The Hearth as the Heart of the Family

Abstract This chapter explores the foodways and daily lives of Aboriginal people at the former Weipa Mission, North-Eastern Australia. Christian Missions were a vital part of the colonising repertoire of the British in Australia, as elsewhere, but despite the hardships and traumatic histories these places represent, they are frequently of very high cultural significance to First Nations’ People today. As in many colonial settings, documentary records are rife with omissions, biases and potentially harmful content, which severely limit a more comprehensive understanding of the lived experiences of First Nation’s Peoples in these and other colonial settings. Here, we outline a long-term and ongoing research collaboration with Anathangayth People and Country that examines foodways as a basis for developing more inclusive and refined histories of First Nation people’s lives, drawing on an approach that some community members have termed ‘Proper History’. Specifically, the chapter focuses on the daily life in an area known as “Hamlet Number 1.” We present the results of ongoing collaborative research to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the intersections of religion, culture, and colonial power. Of particular interest are earth ovens and how these features provide insights on far more than diet and subsistence alone, expanding our knowledge of aspects of past social interaction, cuisines, family life, commensality, and other aspects of daily life, and thus contributing unique insights into the community’s ‘real’ or ‘proper’ history.