‘THE PAST MATTERS’ Rock Art & Indigenous Heritage Workshop

The Hunter (Living) Histories Initiative organised a one-day workshop on Friday 20th May 2016 on heritage preservation approaches with a particular focus on Rock Art and Indigenous heritage. The following provides some background in planning the day, and overview of the workshop supported by Cultural Collections, University of Newcastle Library & the Hunter (Living) Histories Initiative.

WHY HAVE A WORKSHOP?
Cultural Collections at the UON has been collecting, archiving and sharing knowledge about Aboriginal cultural heritage for many decades. For 20 years Gionni di Gravio (University archivist) has supported research of Aboriginal cultural heritage and rock art in the Hunter Valley. Indigenous cultural heritage has been the concern of academics and the alumni of the university and the wider community. Addressing these concerns the Coal River Working Party (now the “Hunter (Living) Histories Initiative”) was established in 2003, with the aims to discuss and share knowledge about Aboriginal cultural heritage. The interest in the Aboriginal cultural heritage in the region was elevated due to events that unfolded at the KFC site in Hunter Street, Newcastle, when Aboriginal artefacts were found, at the heart of Newcastle. See HERE for further information.

The case attracted wide public attention and interest in Aboriginal heritage. It also raised issues regarding the Aboriginal Heritage Act in general and protection of discovered artefacts in particular. The organising group’s understanding was that in general, there has been very little in the way of education around Aboriginal cultural heritage. However, Amir Mogadam’s interest and specialisation in conservation, and predominantly rock art prompted the workshop. We thought would be a great opportunity to join with others (with experience in Indigenous rock art) to have a workshop specific to this area, as well as have other speakers (on other aspects of Aboriginal heritage).

We didn’t call for papers! But saw a need for a workshop. We identified presenters known to us, many of them had already presented at CRWP/HHI meetings.

WORKSHOP AIMS
– Better understand existing knowledge of Indigenous cultures
– Share knowledge about Aboriginal cultural heritage/rock art
– Bring individuals and communities together who care about Indigenous cultural heritage
– Ideas for future projects to be shared
– Opportunity to network and form collaborations
– Support Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities to build new knowledge about Indigenous culture
– Promote care of Australia’s ancient culture

PREPARATION FOR WORKSHOP
-Liaising with Aboriginal communities. Key person was Dr Greg Blyton from UON Wollotuka Institute. Invited Prof John Maynard to speak (unfortunately not available).
– Workshop promoted via email to Aboriginal groups and key representatives e.g. Guraki committee of Newcastle Council, YAPUG pathway program.
– UONCC WordPress was primarily used to promote speakers, other social media was UONCC Facebook, twitter and Lost Newcastle Facebook (over 20 000 followers).
– Handout available on the day with bio’s on each speaker and contact details.
– Morning/afternoon tea, and lunch (funded by UON Library)
– Workshop was free to attend, we wanted to attract students and others who may otherwise not have come along, due to the cost.

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE DAY
– 55-60 attendees, from government depts. e.g. Office of Environment & Heritage, Aboriginal people working in gov. depts., various Aboriginal groups and communities, UON staff/academics, students, general community members, professional architects and archaeologists.
– The MC was Dr Bernie Curran discussed the background of the workshop, and the aims
– Entire day was recorded, including question time and general discussion to be posted on UONCC WordPress.
– There was a lot of networking going on over morning/afternoon tea and lunch.

KEY DISCUSSION POINTS
– Recent perspectives in rock art management and advocacy
– Indigenous perspectives on the cultural heritage and its preservation
– The importance of the Australian rock art and its position in the global context
– Methods of rock art documentation
– Future perspective in the preservation of rock art.
– How to make Indigenous heritage meaningful and relevant (planning, all communities)
– Why it is important to care for Australia’s cultural heritage
– Global significance of Australia’s Aboriginal cultural heritage
– Can new technology (virtual & augmented reality) help raise awareness and be an educational tool in terms of Aboriginal heritage.

OTHER OBSERVATIONS
– One attendee was concerned with the lack of consultation with Aboriginal communities in terms of rock art documentation, interpretation and making publicly available.
– Attendees were very respectful of others viewpoints.
– There was plenty of time for discussion after each speaker (30 mins + 10 mins worked well)- there were no pressure to wind up sessions, and program ran to time.
– Overheard discussions during breaks about some of the difficulties and hurdles working on Aboriginal heritage projects, and the fragmentation within Aboriginal communities, the differing viewpoints in terms of Aboriginal history, ‘who owns’ – not always seen as heritage to be shared.

