The Creation of Shelter in Pre-Colonial North Australia and New Zealand

Australia was first claimed by Captain Cook in early 1770, but it wasn’t settled until 1788 when the first fleet of 11 ships arrived at Botany Bay, carrying 1,530 passengers - mostly convicts, as well as some marines and officers. They moved to Port Jackson to begin establishing a settlement. Specific prisoners were chosen for the trip, the ones with skills in building, farming and other things that would have been useful to create a “liveable” environment for the new inhabitants. The first “free” settlers only arrived in 1793, thus beginning the colonisation of New South Wales.

Shelter: Lived in Teepees and oval-shaped longhouses. They lived in groups of extended families near streams and rivers. The length of houses varied, but it could be over 100 feet long. These were used for ceremonial purposes and to house many families during the winter.

The Australian Indigenous community hold extremely significant corrections to the land of Australia, of which they refer to as ‘Country.’ Indigenous people acquire deep meaning from the land, sea and the countless resources derived from them. This special relationship has formed for many centuries. To them ‘Country’ is paramount for overall wellbeing; the strong, significant, spiritual bonds embody their entire existence. Knowledge is continually passed down to create an unbroken connection of past,

The aboriginals had a close relationship with the land. In the Eye of the Eagle it says “people moved progressively around their territory so as not to over-deplete any one area” which demonstrates what they thought. Aboriginals say that it is wrong to keep taking from the same place since if they just stay there nothing will replenish. They have to move around so that things could regrow for next time they came back to that same spot. They don’t build permanent shelter as if to stay in the one place they moved to spots they know there are things that they can use for the different seasons. An example of this “Gudap and Yudang dug for yams. After lifting the tuber, they broke it off so as to leave a small piece attached to the vine. The small piece of yam still on the vine back in the ground and covered.

Aboriginal land use practices centred on the sustainable use of the land. Aboriginal Australians practiced a form of agriculture known as ‘fire stick agriculture’. This involved utilizing fire to hunt animals, by setting fire to vegetation to draw prey into the open. Doing this also increased the availability of new grass and vegetation to feed animals. Minerals from the burnt vegetation are absorbed into the soil, increasing its fertility and therefore the abundance of vegetation in the area. Ensuring that there was enough feed for animals in the wild allowed Indigenous Australians to maintain population levels of the species they hunted in a sustainable manner for thousands of years.

Australia in the early 1900s has developed a reputation as a ‘working man’s paradise’ for its greater opportunity to success and an egalitarian society. However not all workers proved this to be true. In order to determine this statement, Issues to be discussed include firstly the hours of work for different genders, secondly the working conditions and finally the dispute for the right to fair treatment to women and Aboriginal natives throughout the 19th century.

For Aboriginal Australians, the land has a special significance that is rarely understood by those of European descent. The land, or country, does not only sustain Aborigines in material ways, such as providing food and shelter, it also plays a major role in their spiritual lives. As Rose put it, "Land provides for my physical needs and spiritual needs." (1992, p.106). To use Rose 's own term, to Aboriginals the land is a 'nourishing terrain '. (1996, p.7).

The Taino world, for the most part, had some of the appearance that the modern imaginations ascribe to the South Pacific Islands. The Taino used two primary architectural styles for their homes. The general population lived in circular buildings with the poles providing the primary support and these were covered with the woven straw and palm leaves. They were somewhat like the North American teepees except, they needed to reflect the warmth of the climate and simply used straw and palm leaves rather than being covered with the skins (Barreiro 8). The caciques were singled out for unique housing. Their house was rectangular and featured a small porch. Despite the differences in shape, and the considerably larger buildings, the same material was used.

In the book The Prehistory of Home Jerry Moore discusses the importance that home structures have had for humans over time in different places of the world. He says that “In addition to their basic and fundamental function of providing shelter from natural elements, dwellings are powerful and complex concentrates of human existence… our dwellings reflect and shape our lives” (Moore, 3). He believes that homes are representations of the existence of individual humans as well as their surroundings. Jerry Moore is successful in explaining the importance of home in archaeology throughout history with colorful examples as well as a comparison of the importance of the home in the past to the importance of the home in the future.

Neolithic and Paleolithic had different priorities when it came to shelters. Paleolithic people were nomads, so they had no permanent home, because they had to constantly move to where their food was available. So, their homes were temporary and they were usually caves, camp sites, or huts for their housing. Also, only 20-30 people lived as together as clans. But on the other hand, Neolithic people lived in permanent houses made of mud or stone, which more stable than tents or huts.

Australia is one of the continents over the world. The vast, varied land and the culture in this abundant place has a deep and lasting impact to the architectural design traditions—Tectonic. Tectonic can be regarded as one distinctive characteristic which is relating to building or architectural construction. It also gives ability for people to read a structure, or see how a structure was put together. Among those architects who had used this tradition in their designs, Donovan Hill and Glenn Murcutt, as Australian architectures, have their own style relates to tectonic. For example, Donovan Hill composes different materials and layered against with one another in D House, while Murcutt establishes a harmonious connection to the surrounding landscape and local climate with Magney House.

Timeline 300BC- Cloth Tents; the first temporary shelter to ever exist. Used by the Roman Military as a form of shelter when at war. 1597- The first Pre-fabricated homes were built. They were reportedly invented by Akbar of India, and they were the start of the temporary shelter movement.

Wood has been used by many Australians and is used to make so many different types of equipment . It has contributed in the making of this nation. Wood has been used since the first Australians have been on this land, the aboriginals. When the first fleet arrived by boat, which was made out of wood, NSW forest were cut down to create room and materials such as wood to make houses. Wood has provided us with furniture, jobs, houses, paper, oxygen and many more from 1788 to this present day. During WW II which is a big part in Australia's history wood was used to make planes, ships, rifles and buildings. Homes were also made for when the soldier returned home. Wood can be used as fuel, some types of fuels are: Firewood, charcoal and sawdust

Pre-colonial Maori society was based on kinship groups; hapū, iwi and whanau. These groups are connected to common ancestors and the land and these ties are still integral to maori communities today. (Byers, 2002) As colonization took place, the Treaty of Waitangi; New Zealand’s founding document sought to guarantee the protection of Maori culture and customs but this didn’t result in recognition for the value-based system of social control which Maori had in place. (Vieille, 2010)

A short-term emergency shelter is usually something that people call transitional accommodation. The short term needs for an emergency shelter consist of: A place to sleep, a roof over their head, showers, cleans drinking water and food. Designer’s need to come up with a way that they can gain access to clean water and safe food in the midst of a natural disaster, and how they will get it to them as quickly as possible, whilst making sure there is enough room in the housing estate to look after everyone whose been evicted from their home, or their home has been damaged and ruined in one way or another. Medium and long term needs in emergency shelters change a little bit, with them still needing all the basics, but also then having things readily available like doctors, medication, physiatrists, and educational tools like a local school, or books for the children to read in there spare time. They