How did aboriginal people often identify times of the year?

Australia's aboriginal people identified different times of the year, or seasons, by several factors, depending on where they lived.

The most obvious way was by the changes in temperature and the rainfall patterns. In the south, rainfall was lower in summer and higher in winter, with the reverse in the north and the east. Temperatures throughout the continent differ according to the seasons, even in the far north.

The aborigines also identified the times of the year by the flowers and fruits produced by the native plants. Different plants flowered at different times of the year. In conjunction with this, the movement of native animals differed with the changing times of the year.