The Oceania Times

Top Menu

  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Cookie Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Main Menu

  • Australian Economy
  • Brokers
  • Commodities
  • Currencies
  • Financial Market
  • Gold and Precious Metals
  • Investment
  • Stock Shares
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Cookie Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

logo

The Oceania Times

  • Australian Economy
  • Brokers
  • Commodities
  • Currencies
  • Financial Market
  • Gold and Precious Metals
  • Investment
  • Stock Shares
  • Asian shares fall as investors brace for inflation report

  • A-Mark Precious Metals (NASDAQ:AMRK) vs. Maison Luxe (OTCMKTS:MASN) Head-To-Head Comparison

  • Stock Market LIVE: Indices flat; Nifty below 17,500; IT, Media drag

  • The big change coming to Australian inflation after Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe laughed at

  • South Korean won, Philippines peso lead losses among subdued Asian currencies

Australian Economy
Home›Australian Economy›Photographer David Hancock’s 30-year journey documenting Australia’s wild buffalo

Photographer David Hancock’s 30-year journey documenting Australia’s wild buffalo

By Megan
May 28, 2022
16
0
Share:

Ever since the buffalo was introduced to Australia nearly 200 years ago, its relationship with the land has been a complicated one.

Small herds were imported from Asia by the British in the early 19th century, as a food source.

When they abandoned their northern colony on Coburg Peninsula was abandoned in 1849, they were released into the wild.

An aerial view of a herd of buffalo bathing in a billabong with orange water, surrounded by green shubbery, on a sunny day.
Springs are especially susceptible due to lack of recharging water flow, as in river systems.(Supplied: David Hancock)

The colony was the third failed attempt at colonisation of the Northern Territory’s Top End, where the British had hoped to gain control of Dutch trading routes.

Disease, malnutrition and cyclones made it too challenging.

While the harsh conditions were too much for colonists, the rugged savannahs and wetlands of Arnhem Land – with similar climates of Timor and Indonesia – proved perfect for the buffalo.

An estimated feral population of nearly 200,000 can be now found across the entire northern-most half of the Northern Territory.

A water buffalo standing in green reeds by the side of a billabong, on a sunny day.
The vast wetlands of North-West Arnhem Land are a perfect habitat for buffalo.(Supplied: David Hancock)

New beginnings in an ancient land

For photographer David Hancock, his connection with the wild buffalo of Northern Australia began in the 1970s, and the cattle industry’s push towards a live export trade.

He was documenting a national program to eliminate both tuberculosis and brucellosis from livestock, where culling of buffalo was used to stop the spread of disease to domesticated cattle.

It led him on a 30-year journey documenting the species in the Top End, which has been published recently in a book named Nganabbarru, the Bininj-Kunwok word for buffalo.

“I was pretty tired of working down South, it was all pretty dull really,” Mr Hancock said.

“It was really good to come up and get out bush – I had some friends who had musterers as friends, and they had helicopter pilots as friends.

“As it turned out, they were keen to have a photographer out there on those musters, because there was so much happening that they couldn’t photograph it.”

A buffalo walking among paperbark trees and green grass, lit by sunlight filtering through the trees.
The Arafura swamp is one of the largest paperbark swamps in Australia, and under threat from feral buffalo.(Supplied: David Hancock)

The decades-long photography project has taken him to some of the most remote and beautiful parts of the country.

“It’s just confirmed my love and appreciation of the top end floodplains,” he said.

“They’re a fragile and beautiful environment, and they are at risk from any kind of feral invasion.”

“The one area that I really have a lot of concern about is the Arafura swamp — this is one of the biggest paperback swamps in Australia. It’s just the most amazing place, and buffalo have intruded into there. They’re still in probably one of the most pristine environments in Australia and it’d be a shame to see it go.”

A herd of buffalo running towards the camera, red dust rising around them, followed by several people riding quad bikes.
To catch buffalo, musterers use vehicles with large metal claws on the outside.(Supplied: David Hancock)

Another invader

Following their release from abandoned British colonies, swamp buffalo became a formidable foe for the various First Nations group across the top end.

The significance of first contact with the large beasts is reflected in the rock-art paintings of Djabidjbakalloi, where life-size images of buffalo appear alongside images of boats, horses and guns, sites which David was able to photograph thanks to Warddeken IPA rangers.

“You’ve got to remember that Aboriginal people are the ones most impacted by buffalo, Mr Hancock said.

