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Australia's Agricultural Identity - an Aboriginal yarn
Yarning across history and into the future, Joshua Gilbert explores a new approach to Indigenous culture and farming, combining ancient knowledge and practices with new technology and insights.
Starting from his own Worimi Country, where his family history is captured in the journals of the Australian Agricultural Company – among the earliest written records of agricultural practice on this continent – Josh listens to yarns about the farming that has always been and continues to take place on that Country, which demonstrate that Indigenous culture is not static; it can account for and inform our approaches to land and climate even as they are changing.
As he contemplates these stories and histories, Josh seeks to provide a new understanding that Australians, as a nation of farmers and land managers, need to develop our agricultural system into one where Indigenous and Western knowledges converge. One where we acknowledge the realities of Australia’s farming heritage, both positive and negative, and find ways to feed our population while caring for Country and ensuring the livelihood of Australia’s farming towns.
He explores what it means to be an Aboriginal person today, what it means to be a farmer and even what it means to say you are Australian. Where these notions overlap, and how we might start to weave a common story that brings together all these ideas. So that we can create a truly Australian agricultural yarn – one that we all build together.
Starting from his own Worimi Country, where his family history is captured in the journals of the Australian Agricultural Company – among the earliest written records of agricultural practice on this continent – Josh listens to yarns about the farming that has always been and continues to take place on that Country, which demonstrate that Indigenous culture is not static; it can account for and inform our approaches to land and climate even as they are changing.
As he contemplates these stories and histories, Josh seeks to provide a new understanding that Australians, as a nation of farmers and land managers, need to develop our agricultural system into one where Indigenous and Western knowledges converge. One where we acknowledge the realities of Australia’s farming heritage, both positive and negative, and find ways to feed our population while caring for Country and ensuring the livelihood of Australia’s farming towns.
He explores what it means to be an Aboriginal person today, what it means to be a farmer and even what it means to say you are Australian. Where these notions overlap, and how we might start to weave a common story that brings together all these ideas. So that we can create a truly Australian agricultural yarn – one that we all build together.
- GenresNonfiction
240 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 27, 2025
7 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Joshua Gilbert
1 book1 followerJosh is a socially and commercially focused, Worimi (Aboriginal) man with extensive experience across Indigenous affairs, the environmental sector and sustainable agriculture. Josh works across government, corporate and social organisational levels to develop and lead change through sharing the narration of Indigenous identity through agricultural and environmental truth-telling in light of modern contexts. Josh is a deep, strategic thinker and manages business change effectively through empathy. He is passionate about creating change through effective investment and societal understanding.
Josh is undertaking a PhD at Charles Sturt University, focused on the concept of Indigenous modernity through agriculture. He was recently recognised internationally for his work, announced in the inaugural 50 Next: People Shaping the Future of Gastronomy cohort. Josh is on the board for Indigenous Business Australia, the NSW Aboriginal Housing Office and the Australian Conservation Foundation and is the Aboriginal Co-Chair of Reconciliation NSW.
Josh is undertaking a PhD at Charles Sturt University, focused on the concept of Indigenous modernity through agriculture. He was recently recognised internationally for his work, announced in the inaugural 50 Next: People Shaping the Future of Gastronomy cohort. Josh is on the board for Indigenous Business Australia, the NSW Aboriginal Housing Office and the Australian Conservation Foundation and is the Aboriginal Co-Chair of Reconciliation NSW.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 6, 2025
Australia’s Agricultural Identity – an Aboriginal Yarn, is a powerful, timely, and deeply moving work that challenges and redefines the conversation around farming in Australia. From the very first pages, the chapter entitled Grounding instantly showcases Joshua Gilbert’s extraordinary talent as a storyteller. With warmth, clarity, and courage, Josh weaves personal experience, cultural heritage, and environmental insight into a narrative that is both educational and emotionally resonant.
This book doesn’t just tell stories—it opens a dialogue that is going to change how we think about agriculture in this country. Josh artfully blends Indigenous knowledge systems with contemporary agricultural practices, showing that these approaches are not in conflict but deeply complementary. His voice is authentic and generous, inviting readers from all backgrounds to listen, reflect, and act.
What makes this book truly special is how it balances big-picture thinking with grounded, local wisdom. It’s not just about farming—it’s about belonging, identity, and future-making. Josh’s vision is one of connection—to land, to history, and to each other.
