Indigenous peoples' spiritual and physical connection to the land also extends to the stars, according to a Monash University astronomer Dr Duane Hamacher.

According to Dr Hamacher, astronomy is centre point of Indigenous culture in Australia, playing a critical role in knowledge systems.

For the last eight years Dr Duane Hamacher, an astronomer and senior research fellow at Monash Indigenous Centre has been studying the role that astronomy plays in Indigenous culture.

He describes it as a "centre point".

"It links in with all the different aspects of subsistence living, navigation, calendars, time keeping and hunting, gathering, fishing and agriculture," Dr Hamacher said.

He said the information encoded from Indigenous understanding of astronomy also tied in with social structures including kinship, marriage, ceremonies and sacred law.

"When you talk about Indigenous astronomy and what role it plays — it's a critical role and it's found all throughout, it's weaved all through Indigenous knowledge systems in Australia," Dr Hamacher said.

Astronomy plays a critical role in Indigenous culture

The Warring or Milky Way depicts smoke from the fires of the Nurrumbunguttias, the old spirits. ( Supplied: Alex Cherney )

Indigenous peoples' spiritual and physical connection to the land also extends to the stars.

"It intertwines, it isn't separated but it's linked through knowledge," said Dja Dja Wurrung man, Jida Gulpilil.

"We are living in between what the land and the stars tell us to do, it was part of the law."

Mr Gulpilil said there were different depictions of the stars from different cultures throughout the world, but the first depiction was from the Australian Aboriginals described as "the world's first astronomers".

"The stories of the stars from our people are amongst the oldest," he said.

Mr Gulpilil said the stars reflected the Aboriginal law of the land and the way people used them to guide them through the seasons.

"Certain stars appear to tell us when one season ends and another one begins," Mr Gulpilil said.

Storytelling versus science

Chargee Gnowee or Venus known as the Sister of the Sun over Lake Tyrrell in the Mallee district of north-west Victoria. ( Supplied: Alex Cherney )

Much of the knowledge is passed on to successive generations through stories, song and dance and art forms.

But is Indigenous astronomy storytelling or science?

It is both according to Dr Hamacher.

"You see these stories, you hear the stories, you see the songs and dances and they're beautiful, they're poetic but that's not really what they're meant to be, it's a great way of learning stuff and passing it on but within those traditions there is a lot of scientific knowledge," he said.

He said Indigenous people learnt how to read the stars in terms of understanding the different properties, the different colours and the various positions and applied that to their way of life.

He said whereas western science tended to compartmentalise everything in the form of a taxonomy, without sometimes understanding the connection to biology and culture, Indigenous cultures processed both the cultural and scientific information.

"Western science tends to ignore the cultural stuff, that's fine for the questions the astrophysicists are trying to ask, they should do that but when you look at that in Indigenous context it has a very different meaning, a very different application," Dr Hamacher said.

The Stephen Hawkings of Aboriginal astronomy

The first detailed record of an Indigenous cultures understanding of astronomy occurred in the 1857.

Pastoralist William Stanbridge wrote down some 40 stars constellations and other celestial phenomena of the Boorong people near Lake Tyrrell in the Mallee, in north-west Victoria.

In his paper Stanbridge wrote the Aboriginal terms and their European equivalent names.

With Boorong meaning "darkness" or "night" Mr Stanbridge wrote that they "pride themselves upon knowing more of astronomy than any other tribe".

"They prided themselves on having the best knowledge of astronomy of anybody around. They were the Steven Hawkings of Aboriginal astronomy in Victoria," Dr Hamacher said.

A carbon date taken from charcoal found at the lake is dated at 23,000 years and was found alongside burnt clay, emu eggshell, indicating human occupation.

Mr Gullpili said the Boorong people were known for their unique landscape setting around Lake Tyrrell, made up of lunettes formed thousands of years ago from wind blowing across the dry lake.

He said at certain times of the year, when the lake was still and the night was crisp and clear, the reflection of the stars on the lake were able to be read clearly.

Although the astronomical traditions vary with different language groups Dr Hamacher said there were some remarkable similarities of interpretations.

"You find a common thread throughout Aboriginal groups in Australia and indigenous groups in other parts of the world," Dr Hamacher said.