FEEDBACK
Feedback on the day was positive, attendees seemed to enjoy the workshop and encouraged in terms of new knowledge available.“Congratulations on planning and hosting the Rock Art symposium on Friday.  It was a great success.  We need more events like this.” – From UON academic.
“Enjoyed the two papers I was able to attend, and meeting other participants. Thanks for organising a great event.” – From UON academic. “It was a great workshop. I enjoyed the day and the company.” – Educator (via Facebook). “What a great day Bravo! We need more workshops like this saturated with significance!”- Heritage advocate (via Facebook)

WORKSHOP PROGRAM
Registration 8-00am for 8.30 start

CHAIR Dr Bernie Curran

Dr Amir Mogadam
Kulturpolitiks, the Question of Conservation
Dr. Amir Mogadam is a University of Newcastle’s conservator. Amir works on the topics of conservation, Middle Eastern Studies and history, and prior to 2008 worked on international projects in preservation of world heritage sites. His works have been presented and published in the prestigious international forums in Europe and New Zealand. Contact amir.mogadam@newcastle.edu.au

Dr Greg Blyton
Conservation from an Indigenous perspective
Dr Greg Blyton is an Indigenous senior lecturer, historian and researcher at the Wollotuka Institute, University of Newcastle, where he specialises in Aboriginal history, health and social justice. He has worked extensively throughout many parts of Australia as a registered nurse and health worker, and is a strong advocate of reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. Contact Greg.blyton@newcastle.edu.au

Gionni di Gravio & Dr Ann Hardy
Indigenising the City: Embodying Aboriginal knowledge and wisdom into planning frameworks to create sustainable cities of the future
Gionni Di Gravio is the archivist for the University of Newcastle’s Cultural Collections based in Auchmuty Library, 2016 marks 20 years as an archivist at the UON. He is the chair of Hunter (Living) Histories Initiative/Coal River Working Party and councillor of the Australian Society of Archivists. Contact Gionni.digravio@newcastle.edu.au
Dr Ann Hardy is Historian, Creative Industries & Digital Humanities Projects Co-ordinator at the UON’s Cultural Collections. She is a former social worker and has a strong commitment to historical and archival research of the Hunter region, with new digital media platforms, and the oral history tradition. Currently co-ordinates the Hunter (Living) Histories Initiative/Coal River Working Party.

Dr Jillian Huntley
Colouring colonisation – the emergence of rock art and modern human dispersal to Australia
Dr Jillian Huntley is an archaeologist who specialises in the scientific analysis of rock art and the shelter/cave environments that house it. Based in Newcastle, Jillian is engaged in ongoing multidisciplinary projects across northern Australia and Indonesia, and conducts rock art research and conservation projects along the east coast, particularly within the Sydney Basin. Her talk is based on recent research she has undertaken on the early human records of Sahul and Wallacea.

ABSTRACT: Australia is the earliest end point for modern human dispersal out of Africa more than 50 thousand years ago. Our Australasian region has been at the forefront of early finds of highly complex behaviors such as deep sea fishing and the production of figurative art 35-40 thousand years ago. Australia has a globally unique record, created exclusively by fully behaviorally modern people at the same time as the ‘symbolic revolution’ in the European Upper Paleaolithic. Australasia therefore provides a unique opportunity to test prevailing ideas about the timing and materials signature of fully modern humanity. In this presentation I will review evidence for the emergence and dispersal of rock art globally and explore the role recent discoveries in Indonesia and northern Australia as a current focus for human evolutionary research. Contact huntleyj@tpg.com.au

Dr Bernadette Drabsch
Visualising and Contextualising the rock art sites of the Hunter: Conservation through Education
Dr Bernadette Drabsch has an academic background in Ancient History, Classical Languages and Natural History Illustration and has volunteered on archaeological digs in Jordan, which lead to her PhD of the ancient wall paintings from Teleilat Ghassul, Jordan’. She currently teaches the theoretical component of the Natural History Illustration and has developed course curriculum in this area. Contact Bernadette.Drabsch@newcastle.edu.au

Emeritus Professor John Fryer
Recording Rock Art: Techniques and Experiences Locally and in UK
John Fryer is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Newcastle. He came to the UON 1974, was promoted to Professor in 1991 later became Head of School of Engineering. Since retiring 12 yrs ago, he has undertaken forensic investigations for the NSW Police Force and other law enforcement agencies using his academic speciality involving close-range photogrammetry. Contact john.fryer@newcastle.edu.au

