This stamp pack contains all stamps from the Healing – The Art of Bush Medicine stamp issue presented in a high-quality folder.

First Nations peoples on this land have always practised customary forms of healing. Their complex cultural knowledge and use of natural resources have ensured their survival for some 65,000 years. Australia’s many First Nations peoples are defined by distinct cultural boundaries that are rooted in their close relationships to Country and associated Jukurrpa (creation stories). In healing practice, these ever‑present cultural elements operate in concert with the particularities of the environment, which determine the resources available for use in bush medicine. Traditional healers and certain elders hold great knowledge of bush medicine and continue to practise this form of healing. Their expertise ranges across medicinal sources; when to gather materials; what parts of plants to use and for what; and how to prepare and apply remedies. Bush medicines often have anti-bacterial or anti-inflammatory effects, and their preparation and application can take many forms. This stamp issue recognises bush medicine through contemporary Aboriginal art. The stamps feature two remarkable etchings by the late Judy Napangardi Watson (c. 1925–2016), a senior artist from Central Australia and a member of Warlukurlangu Artists of Yuendumu, in the Northern Territory. Her Ngalyipi Jukurrpa (Snake Vine Dreaming) (2010) depicts a plant used for both ceremony and bush medicine. Traditionally, parts of the snake vine (Tinospora smilacina) were crushed and tied around a person’s head to treat a bad headache. Snake vine has also been used to treat snake bite, inflammatory disorders, wounds and skin sores. Kurrkara Jukurrpa (Dogwood Tree Dreaming) (2010) depicts a creation story in which ancestral women sit to rest under the shade of the dogwood tree (Eremophila longifolia). The crushed leaves of dogwood, also known as emu bush, can be rubbed directly on the skin to heal sores and ease body aches. The liquid of brewed leaves can also be used to wash skin sores and to treat a cold.