The Australian male almost invariably obtains his wife or wives either as the survivor of a married brother, or in exchange for his sisters, or later on in life for his daughters.  Occasionally also an ancient widow, whom the rightful heir does not claim, is taken possession of by some bachelor but for the most part those who have no female relatives to give in exchange have to go without wives.  Girls become wives at from eight to fourteen years.  Males are free to possess wives after ... attaining the status of young man, which they do when about eighteen years of age.  One often sees a child of eight the wife of a man of fifty.  Females until married are the property of their father or his heir, and afterwards of their husband, and have scarcely any rights.  When a man dies his widows devolve on his oldest surviving brother of the same caste as himself—­that is, full brother.  Should a man leave, say two widows, each of whom has a son who has attained the rank of a young man, then I believe each of the young men may dispose of his uterine sister and obtain a wife in exchange for her.  But should the deceased father of the young men have already obtained wives on faith of giving these daughters in marriage when of suitable age, then the contract made must be kept.  When the father is old and his sons young men, it happens sometimes that he barters females at his disposal for wives for them.[230]

Roth also reports[231] that exchange of sisters is one mode of negotiating marriage; and Haddon says that in the region of Torres Straits marriage is proposed by the woman, but the man must either pay for her or furnish a woman in return.  In Tud, after the young people have come to an agreement,

they both go home and tell their respective relatives.  “For girl more big (i.e., of more consequence) than boy.”  If the girl has a brother, he takes the man’s sister, and then all is settled.  The fighting does not appear to be a very serious business.[232]

Similarly in Maibung: 

An exchange of presents and foods was made between the contracting parties, but the bridegroom’s friends had to give the larger amount, and the bridegroom had to pay the parents for his wife, the usual price being a canoe or dugong harpoon, or shell armlet, or goods to equal value.  The man might give his sister in exchange for a wife, and thus save the purchase price.  A poor man who had no sister might perforce remain unmarried, unless an uncle took pity on him and gave him a cousin to exchange for a wife.[233]

Fison and Howitt[234] give other examples of marriage by exchange, and I have already given a description of the custom of Tualcha mura, the regular method of obtaining a wife among the central Australians, by means of which a man secures a wife for his son by making an arrangement with some other man with regard to the latter’s daughter.