Habitat: Widespread, particularly sandy soils Season: All year
Spiny-headed Mat-rush
Women gathered the smooth strap-shaped leaves from the water's edge to make
baskets. They split each rush, tied them in bundles to be soaked allowing
the fibres to become pliable for weaving.
The illustration below shows how Aboriginal people used a combination of
weirs and basketry traps for fishing.
Eel traps made of woven reeds.
Here they have been used with a weir made of sticks and placed across the
stream. These traps are fixed in position. Traps can also be held by hand.
At Lake Condah, Victoria, Aboriginal people still make these traditional
eel traps.
This is a funnelled basket used as an eel trap, made by people from Lake
Condah.
Today, people at Lake Tyers, Victoria and Eden, NSW are carrying on their
basketry traditions and experimenting with new materials and designs.
Stages in making a basket.
Coiled basket being woven from Spiny-headed Mat-rush at Lake Tyers on the
east coast of Victoria.
Australian National Botanic Gardens - Education Service
Spiny-headed Mat-rush
