The Macassans were enthusiastic users of a number of drug substances including betel-nut, opium, tobacco and alcoholic drinks both fermented and distilled. These substances, including other desirable items such as sugary syrup, were brought to Australia on the trepang fleets; some were adopted by Aboriginal people, others were not. It has been universally assumed that it was the Macassans who introduced the smoking of tobacco to coastal Aboriginal peoples using long ‘Macassan’ pipes. Strangely though, there is little evidence that the Macassans themselves ever used the pipes in this way for tobacco alone. This paper examines the available evidence as a means of opening up the issue for discussion.

Maggie Brady is a Fellow at the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research.