Damper, the traditional bushman’s bread originally made from flour, water and salt and cooked in the campfire, was first mentioned in Memoirs edited by Barron Field, judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 1817 to 1824. According to the Australian Dictionary Centre the name is derived from a Lancashire expression meaning “something that damps the appetite”. Modern recipes often include baking soda or self-raising flour, beer, butter or powdered milk.
It may well be, however, that the damper was actually invented in Sydney. Historian James Bonwick ( 1817 – 1906) refers to a First Fleeter by the name of William Bond, who had a bakery in Pitt Street, and claims the first bread he made was damper. According to Bonwick, the name was derived from Bond’s way of “damping” the fire, covering it with ashes. This preserved the red coals, ready to rekindle the fire the following morning. The damper was buried in the ashes to bake.
In the bush, it was cooked in the same way. It became a staple for swagmen, drovers, stockmen and other travellers, as flour and salt could easily be carried and all that was required was to add water. As the sugar industry developed, damper was often eaten with “co*cky’s joy” – golden syrup – which was easily transportable and cheaper than jam.
In 1946 in the Sydney Morning Herald, Bill Beatty gave the following recipe:
Take 1 lb of flour, water and a pinch of salt. Mix it into a stiff dough and knead for at least one hour, not continuously, but the longer it is kneaded the better the damper. Press with the hands into a flat cake and cook it in at least a foot of hot ashes.
There are other methods of cooking. The dough can be wrapped around a stick, which is suspended over the fire. A neater method, and one that’s commonly used today, is to cook the damper in an iron camp oven, avoiding the need to brush off the ashes before eating.
FAQs
Damper, the traditional bushman's bread originally made from flour, water and salt and cooked in the campfire, was first mentioned in Memoirs edited by Barron Field, judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales from 1817 to 1824.
What is the history of damper in Australia? ›
Damper invented in Pitt Street
The inventor was First Fleeter William Bond, Australia's first baker, whose business was in Pitt Street, and much of the early bread he made was 'damper'. His custom of 'damping' the fire – covering it with ashes to preserve the red coals for the morning – gave the bread its name.
What did aboriginals call damper? ›
Damper, also known as bush bread or seedcake, is a European term that refers to bread made by Australian Aborigines for many thousands of years. Damper is made by crushing a variety of native seeds, and sometimes nuts and roots, into a dough and then baking the dough in the coals of a fire.
What is the origin of the word damper? ›
Etymology 1
From damp (verb) + -er. The name of the type of bread is first attested in 1825, and originally likely refers to damping the appetite.
Why is damper an influence on the Australian diet? ›
Damper was very important to the first settlers in Australia when flour, salt and water were the only available ingredients for making bread. Originally the bread was cooked in the ashes of a bush fire for about ten minutes.
How old is damper? ›
Millstones have been discovered which have proven to be as old as 50,000 years. The flour was then mixed with water to make a dough and placed in hot ashes for baking. The results could be small buns, today referred to as johnny cakes, or a large loaf, known today as damper.
Is damper healthier than bread? ›
Breads like damper and soda bread can be healthier alternatives to plain white bread.
What is a damper in Australian slang? ›
Because it was the most common form of bread for bush workers in the nineteenth century, to earn your damper means to be worth your pay. First recorded in the 1820s.
What are half aboriginals called? ›
A race-based term that classified Indigenous people of mixed Indigenous and European descent. 'Half-caste' people were defined as those Indigenous people who had one Indigenous parent. Now accepted as an offensive term and no longer used to refer to Aborigines in official records.
Did Aboriginals make bread first? ›
He's talking about 36,000-year-old grindstones discovered in New South Wales, used by Aboriginal Australians to turn seeds into flours for baking. That's well ahead of other civilisations that started baking early on, like the Egyptians, who began making bread around 17,000 BC.
A dashpot, also known as a damper, is a mechanical device that resists motion via viscous friction. The resulting force is proportional to the velocity, but acts in the opposite direction, slowing the motion and absorbing energy. It is commonly used in conjunction with a spring.
What is a damper in English? ›
1. : a dulling or deadening influence. put a damper on the celebration. 2. : a device that damps: such as.
What does the idiom damper mean? ›
idiom. : to make (something) less strong, active, or exciting. His bad mood put a damper on the celebration. He was putting a bit of a damper on her spirits.
Who invented the Australian damper? ›
It may well be, however, that the damper was actually invented in Sydney. Historian James Bonwick ( 1817 – 1906) refers to a First Fleeter by the name of William Bond, who had a bakery in Pitt Street, and claims the first bread he made was damper.
What did aboriginals eat with damper? ›
Damper was eaten with dried or cooked meat or golden syrup.
What did the early Australian settlers eat? ›
The diet of the earliest settlers was monotonous and inadequate, with numerous crises of both local and imported supply. The stores issued at Sullivan's Cove were initially limited to beef or pork (later supplemented by locally caught fish, kangaroo, emu and seafood), flour or wheat and sugar.
What is Australian damper made of? ›
As explained above, this bread was made by drovers and stockmen in the early colonial history of Australia. At its most basic, damper is cooked with just flour, salt, and water. These ingredients were easy to carry on the journey, making it a perfect rest-stop meal.
What is the purpose of a damper? ›
Dampers are a lot more than simple airflow adjusters. They are integral to the control of cool, warm, high temperature, dirty, or even toxic air. They may also be used for fire protection. Dampers maintain air quality and provide worker safety, which is why they are essential for industrial airflow regulation.
What does the expression damper mean? ›
idiom. : to make (something) less strong, active, or exciting. His bad mood put a damper on the celebration. He was putting a bit of a damper on her spirits.
What happened in the 1920s in Australia? ›
Government money poured into infrastructure for electricity and running water to the home. New coal fired power stations were opened to provide that electricity and new bitumen roads were built to carry the new buses in towns and cities. Then and now jazz music is a symbol of the 1920s.