Materials Related to Emeritus Professor Fryer’s Presentation (These materials have also been incorporated into the video of the presentation):

Powerpoint: Recording and Modeling an Aboriginal Cave Painting: With and Without Laser Scanning by John Fryer, Jim Chandler & Sabry El-Hakim (19.3MB)

Powerpoint: Recording Petroglyphs by Dr Jim Chandler, Loughborough University, UK & Professor John Fryer, University of Newcastle, Australia. (4.5MB)

The Northumberland and Durham Rock Art Project by Paul Bryan, Metric Survey Team Leader & Head of the Photogrammetric Unit English Heritage, York. (13.1MB PDF)

AutoDesk 123D Catch: How accurate is it? by Jim Chandler and John Fryer (192KB PDF)

Emu Cave (Image Courtesy of John Fryer)

Emu Cave (Image Courtesy of John Fryer)

 

Zebedee-CSIRO Hand Held Laser Scanner

Phone Scanner app from ETH Zurich

Well, T., Hancock, G., Fryer, J. “Using laboratory simulations and gravestone measurements to estimate rates of sandstone weathering in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia.” Paper submitted to Environmental Geology, 2007.

Tim Davidson
Virtual Heritage: Experiencing the past through Virtual Reality
Timothy Davidson is Creative Director of Virtual Perspective, he has over 10 yrs experience within the 3D animation, visualisation and digital media fields and is currently exploring how virtual reality and augmented reality can be applied to the fields of archaeology, anthropology, history and cultural heritage. Contact tim@virtualperspective.com.au

BONUS Presentation – Carol Carter (with Allan Chawner) – Photographic Reflections of Aboriginal Sites across three decades

Since the workshop we were contacted by Nicholas Hall (Indigenous Rock Art Workshop Co-ordinator) from the National Museum of Australia about ways to look ahead to new possibilities for collaborative efforts from various organisations and institutions nationally. Nicholas informed that a workshop will be held at the Museum on 29 June 2016, and of a book  Rock Art: A Cultural Treasure at Risk. How we can protect the valuable and vulnerable heritage of rock art by the Getty Conservation Institute. Nicholas is contactable at  Nicholas.hall@nma.gov.au

Members of the Public are welcome to attend this free session

Contact Ann Hardy 49215824 or 0438509139 on ann.hardy@newcastle.edu.au .

For location see MAP for location of Auchmuty Library.

Kindly supported by Cultural Collections, University of Newcastle Library & the Hunter (Living) History Initiative

Other Sources

UON Indigenous Online Resource –  The Wollotuka Institute has endeavoured to provide staff, students and community with a comprehensive list of online resources to provide the user with a greater knowledge base, understanding and awareness of Indigenous cultures, lifestyles and issues.

Yengo Country:A place of cultural and spiritual awakening.  Garry Jones, 2009.

African Rock Art: research, digital outputs and heritage management conference, 4th-5th November 2016, British Museum. For further information visit website: www.africanrockartconference.com

Semantics of “soul”

GRIT presents

a paper by Dr Jim Wafer

on

Semantics of “soul”
in the Hunter River-Lake Macquarie language

21 June 2011 3.30 – 5pm
Cultural Collections Auchmuty Library

Lancelot Threlkeld, to whom we owe most of our knowledge of the Hunter River-Lake Macquarie language (HRLM), recorded almost no indigenous texts, but devoted himself to scripture translation. From a linguist’s perspective this might perhaps be considered a deficiency, since it deprives us of the opportunity to understand HRLM verbal art as it was practised by the speakers themselves. Nonetheless, it gives us the chance to investigate semantically HRLM’s approaches to the issues of human subjectivity with which the scriptures deal, and these are less likely to be encountered in indigenous stories and songs.

Threlkeld uses two different words to translate “soul”: maray and minki. The first of these occurs more often as a translation of “spirit”, and the latter as a translation of “sorrow, sympathy, repentance”. Both words are polysemous in HRLM, and the present paper will demonstrate the range of their allusions, in the context of Threlkeld’s translations, and attempt to draw some broader inferences about the HRLM understanding of subjective processes.

Dr Jim Wafer

Dr Jim Wafer is a member of the Endangered Languages Documentation, Theory and Application (ELDTA) group at the University of Newcastle, and has worked with Australian Aboriginal languages for the past 35 years. He is currently collaborating with Professor Hilary Carey on an edition of Lancelot Threlkeld’s translations into the Hunter River-Lake Macquarie language.

