For tens of thousands of years, possum skin cloaks protected First Peoples from cold and rain, mapped Country, and held stories. Once an everyday item for Aboriginal people in south-eastern Australia, possum skin cloaks were worn for warmth, used as baby carriers, coverings at night, drums in ceremony, and for burial.

Traditionally, the underside of kangaroo and possum pelts would be incised with various designs to indicate the person’s moiety and totemic connection, as well as their journey through life. These designs provided information about the person’s status within Nations and across Clan groups.

As a cloak grew, the designs on its skin-side became more elaborate. These designs, carved with a bone awl or shell engraver, were rubbed with animal fat and coloured with ochre. They chronicled the cloak wearer’s journey, their connection to Country, and to family. Over time, a cloak became more than an item of clothing—it became a 'marker of identity'. If a possum pelt was the first material object an infant might touch, the luscious fur would also be their last. Traditionally, people were buried in their cloaks.

Our workshop demonstrates some of these techniques. Please note we use hot wire. Participants get the opportunity to create their own patterns and to try their hand at the process.

• Genre: Cultural Workshop

• Location : National

• Equipment supplied: Skins, hot wire (client to supply access to power and tables)

• Group size - up to 15 hands on and up to 30 participants