On Monday, Martin Drury and I were very privileged to spend some time with acclaimed researcher and writer Bill Gammage.

Bill Gammage © Tracey Benson

We had a great time discussing his book The Biggest Estate on Earth. The book documents early European impressions of Australia, proving that there were existing sophisticated land management systems in place. The Allen & Unwin website states about the book:

Explodes the myth that pre-settlement Australia was an untamed wilderness revealing the complex, country-wide systems of land management used by Aboriginal people.

Across Australia, early Europeans commented again and again that the land looked like a park. With extensive grassy patches and pathways, open woodlands and abundant wildlife, it evoked a country estate in England. Bill Gammage has discovered this was because Aboriginal people managed the land in a far more systematic and scientific fashion than we have ever realised.

What appeals to me greatly…