Here are mum's and others' bush remedies and outback hints to cope with illnesses, cooking and other problems during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s at Natya.

Bee stings
Blue Bag.

Bloody nose
Nose sling.

Cold feet or cold bed
Heated brick wrapped in a towel.

(Two bricks always sat on the hob in readiness. Also used in a gig for a trip on a cold night.)

Cool a tin of fruit
Place in a gunny sack and swim out and lower into the dam. Tethering the bag to the crosswire.

(The mud was very cold in the deep part of the dam.)

Diarrhoea
Boiled milk containing nutmeg and/or cinnamon.

Ear ache
- A stocking or sock full of hot sand held to the affected part.
- Hot salt.

Flies
To deter flies
Rub Castor Oil around eyes and mouth.

Treat fly bite to the eye
Blue Bag.

For horses
Apply Castor Oil to horse's eyes to deter flies and rub on horse's legs to kill botfly eggs.

To keep flies out of working horses' eyes
Use chaff bag hessian, remove some of the threads so the horse can see and attach hessian across the correct part of the winkers or bridle.

Heat (in extreme hot weather)
A wet sheet hung in a doorway is a good cooling agent on a hot day.

Male libido
Fresh orange juice.

Meat
To keep freshly killed meat in hot weather, remove from gamble early in morning and wrap immediately in a mattress and blankets. Keep like this for a couple of days before cooking.

Mosquitoes
To deter mosquitoes
Burn cow dung in four-gallon drums around the area.

To deter mosquitoes from breeding in rain tanks
Pour 1 teaspoon or kerosene on top of rainwater.

Thumb Whitlow
Hot bread poultice.

Tooth ache
- A stocking or sock full of hot sand held to the affected part.
- Oil of Cloves.

Vegetables
To keep carrots and parsnips fresh bury in damp sand or soil.

Washing
Add pieces of Velvet Soap or homemade soap, grated into the copper of boiling water.