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Found this info on the SBS (an 'ethnic' government media group - TV, radio etc) pages of the "Food & Wine Lovers Guide". On Magpie Geese, recipes, cooking, traditional hunting by an Aboriginal member of the NT Parliament.

Its good to see TV in Oz talking constructively about hunting for a change.

Magpie Geese Hunt

Darwin aboriginal leader (and NT Government minister) John Ah Kit has been hunting magpie goose in season all his life. Of Chinese and aboriginal heritage, he is renowned for his cooking skills. But his specialty is magpie goose curry cooked on a camp fire.

Magpie geese are distinctive, large birds with a noisy honking call. They can reach up to a metre in height, their long neck and back are black while their belly through to the tip of their wings is white - hence the name ‘magpie’ goose. They also have a large knob on the top of their heads.

The birds and their eggs have traditionally been an important source of food for aboriginal people in northern Australia, once hunted with ironwood sticks. These days though, in season, they are shot by licensed hunters.

Magpie goose (anserana semipalmata) is a waterfowl. Shooting magpie geese is permitted in season - permits and season dates are available from the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission, tel: 08 8999 4795.

John Ah Kit is a Minister in the Northern Territory Government (he is the member for Arnhem. He was previously executive director of the Jawoyn Association and director of the Northern Land Council).

MORE ON MAGPIE GEESE from John Ah Kit

Tradition
Aboriginal people used to hunt by watching the flight patterns of the geese. In the old days they used to gather up strong ironwood sticks, about 2 foot in length. And they’d have a bundle of those and they’d sit in the paperbark trees and wait for the geese to fly in. They’d come in a particular flight. Because geese will camp in one billabong and they’ll fly out in the morning in a particular direction and they’ll also come back of an evening. So, our people used to sit in the paperbark trees with a bundle of sticks and camouflage themselves and throw the ironwood sticks at the geese with some force. And that’s how they used to get a nice feed of geese.

My generation, we all now purchase shotguns and register them, get a licence to shoot, a permit to hunt and then we shortcut the system nowadays.

Hunting
Magpie geese are pretty large birds. If you roasted one you could feed 5 adults quite comfortably. Whereas a duck, you’re flat out having a feed of that yourself. So we particularly hunt magpie geese and leave the ducks alone.

Spring is their season, when they’re fat. And the Territory government, through the Conservation Commission and Parks and Wildlife ensure that birds aren’t hunted out of season, because that’s when they’re mating and that’s when they’re poor. So, the birds migrate across to Queensland, Western Australia and they come back in the season.

They feed on little berries in the water. They’re like a little onion. A little sweet onion.
So when you see a goose with the head down in the water, that’s what they’re doing. They’re feeding on the berries. And it gives them a lovely taste.

Cooking... and eating!
I don’t mind some nice fresh fish from the ocean and there’s a lot of that. But you can go fishing any time of the year. With goose you can’t. You’re got three months (the hunting season). It’s like a duck. It has a gamey taste. We cook it in various ways. We curry it, we can stew it, we can open it up and roast it on the coals, which I’ll be doing after. You can saute the meat and marinate it. They’re beautiful eating. They’re a part of our diet up here. We treat it like a delicacy.

To curry them, you start with onions and cut the meat up... put a bit of salt and pepper to your taste; a bit of Holbrook [Worcerstershire] sauce - braise it with a bit of oil, and add a bit of curry powder. And put it on the fire and keep an eye on it. Make sure the water doesn’t boil out of it. And we add the potatoes and the onions a bit later on... when it’s almost ready. But basically that’s about it.

John Ah Kit, MLA

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John aka NitroX

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Govt get out of our lives NOW!
"I love the smell of cordite in the morning."
"A Sharp spear needs no polish"

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