1. Art techniques
2. Australian Government policy
3. Basket making
4. Bush tucker
5. Camping
6. Ceremonies
7. Colonisation
8. Country
9. Culture
10. Dreaming
11. Environmental protection
12. Family
13. Fishing
14. Hunting and gathering
15. Indigenous knowledge
16. Land management
17. Plants
18. Recycling
19. Relationship to place
20. Science
21. Social life and customs
22. Songlines
23. Tool making
24. Visual literacy
25. Wild foods

This is a book overflowing with information about Australia’s First Nations, their Culture and the very deep connection to Country and the understanding that there is no separation between people and Country. It is part of an endless flow of life and ideas that has no beginning or ending and is known as the Dreaming.

‘Design & Building on Country’ provides an excellent explanation of these cultural foundations particularly the importance of Country. All things, all knowledge have come from Country, and it is important to know and respect your Country and the Elders, the holders, and teachers of this knowledge. This translates into Songlines, oral stories, painting, music, or dance that contain everything needed to survive.

Country is part of everything that is made on and used on Country and this understanding is woven through the book’s descriptions of tools and structures.

The book is divided into nine chapters with information provided in bite-sized pieces and interspersed with examples and stories that enables readers to see how design and building can take many different forms. The illustrations by Blak Douglas are brightly coloured and work cleverly with the book’s design making the information inviting and easily accessible.

This is a celebration of Australia’s First Nations people, the world’s oldest continuous culture, and the book provides an opportunity to learn from their knowledge, history, and truth-telling about the past. Included at the back of the book is a list of 14 ‘important words and concepts’ plus an index.

Alison Page is a descendant of the Walbanga and Wadi Wadi people of the Dharawal and Yuin Nations and is an Associate Dean (Indigenous) in the Design, Architecture and Building Faculty at the University of Technology Sydney.

Professor Paul Memmott AO is an anthropologist and architect. He founded the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre at the University of Queensland where he has been director for several decades.

Blak Douglas is proud of his Dhungutti Aboriginal origins and has won a number of awards including the 2022 Archibald Prize. His works are held by a number of major galleries both in Australia and overseas.

Shortlisted CBCA 2025 Eve Pownall Award for Information Books

Series title: First Knowledges series for younger readers

1. Scholastic Teaching notes for ‘Design & Building on Country’ First Knowledges for younger readers series https://resource.scholastic.com.au/ResourceFiles/100135572_124570.pdf
2. Kids’ Book Review 4 October 2024. Sarah Steed reviews ‘Design & Building on Country’ by Alison Page & Paul Memmott http://www.kids-bookreview.com/2024/10/review-design-building-on-country.html
3. Story Links 27 September 2024. Mia Macrossan reviews ‘Design & Building on Country’ https://storylinks.booklinks.org.au/2024/09/27/design-building-on-country-first-knowledges-for-younger-readers/
4. Landscape Australia 16 July 2021 Review of ‘Design: Building on Country’ by Alison Page and Paul Memmott (this is a review of the original adult version published in 2021) https://landscapeaustralia.com/articles/design-building-on-country/