When the British decided their gaols were too overcrowded, primarily with petty thieves, they found a new way to dispose of the problem by sending them to a large island continent on the other side of the world that a few explorers had bumped into while confirming the shape of the earth.
Eleven ships sailed into what is now called Sydney Harbour on January 26 1788 and the convicts were put to work building a town for the administrators. The original inhabitants weren’t too pleased about the gate crashers but Governor Phillip was determined to make it happen formally proclaiming the colony on February 7.
It was a bit of a catch 22 situation in that the convicts had to make it work or starve because even if they could, it was a long trip back to the olde country where they weren’t wanted anyway. So they were forced to stay and endure the wrath of the original inhabitants who also didn’t want them here.
In order to survive the new settlers had to learn how to live off the land with virtually no experience of farming and agriculture. Most of their efforts failed but somehow they managed to survive the first four years and a lot of that due to learning from the people whose land they had taken over.
Mangarri is a very simply bread which the Aboriginal people made by grinding native seeds (like kangaroo grass seed), nuts, and roots between two flat stones and mixing the resultant flour with water before cooking in campfire coals.
Once supplies of flour arrived the early settlers adapted the recipe and called it damper from the British word for "something that takes the edge off the appetite".
The damper we make today has evolved and now often includes ingredients that are endemic to our island nation.
Desert Oak and Manuka Honey Damper. (serves 4)
Ingredients:
1x Taste Australia Flavour Savour Sachet
500gm SR Flour (depending on which flour you use it could be 3 cups)
1 cup thickened cream
1 cup Bundaberg Ginger Beer
Place dried ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Make a well in the centre and add the ginger beer and cream. Combine.
Turn onto a floured board (it may be a little sticky at this point) but roll the mixture into the flour, adding a little more flour if necessary.
Don’t over handle it.
Tip onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Make some indentations across the top if you like and then into a hot preheated oven at 200C for 30 mins.