Spinifex resin is a gum coating of some species of spinifex grasses. This sticky resin was traditionally used as an adhesive in tool making by

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isl ...

. Many species of spinifex are extremely resinous, to the extent that resin may drip down the stems and leaves on hot days, and large residual lumps of resin often may be seen at the bases of hummocks which have burned.

Making the gum

The spinifex is threshed until the resin particles fall free. These particles are heated until they fuse together to form a moldable black tar which is worked while warm. When set, this gum is quite strong. The preparation of spinifex for hafting use is similar to that of ''

Xanthorrhoea ''Xanthorrhoea'' () is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants endemic to Australia. Species are known by the name grass tree. Description All are perennials and have a secondary thickening meristem in the stem. Many, but not all, ...

''. It is thought to have been preferable to ''Xanthorrhoea'' for hafting, due to its ability to be re-heated and remodelled several times without going brittle. The resin can be re-softened using fire and some moisture. Most historical accounts of resin processing described Aboriginal men doing the work, however several factors suggest that women had a much more significant role in processing resin than the accounts suggest.

Uses

Within traditional Aboriginal cultures, the known applications of spinifex resin divide into four broad categories: 1) As an adhesive. In areas where appropriate spinifex species grew, many hunting and working implements benefited from the use of spinifex gum or resin as a hafting adhesive: * Spinifex resin was often a crucial ingredient in

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

-making, being used to fasten the head onto the shaft. A man would always carry at least one spear, and normally a clump of resin so that repairs could be carried out on it and other utensils. * The traditional Aboriginal axe also made strong use of spinifex resin. * The base of the woomera has a clump of this resin attached to it. * The resin was also used as a binder when making paint with ochre. 2) To make items waterproof. Spinifex resin has been used to

caulk Caulk or, less frequently, caulking is a material used to seal joints or seams against leakage in various structures and piping. The oldest form of caulk consisted of fibrous materials driven into the wedge-shaped seams between boards on ...

wooden containers for carrying water. 3) To repair holes and cracks in wooden tools and containers. 4) To manipulate into beads, figurines, vessels and other miscellaneous objects. In modern times, in true

Bush Mechanics ''Bush Mechanics'' is a humorous 2001 television docudrama series directed by David Batty and Francis Jupurrurla Kelly and produced by the Warlpiri Media Association (now Pintubi Anmatjere Warlpiri (PAW) Media), featuring an Aboriginal Austral ...

spirit, spinifex resin can also be melted to repair things like

jerry can A jerrycan (also written as jerry can or jerrican) is a robust liquid container made from pressed steel (and more recently, high-density polyethylene, high density polyethylene). It was designed in Germany in the 1930s for military use to ho ...

s for carrying water and fuel.

References

{{indigenous Australians Australian Aboriginal bushcraft