A reply to Dr Wafer’s paper will be delivered by Mr Raymond Kelly, Associate Lecturer at the Wollotuka Institute.

New theory for location of 1820 Lycett Painting

New Theory may put location of painting in perspective by Damon Cronshaw

Link to the Newcastle Herald online article is here.

If you are interested in viewing Joseph Lycett’s complete album of paintings please visit the National Library of Australia’s site:

http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an2962715

If you can identify the possible locations depicted in any of these paintings please do not hesitate to contact us here at the University of Newcastle on archives@newcastle.edu.au

If you are interested in learning more about the Aboriginal history and culture of the region please consult the following University of Newcastle sites:

Coal River Working Party Dreaming: http://coalriver.wordpress.com/dreaming/

Awaba: http://www.newcastle.edu.au/centre/awaba/awaba/group/amrhd/awaba/

Virtual Sourcebook for Aboriginal Studies in the Hunter Region
http://www.newcastle.edu.au/service/archives/aboriginalstudies/index.html

The Antiquities of the Wollombi District

Mount Yengo (Yunge) on the 29th January 2009 (Representation)

Day Shift – 17/02/2009 – 02:10 PM
Presenter: Carol Duncan
Producer: Jeanette McMahon
Interviewee: Gionni Di Gravio, Archivist, Newcastle University

University of Newcastle Archivist Gionni Di Gravio discusses his recent field trip to the Wollombi District to view and examine Aboriginal Rock art in the area. At a Wollombi Gathering held on the weekend to a packed audience at Laguna House he and a number of speakers from the University of Newcastle and the University of Sydney presented their work on the Antiqities of the Wollombi District and its great importance to the region. It is our Uluru and needs to be properly researched, documented and managed to safeguard it from natural erosion and vandalism. To illustrate his presentation he used exerpts from the work of Lieutenant Breton, who travelled through the area in the 1830s. For today’s broadcast he has brought in an original edition of Breton’s work and Issac Nathan 1848 work containing an Aboriginal song documented by Eliza Dunlop in the Wollombi District in the 1840s.

Broadcast Notes:

On Thursday 29 January 2009 Amir Rezapour Mogadam (Conservator) and myself were asked to accompany representatives of the Binghai Aboriginal Sites Team to examine Rock art sites in the Yengo Sandstone Country (Wollombi district).

This region is arguably home to the richest source of rock art in the world, and Yengo is as important and significant a site as Uluru is to Central Australia.

Unfortunately the area is subject to a number of ongoing threats (natural and man-made) and  we were asked to advise on conservation issues relating to the extensive rock art of the region with a view to forging closer ties with the University’s research and teaching capabilities.

A member of the team also addressed the first meeting of Coal River Working Party on 2 February 2009.

Mr Garry Jones briefed the CRWP on Yengo National Park’s history and highlighted the need for better management and conservation of the area. There is a need to record and protect this area which is rich in Aboriginal Rock Art. Mr Jones asked that the CRWP support the fostering of closer links between the University of Newcastle and organisations with an involvement or interest in the park, including the Wollombi Valley Arts Council, land owners and Aboriginal groups. The University of Newcastle could provide a scholarship for a post graduate course in Aboriginal Art Identification and Recording. It was resolved that the CRWP would investigate fostering closer ties between the University and the Binghai (Brother) Aboriginal Sites Team for the future teaching and research possibilities of the Yengo National Park.

A ‘Library of Alexandria’ in stone.

I was invited to speak at a Wollombi community gathering on the 14th February 2009. The MC of the evening, Mr Claude Aliotti, described the extensive Aboriginal cave and rock art of the region as a ‘library’. He is certainly correct. It is a library in stone, full of stone books, just like a petrified library of Alexandria, right here on our door step. (It could be called our Paleo-Biblioteca Wollombiana) Whereas, the original Library of Alexandria was completely destroyed by a series of despotic raids, ours still remains, but unfortunately not free from attack.

What follows is a precis of my presentation to the local community.

THE ANTIQUITIES OF THE WOLLOMBI DISTRICT

My personal account of this magical landscape

I work in the Archives of the University of Newcastle where we hold important research documents relating to the Newcastle and the Hunter Region. I rarely get out of the ‘dungeon’ and so it’s a real treat when I’m invited to visit some of these important areas that I have seen represented in the documentary accounts in books, articles and manuscripts.