“When they got here in the early to mid 1800s, there hadn’t been a large animal in Northern Australia since megafauna, which was 50,000 years before.

“And these were people who didn’t have guns, and they just had to deal with these big animals.

A Indigenous man looking up at a petroglyph of a buffalo on a wide overhanging rock above his head.
Keith Nadjamerrek examines a 5-metre drawing of a buffalo at Djabidjbakalloi near Gunbalanya.(Supplied: David Hancock)

“In many ways, the Buffalo has become part of their traditions and mythology. Particularly in that rock country of Western Arnhem Land you see a lot of drawings of Buffalo.

“Those animals must have made a huge impression on people right from the beginning.”

An aerial view of a herd of buffalo walking through green grass, followed by several people on quad bikes, on a sunny day.
Mustering of a domestic buffalo herd at Swim Creek.(Supplied: David Hancock)

A compelling animal

As buffalo herds spread further throughout Arnhem Land, Aboriginal people were at the forefront of turning environmental disaster into economic opportunity.

Tom Dawkins, the chief executive of the NT Buffalo Industry Council, said the buffalo hide industry that began in the 1880s was the result of different Aboriginal groups seizing the chance to generate income from animals that were not owned by pastoralists.

“David makes the point that buffalo were seen as no one’s property,” he said.

“Whereas sheep or cattle were always seen as being owned by someone, you wanted to be very careful going after livestock like that, but buffalo were seen as sort of more accessible in that respect.

“That was a huge part of the history, and what drew a lot of Aboriginal people to work with them. And there’s some extraordinary stories about the careers that were carved out.”

A man walking and carrying a leg of buffalo meat over his shoulder in a bush setting.
Rangers in remote communities are able to supply residents with fresh meat after culling.(Supplied: David Hancock)

Similar circumstances prevail today, where buffalo producers see skyrocketing beef prices and increasing numbers of feral buffalo as an enormous opportunity to supply a growing Asian market for cheap protein and mitigate their environmental impact.

A portrait of Darwin photographer David Hancock, against a background of blue sky and red dirt.
Darwin photographer David Hancock.(Supplied: David Hancock)

“I think in every regard it is a very compelling proposition, because we do have those market imperatives, export revenue for the tariffs, food security for our neighbours, but we’re also talking about doing that in a way that provides employment, economic activity and dividends for traditional owners,” Mr Dawkins said.

“But in a way that represents sustainable land management and offsetting environmental damage from overstocking. It is a very compelling industry.”

Dawkins said that culling feral populations should be used as an absolute last resort, given the growing profitability of the live export market, and the fact that carcasses left to rot in the bush will only attract other feral populations.

“We’re very concerned about the dangers of wild dogs and feral pigs with shoot-to-waste programs — they exacerbate those problems. The challenge for our industry is to continue to work with Government, Traditional Owners, the Northern Land Council and all stakeholders to ensure that that shoot-to-waste is only ever the last resort, and that we have created every chance to find an economic solution there, before we resort to that sort of measure, which seems terribly outdated and unacceptable.”

A woman on a quad bike, facing away from the camera, herding a herd of buffalo, with green palms trees in the background.
A woman mustering buffalo on a quad bike. (Supplied: David Hancock)

Much like Mr Dawkins and other farmers who work closely with buffalo, photographer David Hancock holds the creatures in high regard, despite their impact on what he describes as the most magnificent landscapes in the world.

“In a domesticated situation as proven in Asia, buffalo live with families,” he said.

“They’re part of the family, so domesticated buffalo can be quite a gentle animal.” 

Between British colonists, Aboriginal hunters, photographers and farmers, the complex mythology of these destructive yet gentle beasts lives on in the Territory.

Source link

Tagsbuffalodavid hancocknorthern territoryntphotographytop endwater buffalo
Previous Article

Separate and unequal: It’s time to invest ...

Next Article

STOCKS TO WATCH: Are energy shares now ...

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Megan

Related articles More from author

  • Australian Economy

    Industry says gas from the Beetaloo Basin could solve Australia’s energy crisis. Some energy analysts question that claim

    July 19, 2022
    By Megan
  • Investment

    Hochul announces $50 million investment in East Side of Buffalo | Local News

    June 18, 2022
    By Megan
  • Australian Economy

    What do Labor’s climate policies mean for the gas-led recovery and the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin?

