Aborigines of Van Diemen's Land, 1830-1840 - Page 26
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[Page 26]
[indecipherable] the mystery of their gaining a foothold here, when we consider that they were unacquainted with even the rudest acts of navigation -
Necessity is said to be the mother of invention, and this is exemplified in the construction of native huts on the Western coast, & the other parts of the island. The Western Coast is cold and bleak, being exposed to winds generally blowing in upon the shore, choaking up the mouths of rivers, and throwing up the sands in many places gradually into mountains. The Western coast is divided from the other parts by a lofty range of mountains semi-circular shape, and hence it may not [indecipherable] be inferred that the Eastern & Southern tribes were not in the habit of holding communication, - which cd also account for the difference of their language. In the interior & on the Eastern coast the tribes used to construct temporary wigwams of bark, just large enough for two or three
persons to rest in for a night - generally proceeding to some other place the next morning. Their huts were, however, generally constructed near some spacious hunting grounds. Such temporary sheds as these would not have offered shelter to the dwellers on the Western coast. Their huts were stationery, built & thatched with great skill