One such opportunity arose the 29 January 2009 when our conservator Amir Rezapour Mogadam and I were asked to accompany Garry Jones and representatives of the Binghai Aboriginal Sites Team to examine Rock art sites in the Yengo Sandstone Country (Wollombi district). Amir had done his Masters on lichens and the Team were very interested in advice on what could be done about lichens on the sandstone engravings.

There is no way to capture the beauty of the place.

Mount Yengo (Yunge)

We arrived at dusk and made our way to the Northern Map Site or Flat Rock at the Finchley Park Reserve.

Mount Yengo (Yunge) on the 29th January 2009 (Representation)

There is no way I could capture (with my limited camera skills) how beautiful the sight of the crescent moon over Mount Yango with Venus to its upper right was to behold. I’ve managed to construct one as best as I can from an Astronomy program that can reproduce the heavens from any point on the planet. There was a fortunate gap in the trees to allow Venus to shine through, as the sun was descending into the west. Yengo was in an errie glow, and the scene gave you the impression it was just for you to see.

We walked a short distance to what is known as the Northern map site and began photographing the engravings.

Sky Hero

Emu Track

Spirit Being (full engraving)

Spirit Being Engraving

Emu Woman Engraving

Brush Turkey Engraving

Bird Engraving

Anthropomorphic figure

At night, under lamp light the engravings really came alive, and features that were invisible during the day, became easy to see. At night, with the blazing starry heavens overhead, the Sky Hero’s angular mouth became fascinating.

Sky Hero

I became fascinated by the Orion constellation above us, and began to see similarities between this figure and the stars of that constellation above. But after a number of futile attempts to put it together as I saw it that night, one needs to remember that we have to turn our constellations upside down, and join the dots in a different way to fully appreciate the figure as it impressed the Aboriginal artisans that crafted the original engraving. Look especially at the mouth (formed by what looks to be the stars below Rigel, and also those of Orion’s belt (Mintaka, Alnilam and Alnitak), his elongated form clutching a boomerang, his legs represented by the stars Bellatrix and Betelgeuse and his privates made up of the pointed constellation of stars ending in Meissa between them.

Sky Hero in Orion

Another that fascinated me was a small engraving of a turtle/foetus creature kneeling towards Yango. Again I kept looking at the magnificent starry sky and thinking of the Pleiades.

Small kneeling figure

Pleiades

It would be interesting to map out this site with the heavens above and see whether there is a correlation. As the stars were in equal competition the engravings for our attention I could not believe that they could not have been created without the sky as some inspiration.

Unfortunately there was also later engravings there from ‘Trace’ and what looked like a bull dozer. What will these ‘engravings’ tell future generations of our culture and beliefs?

Trace

Bull Dozer tracks

The next day, the starry heavens disappeared and the I woke up to a sky full of clouds. Mount Yengo had disappeared, I couldn’t find it,  and I was convinced that this place was a really magical place. It is on a parr with anything anywhere in the world. It is our own Etruscan tomb landscape on our doorstep and much much more.

It was a magnificent experience, but the desperation of our hosts at the damage that was occurring out there through ignorance and malicious vandalism was profound.

We are all horrified by what the Taliban did to the stone Buddhas in Afganistan, but we have our own versions running around the countryside here in our equivalent Uluru and its time that something happens because we owe it to those ancient artisans to look after the place as we have become its custodians now.

Back on the 10 June 2008 two rising sun colar badges were discovered in one of the mass burial pits being excavated in Fromelles. In these pits lay the remains of Australian and British troops. In an inspiring and heartfelt gesture the owner of the land, Madame Marie Paule Demassiet, donated this land (sacred to another people) to be a permanent memorial.  We need to find a similar spirit here for this country. It is a living library and an archive in stone. It is a stone book.

The Historical Accounts

Wollombi is the place where the waters meet and forms a geographical dividing line between a number of Aboriginal tribes Awabakal, Wanarua, Darkinung and Kamilaroi. The early accounts don’t name the tribes, Breton mentions those of the ‘Wollombi’, ‘Illarong’ and ‘Comleroy’ (or Kamilaroi – with whom they had battles).