An essential read for anyone interested in the future of agriculture, Indigenous leadership, and reconciliation in Australia. I couldn’t put it down—and I won’t forget it anytime soon.
This book doesn’t just tell stories—it opens a dialogue that is going to change how we think about agriculture in this country. Josh artfully blends Indigenous knowledge systems with contemporary agricultural practices, showing that these approaches are not in conflict but deeply complementary. His voice is authentic and generous, inviting readers from all backgrounds to listen, reflect, and act.
What makes this book truly special is how it balances big-picture thinking with grounded, local wisdom. It’s not just about farming—it’s about belonging, identity, and future-making. Josh’s vision is one of connection—to land, to history, and to each other.
An essential read for anyone interested in the future of agriculture, Indigenous leadership, and reconciliation in Australia. I couldn’t put it down—and I won’t forget it anytime soon.
June 8, 2025
[Review for Tasmanian Times]
First nations farmed the Australian continent for over 60,000 years prior to colonisation. Though we argue about the definitions of ‘farming’, a young cattle farmer and Indigenous man, Joshua Gilbert, is on a mission to reconcile Western and Indigenous agricultures.
He’s just authored a book on pathways to do just that: Australia’s Agricultural Identity – An Aboriginal Yarn.
Along with raising a family, running a farm, connecting with country and culture, doing a PhD and being on a host of boards and government committees, Gilbert’s quest is to unite what seem to be fundamentally different agricultural practices, to harness deep Indigenous knowledge and improve Western land management strategies.
With Australia’s thinning topsoil, unsustainable land-clearing, biodiversity crisis, rising population and the unpredictable extremes of climate change, Gilbert argues that all farmers and land managers can add to their tool kits with Indigenous approaches.
Gilbert also wants to see greater participation of mob in every agricultural practice, right across our continent.
“It’s estimated that Indigenous landholdings – a complex web of different land tenure systems with formally recognised rights and interests – cover almost 60 percent of this country.”
That percentage is set to increase, but Gilbert points to one of the problems in seeing more adaptive forms of food production.
“There is no Indigenous agricultural research organisation focusing on Indigenous-led research, and there is no black farmers’ collective to advance the interests of mob on the land.”
Why not? Historical and contemporary systemic racism, and non-indigenous refusal to support truth-telling and Treaty, block our ability to talk across the divides, which some politicians cynically exploit. To learn more, however, we have to engage, and as climate crises come thick and fast, we need to work together, including adaptions to our farming practices.
When early European farmers found themselves at a loss, and starving, it was local well-fed Indigenous folks they turned to out of desperation. Since those times, first nations have been working, largely unacknowledged and often unpaid, in Western agricultural enterprises of every sort. Indigenous men and women found that they could hold both sets of traditions, something of great value for strategic and adaptive approaches over time.
Gilbert argues: “Indigenous people’s input and talent is vital to modernising the agricultural sector. There is a huge opportunity to build employment pipelines from schools through universities into the broader agrifood industry.”
It’s long past time to put aside the culture wars and racism. We all need to work together for the best outcomes.
I put a few questions to Gilbert about pathways forward:
Q: Joshua, are there ways to employ Indigenous perspectives at necessarily large Western / industrial agricultural scales? Do we need to deconstruct corporate capitalism and renegotiate socialism?
There is much to change to embed an Indigenous agricultural agenda, particularly when considering broadacre industrial farming. There are many ways to incorporate Indigenous principles into large-scale agriculture, but the starting point is the development of small-scale, Indigenous-owned and managed farms to prove the model/s.
We also need to unlock the Indigenous estate and utilise Indigenous rights in land to demonstrate these localised models. Finally, these approaches need to be inclusive – we know Western, industrial agriculture is not working across these landscapes, and we need to partner to develop a new, truly Australian agricultural model.
Q: Are fences a quintessential divide between Indigenous and Western agricultural / land management approaches? How do we approach land ownership in new ways?
Personally, I feel that fences are more of a mental divide between Indigenous and Western agricultural methods. A farmer’s boundary fence creates comparison and restricts thinking between strainer posts, rather than broad ecosystems and application of that patch of ground to country more generally.
