THE CHANGING DIETARY HABITS OF 19TH-CENTURY AUSTRALIAN EXPLORERS

In the first decade of white settlement in New South Wales, ground exp loration was limited by the critical shortage of horses and the inabil ity to live off the land. Bush skills were lacking and muskets were ex tremely inaccurate. Subsequently, the introduction of kangaroo dogs, t he willingness to consume even the least appetising animals, and the i dentification of edible native plants made explorers less dependent on what they could carry. Such skills were to become largely irrelevant after 1840, as fully mounted expeditions began to penetrate the interi or, where game was scarce and there was no time for hunting.