The Tribe who lived at Wollombi was probably the Darkinung, but there is also evidence that Awabakal people had close relationship with the area as well.  According to Mrs Eliza Dunlop who lived in Wollombi during the 1840s their leader was Boni. (Gunson-Threlkeld p.7)

The beginnings of Wollombi lie in Governor Macquarie’s 1818 decision to commence a settlement at Wallis Plains (Maitland). He chose John Howe, Chief Constable at Windsor to lead expedition to find an overland route, reaching the Hunter River just above Jerrys Plains in 1819. John Howe’s second journey in 1820 reached the Hunter River via Bulga and Cockfighter’s Creek (lower part of Wollombi Brook – named after one of the horses in the expedition) and discovered Patrick’s Plains (Singleton). In 1823 Howe’s Valley Road was begun and began to move settlers into the region. In 1825 Surveyor Heneage Finch found overland route from Wiseman’s Ferry through Wollombi to Wallis Plains. During the 1820s and 1830s work proceeded on the Great North Road, by 1831 the stretch through Wollombi was opened.

During this period around in the early 1830s Lieutenant William Henry Breton R.N. traveled through the region. He published his account in Excursions in New South Wales, Western Australia, and Van Dieman’s Land during … 1830,1,2,3. (1833)

Breton’s overall opinion?

“Speaking collectively be confessed I entertain very little more respect for the aborigines of New Holland than for the ourang outang in fact I can discover no great difference.” (Breton 196).

This appears harsh until we read earlier:

“Their manners are scarcely formed yet if I may judge from the behaviour of one of them he was trying to teach me the mode of throwing the spear but observing me to be somewhat clumsy he took it out of my hand remarking at the same time Oh you d– d stupid This was not polite in the barbarian but so long as the natives learn their English from the convicts I fear we shall get no better language from them I am not at all convinced that this black intended to make use of an improper expression” (Breton, 91)

Breton mentioned that around 60 natives accompanied them on their travels while they were passing through Wollombi.

“These people consisted of two tribes one from Illarong the other belonging to the Wallombi and were on their way to wage war with another tribe.” (Breton, 91)

“We found the Wollombi natives very friendly towards us but they seemed to have taken a much greater liking to some swine belonging to the gentlemen with whom I was staying; of these they slew several and were bearing them off in triumph, when to their extreme dissatisfaction, not to say dismay, the superintendant made all possible haste in pursuit with his establishment of dogs. One of these sable stealers of pork was driven into a tree, and another was fairly run down and brought to bay, crying out all the time in a most unbecoming manner; an evident proof that he did not belong to the sect of the stoics. The superintendant took great care that the dogs did them no injury, his object being only to frighten the depredators; and having recaptured his pigs..” (Breton, 198)

He then cites another example of tribe that left a shepherd to die on an ant hill:

“A neighbouring tribe killed, in 1830, more than 100 sheep belonging to a settler who has a farm near Wallombi; they then bound the shepherd hand and foot, left him upon an ant’s nest ( a bed that Guatimozin himself would not have envied him) and then departed. The man was rescued before he had sustained any injury, and most fortunately for him for these ants sting and bite in a way that would astonish any one, as I know from experience, having twice suffered from their attacks, to my great annoyance, for many days afterwards. The large black ant can cause a pain almost as acute as that of a wasp! A party of soldiers, or dismounted police, were sent after the offenders of whom they killed several.” (Breton, 199)

While noting some sympathy his honesty is brutal:

‘But on the other hand, they should not be permitted to harrass the settlers with impunity: we have taken possession of their country, and are determined to keep it; if, therefore they destroy the settlers or their property they must expect that the law of retaliation will be put in force, and that reprisals will be committed upon themselves. This has rarely been the case, as they have been wantonly butchered and some of the Christian (?) whites consider it a pastime to go out and shoot them. I questioned a person from Port Stephens concerning the disputes with the aborigines of that part of the colony, and asked him if he, or any of his companions, had ever come into collision with them as I had heard there prevailed much enmity between the latter and the people belonging to the establishment? His answer was “Oh we used to shoot them like fun!”’ (Breton 200-201).

Elsewhere he recorded a mystifying description of a Kamilaroi burial ceremony

“In an affray that took place on the Wollombi between two tribes, four men and two women of the Comleroy tribe were slain; they were buried at a very pretty spot in the following manner. The bodies of the men were placed on their backs in the form of a cross, head to head, each bound to a pole by bandages round the neck, middle, knees, and ancles, the pole being behind the body; the two women had their knees bent up and tied to the neck, while their hands were bound to their knees; they were then placed so as to have their faces downwards: in fact they were literally packed up in two heaps of earth, each of the form of a cone, about three feet high and rather removed from the cross; for their idea of the inferiority of the women will not allow them to be interred with the men. The neatness and precision observed with respect to the cross and cones is very remarkable, both being raised to the same height and so smoothly raked down, that it would puzzle the nicest observer to discover the slighest inequality in the form. The trees for some distance around, to the height of fifteen or twenty feet, are carved over with grotesque figures meant to represent kangaroos, emus, opossums, snakes, &c. with rude representations also of the different weapons they use. Round the cross they made a circle, about thirty feet in diameter, from which all rubbish was carefully removed, and another was made outside the first so as to leave a narrow interval between them: within this interval there was laid pieces of bark, each piece touching the rest, in the same way that tiles do. The devil, they say, will not leap over the bark, and cannot walk under it!

