Ulu (breadfruit)

Generously donated by The University of Melbourne, Australia,  in celebration of the 80^th anniversary of FAO and the inauguration of the Museum.

Breadfruit is a versatile, starchy, tropical fruit, a seedless form of the breadnut from the mulberry family. Breadfruit in the Pacific is perhaps most famously associated in history with William Bligh and the Bounty 'breadfruit voyage’ in 1790 which sought to transplant breadfruit to the West Indies to feed the new colonies. Which ended dramatically with the infamous Bounty mutineers escaping to Pitcairn Island and evading capture by the Pandora crew in 1791. The longer story of breadfruit in the Pacific begins in Papua Nuova Guinea where it was bred by people from breadnut to be seedless. Beginning around 3000 years ago the Austronesian people brought breadfruit with them on their voyages and dispersed it all over the Pacific Islands, including all the way to Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Breadfruit, known as 'ulu, mai, mei, and uto, was and remains, a staple in Pasifika Indigenous Peoples’ diet and culture.

Unknown artist, possibly Sydney Parkinson (1769)

Watercolour

Uala (sweet potato)

Generously donated by The University of Melbourne, Australia,  in celebration of the 80^th anniversary of FAO and the inauguration of the Museum.

The uala, (commonly known as sweet potato), is one of the most widely distributed plants in the world, being found in almost every part of the globe which is at all suitable to its growth. It is either indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands, or was introduced at such a remote period, that all record of the event is lost. In New Zealand, on the contrary (where it is called "Kumara"), there is a distinct tradition of its introduction. Old natives enumerate nearly fifty varieties, but half that number could not be found in the islands at the present day, as for many years past, the natives have only cultivated the most easily grown kinds.

Author: Isabel Sinclair (1885) 

Watercolour

Inati

Generously donated by The University of Melbourne, Australia,  in celebration of the 80^th anniversary of FAO and the inauguration of the Museum.

Inati is the name for Tokelau’s unique system of traditional village fishing and food distribution. The village fishermen head out to sea and when they return, they lay out on display their catch of the day. From this display, fish is allocated into groups, ready for the villagers to come and collect their equal share. In this way, every man, woman and child is allotted an exact portion of fish. As a frontliner of the effects of climate change such as rising sea levels and land erosion, Inati is an expression of Hope. It promotes a way of life that values sharing, looking out for one another, that social harmony is prioritised, and the people are taken care of.

By the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa:

Reproduction Courtesy of the Glenn Jowitt Charitable Trust, Auckland

Photographer: Glenn Jowitt

Colour photography

Inati ceremony

Generously donated by The University of Melbourne, Australia,  in celebration of the 80^th anniversary of FAO and the inauguration of the Museum.

Nukunonu Atoll, Tokelau

Photographer: Glenn Jowitt, 1981

Reproduction Courtesy of the Glenn Jowitt Charitable Trust, Auckland

65000 years

Generously donated by The University of Melbourne, Australia, in celebration of the 80^th anniversary of FAO and the inauguration of the Museum.

Edited by Marcia Langton AO and Judith Ryan AM is a scholarly work offering new insights into the first art of this country. Featuring writing by twenty-five leading thinkers across generations and disciplines, the publication celebrates Indigenous Australian art (including foods) across time, media and language groups. Multiple Australian Aboriginal communities form part of this research.

Book

Native harvest kitchen

Generously donated by The University of Melbourne, Australia,  in celebration of the 80^th anniversary of FAO and the inauguration of the Museum.

This cookbook helps demystify native ingredients and empowers Australia’s home cooks to grow and incorporate Indigenous Peoples’ food into everyday meals.

Book

Dark emu story

Generously donated by The University of Melbourne, Australia,  in celebration of the 80^th anniversary of FAO and the inauguration of the Museum.

Dark Emu written by Bruce Pascoe (2014) argues for a reconsideration of the 'hunter-gatherer' tag for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians and attempts to rebut the colonial myths that have worked to justify dispossession. Accomplished author Bruce Pascoe provides compelling evidence from the diaries of early explorers that suggests that systems of food production and land management have been blatantly understated in modern retellings of early Aboriginal history, and that a new look at Australia's past is required.

Book

Mitchell and button grass flour

Generously donated by The University of Melbourne, Australia, in celebration of the 80^th anniversary of FAO and the inauguration of the Museum.

Researchers from Black Duck Foods, an Indigenous social enterprise, are committed to traditional food growing processes that care for Country and return economic benefits directly to Indigenous people. Country: Yuln

250g bag of Mitchell and Button grass flour

Ulu (breadfruit) flour

Generously donated by The University of Melbourne, Australia,  in celebration of the 80^th anniversary of FAO and the inauguration of the Museum.

Breadfruit flour offers many health benefits, and it is gluten free. The breadfruit tree is a resilient plant in the face of climate change. Breadfruit has many names for example, ‘ulu (Hawai’i, Samoa, Rotuma, Tuvalu), ‘uru (Society Islands), mai or mei (Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Marquesas, Tonga, Tuvalu), and uto (Fiji), has always been there for Pasifika people, and it remains an important part of daily life today. The hope ‘ulu provides will ensure its significance endures into the future.