For thousands of years, in many regions throughout Australia, red ochre has been, and remains, an important commodity and the most highly prized and important pigment for use in ceremony, cosmetics, body and artefact decoration, and rock painting.
Aboriginal people have not only mined ochre for their own use but have also traded it across regions as a valuable commodity.
Most of the fine stone flakes and tools found in the local area would have been traded in from other areas such as the north coast, Hunter Valley, and the Nepean River.
Richard Trudgen answers the question "Was there any barter or trade between different groups of Aboriginal people "
In Central Australia, there were three kinds of ochre used in the main. They were yellow ochre, white ochre – or white pipe clay – and red ochre. One of the most widely used ochres was red ochre, which was extensively used on the body. And in some particular mines in Central Australia, the ochre has a mica component, and when it’s placed on the body, particularly on the face, it gives off quite a shiny look. And that’s still used today in ceremonies, and is traded all around Central Australia and beyond.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples used trade routes that connected different clans throughout the landscape of Australia and the waters of the Torres Strait.
Originally, ochres had an enormous value. They were traded between different tribal groups across Australia. Trade routes, almost like the silk routes, went through Asia.
Ochre was another commodity which was traded widely. Red ochre was particularly important to First Nations peoples across Australia:
Due to the white settlers’ desire for gold, Aboriginal clans such as the Wadawurrung used gold as a currency for trade. The trading of gold between Wadawurrung and shepherds began even before the onslaught of the gold rush.