Aboriginal Housing During the Australian Gold Rushes

Housing varied by region, season, and materials:

• Humpy – temporary bark/rush sheets on branch frame (cone, dome, lean-to).
• Wurley – more permanent; bark over arched frame, sometimes earth-covered for insulation.
• Gunyah – branches/bark/leaves over sapling frame, oval/rectangular.
• Mimi House – rock shelters/caves in Western Australia.
• Ngurra / Camp – designated living area with multiple shelters, fires.
• Bough Shed – simple windbreak of leaned branches.

Styles reflected deep ecological knowledge, not uniformity. Gold-rush disruption displaced many groups, accelerating housing loss.