For farming methods to be successful in the future, landscape approaches need to be considered, with the overlay of Indigenous thinking and understanding of land pivotal to the interactions of the broader ecosystems.
Q: To reduce emissions and land-clearing, we need to eat less meat and use less land to support livestock and feed for livestock. What is your thinking on new approaches to this set of intersecting issues?
Creating markets and supporting farmers who are farming more in alignment with country supports and encourages better farming practices. We need to be supporting those who are farming in more nature-positive and environmentally friendly ways, particularly unlocking opportunities for Indigenous farmers who want to do this but are often locked out due to finance.
Q: Indigenous perspectives embed cultural practices that sometimes restrict specific knowledge to males or females. Is this ‘dual cultures’ aspect irrelevant or possibly helpful to the discussion about pathways forward?
Yes, Indigenous culture and practice at large needs to be affirmed, rebuilt and instilled into society today. This needs to be included in its entirety, strengthening culture and bringing all aspects to where we are now and where we need to head as a community into the future.
Q: What kind of political / democratic structure would admit the discussion of greater Indigenous inclusion in agriculture and long-term planning at a high level? Our current system doesn’t seem capable.
Agriculture has been a laggard in listening to and promoting Indigenous views and self-determination. Currently, there are no bodies that advocate for Indigenous agricultural policy, research or interests across the broader definition of Indigenous agriculture.
Our existing agricultural organisations do not represent the rights and interests of Indigenous agriculture and we need to develop self-determined and appropriately-funded organisations that address this gap.
First nations farmed the Australian continent for over 60,000 years prior to colonisation. Though we argue about the definitions of ‘farming’, a young cattle farmer and Indigenous man, Joshua Gilbert, is on a mission to reconcile Western and Indigenous agricultures.
He’s just authored a book on pathways to do just that: Australia’s Agricultural Identity – An Aboriginal Yarn.
Along with raising a family, running a farm, connecting with country and culture, doing a PhD and being on a host of boards and government committees, Gilbert’s quest is to unite what seem to be fundamentally different agricultural practices, to harness deep Indigenous knowledge and improve Western land management strategies.
With Australia’s thinning topsoil, unsustainable land-clearing, biodiversity crisis, rising population and the unpredictable extremes of climate change, Gilbert argues that all farmers and land managers can add to their tool kits with Indigenous approaches.
Gilbert also wants to see greater participation of mob in every agricultural practice, right across our continent.
“It’s estimated that Indigenous landholdings – a complex web of different land tenure systems with formally recognised rights and interests – cover almost 60 percent of this country.”
That percentage is set to increase, but Gilbert points to one of the problems in seeing more adaptive forms of food production.
“There is no Indigenous agricultural research organisation focusing on Indigenous-led research, and there is no black farmers’ collective to advance the interests of mob on the land.”
Why not? Historical and contemporary systemic racism, and non-indigenous refusal to support truth-telling and Treaty, block our ability to talk across the divides, which some politicians cynically exploit. To learn more, however, we have to engage, and as climate crises come thick and fast, we need to work together, including adaptions to our farming practices.
When early European farmers found themselves at a loss, and starving, it was local well-fed Indigenous folks they turned to out of desperation. Since those times, first nations have been working, largely unacknowledged and often unpaid, in Western agricultural enterprises of every sort. Indigenous men and women found that they could hold both sets of traditions, something of great value for strategic and adaptive approaches over time.
Gilbert argues: “Indigenous people’s input and talent is vital to modernising the agricultural sector. There is a huge opportunity to build employment pipelines from schools through universities into the broader agrifood industry.”
It’s long past time to put aside the culture wars and racism. We all need to work together for the best outcomes.
I put a few questions to Gilbert about pathways forward:
Q: Joshua, are there ways to employ Indigenous perspectives at necessarily large Western / industrial agricultural scales? Do we need to deconstruct corporate capitalism and renegotiate socialism?
There is much to change to embed an Indigenous agricultural agenda, particularly when considering broadacre industrial farming. There are many ways to incorporate Indigenous principles into large-scale agriculture, but the starting point is the development of small-scale, Indigenous-owned and managed farms to prove the model/s.
We also need to unlock the Indigenous estate and utilise Indigenous rights in land to demonstrate these localised models. Finally, these approaches need to be inclusive – we know Western, industrial agriculture is not working across these landscapes, and we need to partner to develop a new, truly Australian agricultural model.