Such evident pains and labour to make a place of sepulture, struck me as being not a little extraordinary in a people so very indifferent about most other matters; but I could discover no satisfactory reason why such care had been taken of these members of their tribe. They said it was the way in which they usually buried their dead, but this practice is by no means common. Four Waddies (clubs) were stuck into the earth in the centre of the cross; and these they informed me were left in order that the deceased might have some arms, “when they jump again,” so as to be enabled to drive away the devil, and prevent him from taking them again into the earth! (Breton 203-205)

This illustration of a native burial from Oxley’s Journal could give you an idea of what these things looked like:

Native Burial Mound

Illustration from: Journals of two expeditions into the interior of New South Wales, undertaken by order of the British government in the years 1817-18 by John Oxley (London : John Murray, 1820)

When I enquired about this, I was told that they would bury their dead in a termite nest, taking the top off, placing the dead within, and putting the top back on, and they would smooth it over, the insects would seal it up again.  This is also interesting to investigate further, as to whether any of these burial mounds still exist.

The Aboriginal World of the Wollombi District

Most of the notes below come from a magnificent book by Bill Needham back in 1981 entitled [Cover title] Burragurra: Where the Spirit Walked. Aboriginal Relics of the Cessnock-Wollombi Region in the Hunter Valley of NSW. [Title page] A Study of the Aboriginal Sites in the Cessnock – Wollombi Region of the Hunter Valley, NSW by W.J. Needham. 1981. Mr Needham wrote his book out of a concern for the protection of the area, and a need to raise awareness of the magnificent rock and cave art in the Region.

Wollombi Valley was defined by the following tribes – Darkinung Tribe (Valley itself extending south to Hawkesbury and east to Peat’s Ridge), to the east Awabakal Tribe (Lake Macquarie), Wonarua (where Wollombi Brook met the Hunter River near Singleton the southern boundary), to the west the Kamilaroi.

Tribes were made up of clans or family group e.g. Wollombi clan.

Aboriginal place names in the region include e.g. Wollombi (place where waters meet); Yengo (the stepping up place); Watagan (Place of many ridges) Laguna (Near a mountain stream); Congewai (Valley of the Lily); Tomalpin (A small hill); Bulga (Isolated mountain).

Mr Needham also recorded a number of myths and legends of the Wollombi including:

The Legend of the Crimson Waratah (from S. Brown to W.J. Needham) – Aboriginal legend holds that the Waratah did not always flower into crimson crown but originally it bloomed in white flowers. One day  a wongah pigeon was flying across the gully and was attacked by a hawk, its blood spilled onto the flowers, and from that day on it flowered into crimson.

Legend of the Giant Lizard at Yellow Rock (Broke) (from Eric Taggart to W.J. Needham) I have also had this story related to me from Brian Laut who received it from Eric Taggart who in turn received it from Tommy Dillon. A great lizard (or goanna) wended its way across the land from the coast creating valleys and mountains. As it made its way towards the plains country it was met by the warriors there who commanded it to stop, it resisted, and the warriors killed it and smashed its head. It can be seen to this day petrified as Yellow Rock at Broke. To ensure that it stays that way, to the left of the road at Broke lies a line of rock formations which are said to be the Kamilaroi warriors who stand guard, just in case it chooses to revive itself and continue its journey.

Mount Yengo. Place where the Aboriginal spirit hero, the All Father (Baiame), stepped back into the sky world after his journeys on the earth. While on earth he made man from one of his legs, and is therefore depicted in some rock art as having one leg. His travels are also documented at various sites.

The Flood. The Lake Macquarie tribe (Awabakal) believe in a great flood that covered all the mountains. Proof can be found in the existence of fossilised sea shells on the tops of the mountains. (see Threlkeld’s Reminiscences – ed. Gunson, 64)

Mrs Eliza Hamilton Dunlop, wife of the local police superintendant in the 1840s also recorded some of the Spirit Beings of the Wollombi natives. They included:

Buggee – old fellow, very ill, short, fat and balding. All sickness is attributed to him.

