Quotes from deep wisdom of ancient Aboriginal Australians on land and nature which we can’t ignore

Claims of Indigenous Australians to be the most ancient continuous civilisation on Earth have been proven to date back more than 50,000 years to the Stone Age, according to new DNA research. 

 Traditional Australian Aborigines lived a roaming nomadic life, amidst a harsh and inhospitable Australian outback.  

 This has carved a culture of deep reverence and capacity to connect with nature that is amiss in modern society.

  An Aboriginal elder passing down stories to the younger generation

These proverbs, sayings, inspirational quotes reflect the deep connection and wisdom of the Australian Aboriginal people with their land and the world around them.

 They provide valuable insights into their culture, spirituality, and environmental ethos.

 "We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love, and then we return home."   

   Indigenous Elder William Cooper

  "The land is our mother. Like all mothers, she loves us unconditionally and provides for our every need."  

 "We don't own the land; the land owns us. We are custodians of its beauty and guardians of its spirit."

 The oldest stories are written in the rocks and the stars. Listen closely, and you will hear them speak.

 "Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows."

  The land is a library of knowledge. Its stories are written in the plants, the animals, and the stars.

Gaboo Ted Thomas Surry Hills Sydney New South Wales Australia 1998

Our ancestors are the rocks, the rivers, the trees, the animals. We are but a heartbeat in their lives.

  Healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.

 A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. 

 Time does not exist in the way that you think. It flows and ebbs like the tides, and we are but travelers on its currents. 

Portrait photo of David Mowaljarlai taken in Sydney, Photo: Jutta Malnic, 1991 Image courtesy Jutta Malnic

There is no conflict between the desert and the rainforest. They exist to support each other, just as we must support each other.  

  Our spirituality is tied to the land. To harm the land is to harm ourselves.

 Traveler, there are no paths. Paths are made by walking.

  The Earth does not belong to us; we belong to the Earth.

The strength of the tree comes from the roots.

 The earth does not lie.

Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara 

"Time is not measured by clocks, but by moments."

 When you listen to nature, nature listens to you."

 "When all is lost, all is found in the land."

   "We are caretakers of the land, not owners."

 “Those who lose dreaming are lost.”

  “Keep your eyes on the sun, and you will not see the shadows.”

"The land is our mother. Like a human mother, the land gives us protection, enjoyment, and sustenance. We have a human relationship with the land: Mother, daughter, son. When the land is taken from us or destroyed, we feel hurt because we belong to the land and we are part of it." - Yankunytjatjara Aboriginal Proverb