Australian Aboriginal rock carving of great age. Figure with raised arms holding a type of boomerang.  Examples are seen not far from Newcastle.

Well, it's Sunday isn't it?
Timeless culture clothes a modern redeemer. A Koori inspired makeover of a traditional pius object.

A dune extends across the horizon on the old 'shore' of Lake Mungo in the National Park. This lunette was dubbed the 'walls of China' and while it is a special rather than a sensational sight it holds buried 'treasures' from pre-historic times.
Over the centuries, the wind has carried layers of deposits and where these are eroded are revealed rare human and animal finds.
Also, the site contains more than 450 well-preserved footprints of groups who lived at the height of the last ice age in an area, in the SW of the state, now declared overall as the "Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area.
The traditional tribal groups of the area: the Barkindji, Mutthi Mutthi and Nglyampaa. (ref Balranald Shire Council)

Further into the Goulburn Valley, the National Parks has provided a rest area and a story board that tells about Phippes Cutting which is a hand-made road, part of which can be explored nearby.
This Wollemi National Park is included in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage.
The area is within the traditional country of the Wanaruah Aboriginal people.
Horse transport is associated with the horse studs in the district. Widden Valley seems hidden away.

Two Bunya Pine trees grow near this home built in Georgian style in Morpeth and believed to be called Closebourne built in 1829 (which is very early by our standards). In this unshelted position the trees have become caricatures of more robust specimens.
The Bunya Pine, Araucaria Bidwilli, is indigenous to a small area north of Brisbane, north-east of Dalby and around the green Bunya Mountains where tall stands can be seen and walked amongst.

The female fruit cones are very large (football sized) and very heavy and contain segments with 50 to 100 edible nuts. The Aborigines would gather in those mountains to feast on this rich source of food. The taste is ok and the fruit can be used to make flour.

The avenue of trees in the photo on the right leads from this house to an Anglican church. Early on, the property, Closebourne, had gone to the Bishop of Newcastle, William Tyrell, and the church has maintained a large presence there over the years. A Theological College and Conference Centre grew there in time. The town would not be the same without that cluster, the trees and the simple, open, green setting.

These documents are in poor condition but relate to injustice over the "Stolen Wages" where the Aborigines, in all of the states, went unpaid or underpaid for their employment.

Below is a form from the Protector of Aboriginals which is an agreement about an Aboriginal stockman from Woorabinda Aboriginal Settlement who went to a grazing property in 1942 to work for two pound per week of which fifteen shillings was pocket money and one pound five shillings was paid, in trust, to the Superintendent at Woorabinda. A receipt covers those payments made by the employer in instalments.

However, Aborigines found that it was difficult to claim such wages. They did not necessarily understand the procedure and it is claimed that deposits were siphoned off. Thumb prints and pass books were unmanageable They feel cheated.
They worked in many roles such as those of domestics and farm hands. As young teenagers they were ordered out of the missions into the workplace to fend for themselves in instances that are reported and were heard recently on ABC radio. This occured up until the ninteen sixties and beyond.
The Woorabinda settlement still operates in Queensland; we looked last time we were in the area.

Aboriginal mythology is incredibly old and an Awabakal Dreaming Story reveals that (the landmark) Nobbys is a site of unrest.
A banished Kangaroo hides at Nobbys and when he gets upset and restless the rocks fall and the ground trembles. "The Awabakal people believe this is what causes an earthquake."
A series of Dreaming stories has been recorded about Muloobinba, the place of the sea ferns, now called Newcastle and are published in print and on CD by Aborigianl Multimedia Productions 2001.

An extended family or mob, as they like to say in some contexts, of Aboriginal Australians gathered at a festival. I asked permission to take a photo. The weather was very hot and a long wait was ahead before the show got going.

Flower stall.


Mununja the butterfly as told by Don Bell with bilingual text and commentary by Chris Illert. ACT & District Aboriginal Council of Elders Association Inc. In the aborginal language of SE Australia. An extract reproduced for study purposes.

This work explains how it uses an alphabet of 18 characters comprised of 4 vowels and 14 consonants. In layman's terms it explains there's no e or o, nor consonants c f h j k p q s t v x z.

Horseshoe Beach, Newcastle Harbour, Nobbys in the distance.


From Mununja the butterfly as told by Aboriginal elder, Don Bell with bilingual text by Chris Illert. ACT and District Aboriginal Council of Elders Association. Inc.
The first story book in traditional Aboriginal language from South Eastern Australia.
Reproduced here to review.