Tamarind trees as the ‘accidental heroes’ in Makassar – Indigenous Australia’s ancient contacts

Description

The presence of tamarind trees (Tamarus indica) in the northern part of Australia are indicators of the ancient contacts between Australian First Nations peoples and trepangers from Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. For 300 years, as early as the mid 17th century, people from Makassar set sail to the northern coastal areas to catch and process the sea cucumbers known as  trepang or beche de mer  before shipping the commodity back to Makassar and selling them to Chinese merchants.