They seafarers came from Makassar, on the island of Sulawesi in modern Indonesia,, and traded primarily with Yolngu groups for centuries before European contact. 

The Macassans came in perahu – wooden sailing boats – during the monsoon winds (December– March) and returned home with the trade winds (April–June). 

The exact date of their first visit is unknown, but Dutch records from 1754 documented well-established trade between Macassans and Aboriginal people at the time. 

Some historians believe Macassan contact may date back to the 1500s or even earlier, based on oral histories, archaeological evidence and linguistic traces. Aboriginal rock paintings in Arnhem Land depict Macassan ships, men in headscarves and trepang fishing. 

The Macassans came for trepang (sea cucumber or bêche-de-mer), which is highly valued in Chinese markets for its use in cooking and medicine as an aphrodisiac. They also traded pearls and pearl shell, which was carved for buttons, hair combs and inlays for wooden boxes. 

By the mid-19th century, the fleet from Makassar that visited Arnhem Land each year was supplying about 900 tonnes of trepang – about one-third of the Chinese demand. 

Although the Macassans did not settle in Arnhem Land but they did have a huge influence on Yolngu society and ritual. They introduced calico, tobacco and smoking pipes, and words that are still in use today, such as rupia (money). 

Most importantly, they introduced metal. Metal blades, knives and axes made everyday life easier for Yolngu, from cutting food to making large dugout canoes and complex wooden sculptures. 

The months that the Makasar spent harvesting in the coastal waters of northern Australia were busy. Fishermen speared the trepang from their boats or dived down to spike them with weighted harpoons. 

On shore, trepang were gutted and boiled in sea water in iron cauldrons, then buried in hot sand to cool slowly. After some time, they were dug up and their chalky skin washed away with salt water. 

In 1902-1903, it was reported that 10 Macassans from a wrecked trepang vessel were massacred near Cape Wilberforce, the events being reported by the only survivor, who was later unable to identify either the location or the perpetrators for an investigating party. The file mentions Aboriginal people speaking Malay. 

By the end of the 19th century, the visits to northern Australia to gather trepang were declining and in 1906, the South Australian government, which controlled the NT at the time, banned Macassan trepanging, mainly to protect Australian fishing interests. This decision ended centuries of contact between Macassans and Aboriginal Australians. 

In response to a recent surge in illegal fishing, the Australian Border Force launched Operation Lunar, a multi-agency initiative to protect Australia’s northern waters, including biosecurity risks from unquarantined Indonesian fishing boats. 

In a record seizure off the Arnhem Coast in December 2024, authorities confiscated 3.2 tonnes of illegally fished trepang from Indonesian vessels. A second illegal fishing crew near Money Shoal was caught with 720 kilograms. 

Trepang is a premium product and can reach up to $600 per kilo. 

The Northern Territory Government Department of Fisheries website says that commercial fishing is restricted to six licences, which can be bought, sold and leased. Tasmanian Seafoods holds all six commercial Territory trepang licences. 

Trepang has a very mild, almost neutral taste. It’s gelatinous, slightly chewy and meaty, often described as soft yet firm or a cross between jelly and tofu. Northern Territory wild caught high-grade dried trepang can have a slightly sweet aftertaste when rehydrated and prepared well. Often compared to abalone in some dishes, it takes on the sauces and spices it is cooked in. 

Trepang ticks all the boxes for the Territory and it should be highlighted as a genuine opportunity for expansion. It has a high value, low environmental impact, strong cultural and economic alignment with Indigenous communities, and proven aquaculture success. It aligns perfectly with the Territory’s goals of growing sustainable, export-oriented aquaculture industries. 

After all, the humble sea cucumber from the Northern Territory was officially Australia’s first exported product.