Leigh Oates

Harvesting Yolla (muttonbird) for meat and oil is a very old cultural practice and tradition that the Tasmanian Aboriginal community still carry on today. The muttonbirds migrate every year and return to the rookeries around Tasmania’s coast. They return late September, early October, to lay their single egg to carry on the cycle. When the blossom of the Silver Wattle is finishing this will be when the muttonbird returns. The flowering Silver Wattle is telling us the birds are close to returning to the rookeries to nest, and once they finish flowering they will drop their seedpods to start their life cycle. Painting The blue patched background in the painting represents the sea, showing all the different colours the muttonbird would see on their migratory journey approx. 30,000kms long. The white line represents where the sea meets the land. This tells the birds they are home. The flowering wattle and the seedpods are represented on the left.