Different methods have been devised to assist the gins in carrying their infants with as little inconvenience as possible when on the march.
When the babe is very young, the bark-carrier is indispensable; it is either carried under the arm or cleverly balanced upon the head. In the latter case a circular cushion or ring-pad is first placed on the head to steady the weight.
One precaution is constantly preached to young mothers, namely, not to allow the child’s legs to hang over the edge of the wooden carrier lest they grow crooked.
The tribes north of the Great Australian Bight swing the infants in skins or plaited vegetable fibre mats over their backs, the corners of the receptacles being tied in front of the mother’s neck. The nearly extinct tribes of the lower River Murray and surrounding districts, as far as western Victoria, used to adopt the same method.
When the child attains a riper age it sits in the bag-shaped receptacle, its head being the only exposed part of its body which is visible. The natives maintain that they originally learned this dodge from the kangaroo, which carries its young in a pouch.
When the child is a little older and has arrived at the toddling stage, it is allowed to ride pick-a-back style upon its mother’s back, where it secures its position by catching hold of the gin’s shoulders, neck, or breasts. Another favourite method is for the gin to straddle the child upon one of her hips and hold it there with her arm.
Occasionally the child sits upon either parent’s shoulders and hangs on to the elder’s head or hair. More for the excitement created than as a recognized way of transport, the parent, usually the father, may seat the child upon his head and hold both his arms up for the rider to clasp. After a short run with its father in this position, the child usually asks to be let down again.
The most peculiar custom is that in vogue among the Wongapitcha of the Tomkinson and other associated ranges in central Australia. The child is laid across the small of the mother’s back, face forwards, and is kept in a horizontal position by partly lying upon the gin’s buttocks; it is supported by the mother’s arms, one of which is held beneath its neck, the other beneath its knees. By adopting this method of carrying, the gin has both her hands free. The same method is adopted during the transport of a favourite dog, the women maintaining that it is a very comfortable occupation in the cold weather because the animals help to keep them warm ([Plate XVI], 1).
When off duty, that is when not on the tramp, hunting, or wood-collecting, a gin will carry, rock, and caress her offspring much like a European mother does, by tenderly clutching it in both her arms.