Before European Invasion, Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander people had a great variety of food to choose from. These food sources came from the bush, the land, the seas and the waterways. A well balanced diet of fruits and vegetables, nuts and grains, meats and fish, oils and fats were hunted and gathered.

Depending on the environment, where a family lived and the changes in seasons the types of foods available would differ. Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had and continue to have a complex understanding of the changing seasons and the environment. Many complex ways of collecting and preparing food were developed over thousands of years.

Aboriginal people living on the coast or people from the Torres Strait Islands would probably have a large variety of foods in their diet including shellfish, turtles, dugongs, fish, berries, wild plums, figs, yams, ducks, goanna, kangaroos and others

Some Aboriginal people who live in inland places like the South West of Queensland would have also had a wide variety of foods, however fresh water fish, yabbies, porcupine, emu, ducks, goannas, swans, wild lilies, wild bananas, mulga apples, honey ants and quondongs were also eaten.

In desert areas it is very hot and dry and the types of food found by Aboriginal people would vary. These would include spinifex grass, ants, lizards, snakes, small mammals, various types of grains and berries.