The interspecies entanglements of eating kangaroo, 1788–1850

Abstract

The practise of eating kangaroo meat lay at the heart of a complex set of relationships amongst humans and other animals in the early colonial period in Australia. An exploration of this eco-cultural network demonstrates the often overlooked role of Australian native animals in the colonial project. The affordances offered by the members of this network to one another established relationships marked by differing degrees of dependence. It is argued that the meat of kangaroos played an important role in the establishment and expansion of the Australian colonies up to 1850, by which time colonial authorities had begun self-consciously to distance themselves from living kangaroos, maintaining a role only for captive and symbolic animals.This article has been peer reviewed.