    May 30, 2022
    By Megan
  • Australian Economy

    Federal funding pitch for Beetaloo Basin infrastructure ramps up

    July 13, 2022
    By Megan
  • Investment

    African Heritage Food Co-op renews push for investment

    May 31, 2022
    By Megan
  • Australian Economy

    How Economic Stress Can Strengthen Your Relationship

    July 17, 2022
    By Megan

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You may interested

  • Financial Market

    Column: U.S. consumers sour on inflation despite financial cushion from pandemic

  • Stock Shares

    Why Rivian Shares Are Down Again Today

  • Brokers

    How to delete yourself from the internet

  • LATEST REVIEWS

  • TOP REVIEWS

Timeline

  • August 10, 2022

    Asian shares fall as investors brace for inflation report

  • August 10, 2022

    A-Mark Precious Metals (NASDAQ:AMRK) vs. Maison Luxe (OTCMKTS:MASN) Head-To-Head Comparison

  • August 10, 2022

    Stock Market LIVE: Indices flat; Nifty below 17,500; IT, Media drag

  • August 10, 2022

    The big change coming to Australian inflation after Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe laughed at

  • August 10, 2022

    South Korean won, Philippines peso lead losses among subdued Asian currencies

Best Reviews

Latest News

Stock Shares

Asian shares fall as investors brace for inflation report

People walk past a screen displaying the Hang Seng stock index outside Hong Kong Exchanges, in Hong Kong, China July 19, 2022. REUTERS/Lam Yik Register now for FREE unlimited access ...
  • A-Mark Precious Metals (NASDAQ:AMRK) vs. Maison Luxe (OTCMKTS:MASN) Head-To-Head Comparison

    By Megan
    August 10, 2022
  • Stock Market LIVE: Indices flat; Nifty below 17,500; IT, Media drag

    By Megan
    August 10, 2022
  • The big change coming to Australian inflation after Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe laughed at

    By Megan
    August 10, 2022
  • South Korean won, Philippines peso lead losses among subdued Asian currencies

    By Megan
    August 10, 2022
  • Recent

  • Popular

  • Comments

  • Asian shares fall as investors brace for inflation report

    By Megan
    August 10, 2022
  • A-Mark Precious Metals (NASDAQ:AMRK) vs. Maison Luxe (OTCMKTS:MASN) Head-To-Head Comparison

    By Megan
    August 10, 2022
  • Stock Market LIVE: Indices flat; Nifty below 17,500; IT, Media drag

    By Megan
    August 10, 2022
  • The big change coming to Australian inflation after Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe laughed at

    By Megan
    August 10, 2022
  • Asian shares fall as investors brace for inflation report

    By Megan
    August 10, 2022
  • Australian economy survived Covid better than most but recovery could slow, OECD says | Australian ...

    By Megan
    September 14, 2021
  • The Best Online Brokers, According to 5 Financial Experts

    By Megan
    September 14, 2021
  • Is Disaster Looming for Australia’s Economy?

    By Megan
    September 29, 2021

Trending News

  • Stock Shares

    Asian shares fall as investors brace for inflation report

    People walk past a screen displaying the Hang Seng stock index outside Hong Kong Exchanges, in Hong Kong, China July 19, 2022. REUTERS/Lam Yik Register now for FREE unlimited access ...
  • Gold and Precious Metals

    A-Mark Precious Metals (NASDAQ:AMRK) vs. Maison Luxe (OTCMKTS:MASN) Head-To-Head Comparison

    A-Mark Precious Metals (NASDAQ:AMRK – Get Rating) and Maison Luxe (OTCMKTS:MASN – Get Rating) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the ...
  • Stock Shares

    Stock Market LIVE: Indices flat; Nifty below 17,500; IT, Media drag

    Asian markets started on a negative note following a retreat in Wall Street. This was mostly due to the caution ahead of US inflation data that will shape nvestor expectations ...
  • Australian Economy

    The big change coming to Australian inflation after Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe laughed at

    How Reserve Bank boss getting LAUGHED at on the world stage will radically change Australia’s economy The Australian Bureau of Statistics is trialing a new monthly inflation data series Reserve ...
  • Currencies

    South Korean won, Philippines peso lead losses among subdued Asian currencies

    BENGALURU (Aug 10): Most Asian currencies were subdued on Wednesday, while most stock markets in the region fell, tracking losses on Wall Street, as investors awaited US inflation data later ...
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Cookie Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
© Copyright The Oceania Times. All rights reserved.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

Get our latest downloads and information first. Complete the form below to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.