Q: Are fences a quintessential divide between Indigenous and Western agricultural / land management approaches? How do we approach land ownership in new ways?
Personally, I feel that fences are more of a mental divide between Indigenous and Western agricultural methods. A farmer’s boundary fence creates comparison and restricts thinking between strainer posts, rather than broad ecosystems and application of that patch of ground to country more generally.
For farming methods to be successful in the future, landscape approaches need to be considered, with the overlay of Indigenous thinking and understanding of land pivotal to the interactions of the broader ecosystems.
Q: To reduce emissions and land-clearing, we need to eat less meat and use less land to support livestock and feed for livestock. What is your thinking on new approaches to this set of intersecting issues?
Creating markets and supporting farmers who are farming more in alignment with country supports and encourages better farming practices. We need to be supporting those who are farming in more nature-positive and environmentally friendly ways, particularly unlocking opportunities for Indigenous farmers who want to do this but are often locked out due to finance.
Q: Indigenous perspectives embed cultural practices that sometimes restrict specific knowledge to males or females. Is this ‘dual cultures’ aspect irrelevant or possibly helpful to the discussion about pathways forward?
Yes, Indigenous culture and practice at large needs to be affirmed, rebuilt and instilled into society today. This needs to be included in its entirety, strengthening culture and bringing all aspects to where we are now and where we need to head as a community into the future.
Q: What kind of political / democratic structure would admit the discussion of greater Indigenous inclusion in agriculture and long-term planning at a high level? Our current system doesn’t seem capable.
Agriculture has been a laggard in listening to and promoting Indigenous views and self-determination. Currently, there are no bodies that advocate for Indigenous agricultural policy, research or interests across the broader definition of Indigenous agriculture.
Our existing agricultural organisations do not represent the rights and interests of Indigenous agriculture and we need to develop self-determined and appropriately-funded organisations that address this gap.
July 13, 2025
Oh this is so important. My connection to farming is limited, so I learned so much, not just on Australia’s agricultural culture, but also in ways it should, and must be improved.
Gilbert is the perfect person to write this. He uses his own personal stories and experiences to really highlight how necessary Indigenous knowledges and culture are to Australia’s agricultural landscape, not just before colonisation, but in how modern farming in Australia and the modern cattle industry was developed, and what is happening now. Equally so, he shows, through his own experience, how unfair it is for mob to actually get a foot in the door. He blends this with some excellent research and some really poignant solutions to the stresses currently facing the agriculture sector.
This was really compelling, and I think is a necessary read regardless of if you have any connection to agriculture - in fact, I’d argue it’s moreso important if you’re not a farmer. Gilbert makes such a good point in that so many Australian’s are disconnected from their food, how it is grown, harvested, procured, etc. This was really enlightening to me in that it showed me how culture has really effect this, and how damaging it has been broadly. Why don’t we celebrate our farmers - and, more to the point - why don’t we celebrate Indigenous agricultural knowledge?
My one criticism is “the pavlova we pinched from new zealand,” Gilbert that’s your most divisive statement in this whole book
Gilbert is the perfect person to write this. He uses his own personal stories and experiences to really highlight how necessary Indigenous knowledges and culture are to Australia’s agricultural landscape, not just before colonisation, but in how modern farming in Australia and the modern cattle industry was developed, and what is happening now. Equally so, he shows, through his own experience, how unfair it is for mob to actually get a foot in the door. He blends this with some excellent research and some really poignant solutions to the stresses currently facing the agriculture sector.
This was really compelling, and I think is a necessary read regardless of if you have any connection to agriculture - in fact, I’d argue it’s moreso important if you’re not a farmer. Gilbert makes such a good point in that so many Australian’s are disconnected from their food, how it is grown, harvested, procured, etc. This was really enlightening to me in that it showed me how culture has really effect this, and how damaging it has been broadly. Why don’t we celebrate our farmers - and, more to the point - why don’t we celebrate Indigenous agricultural knowledge?
My one criticism is “the pavlova we pinched from new zealand,” Gilbert that’s your most divisive statement in this whole book
March 3, 2026
A great new book about the author's connection to Country through his father's family line, and discussing the past and somewhat improved business of 'white man's' attitudes to farming.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews