassan traders as early as the mid-1600s.

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