Yaree Yarwoo – a four-eyed spirit, who carries a large bag and gets into it when he is cold. All sickness is attributed to him.

Milegun – This spirit has no hair, but immense nails for digging into the bodies of the blacks.

Muree – This spirit resides in trees and emits fire. [Bill Needham suggests that this is a reference to bush fires when eucalyptus trees at some distance from the fires erupt in flames due to the volatile oil].

Wabbooee – This as the greatest spirit of them all. He commands the seasons and the weather. He resides in the North. Water of a blood colour springs up all around him. He presides over the day. It was irreverent to speak about him, a crime punishable by death. It was believed that when he died rocks would fall from the sky destroying the world.

Wallatu – God of Poesy. He comes in dreams and transports the individual to a favoured site, where he was inspired with the gift of poetry. These songs were few in words but varied in musical tone.

The Rev. Lancelot Threlkeld was very impressed with Eliza Dunlop rendering of an Aboriginal song.  (see Threlkeld’s Reminiscences ed Gunson, 58)

Eliza Dunlop (Mulla Villa c1840s) writes of ‘Wallatu’:

A lady, Mrs E.H. Dunlop, published some years ago in one of the Sydney papers, a specimen of “Native Poetry,” and states thus:

There is a god of Poesy, Wallati, who composes music, and who, without temple, shrine, or statue, is as universally acknowledged as if his oracles were breathed by Belus or Osiris: he comes in dreams, and transports the favoured individual wrapped in visioned slumber to some bright warm hill, where he is inspired with the rare and supernatural gift.” ( with corrected text of note 75) This very individual, Wúllati, or as white folks used to call him, Wollaje, always confounding the sound of t with a j, lived near our establishment, he was esteemed highly by the tribes, and in an increasing ratio as they were nigh or more distant from this individual. No doubt he formed the delightful subject of their evening Soirees, and also of their midnight dreams. He favoured me several times with his company, and perhaps thought it an honor when he made proposals to me for a matrimonial alliance with one of the members of my family, much to the amusement of us all. He was very old, thin, small headed, bald man, of a most cheerful disposition, with a smile always on his countenance except in the presence of strangers; and whenever he came to our tribe, his company was much enjoyed, an evening feast was provided, and the chicest tit-bits were set before the toothless guest. Oft were his gibes wont to set their table, on the green grass, in a roar of laughter, and their festive board, generally the bark of a tree, was enlivened before it ended in the midnight hour with his song and dance, assisted with his own voice and musical accompaniment of two sticks, beating time to the divine inspiration of the sacred muse. (see note 76: ) The following song, composed by Wúllati, translated and published, some years ago by Mrs E.H. Dunlop, is an excellent specimen of the Poetry of the Aborigines, and ought not to be lost though the Poet and his tribe is now no more.

“NATIVE POETRY”

“Nung – Ngnun
Nge a rumba wonung bulkirra umbilinto bulwarra!
Pital burra kultan wirripang buntoa

Nung-Hgnun
Nge a rumba turrama berrambo, burra kilkoa;
Kurri wi, raratoa yella walliko,
Yulo Moane, woinyo, birung poro bulliko,

Nung-Ngnun
Nge a rumba kan wullung, Makoro, kokein,
Mip-pa-rai, kekul, wimbi murr ring kirrika;
Nge a rumba mura ké-en kulbun kulbun murrung.”

Thus “Translated and Versified by Mrs E.H. Dunlop”, of Mulla Villa, New South Wales. (In a newspaper.) [Mulla Villa (house by the river erected at Wollombi in 1841)

“Our home is the gibber-gunyah,
Where hill joins hill on high;
Where the turruma and berrambo,
Like sleeping serpents lie; –
And the rushing of wings, as the wangas pass,
Sweeps the wallaby’s print from the glistening grass.

Ours are the makoro gliding,
Deep in the shady pool;
For our spear is sure, and the prey secure…
Kanin, or the bright gherool.
Our lubras sleep by the bato clear,
That the Amygest’s track hath never been near.

Ours is the koolema flowing
With precious kirrika stored;
For fleet the foot, and keen the eye,
That seeks the nukkung’s hoard; –
And the glances are bright, and the footsteps are free,
When we dance in the shade of the karakon tree.

Gibber-gunya – Cave in the rock.
Turruna [sic] and Berrambo – War arms.
Wanga – A species of pigeon.
Makoro – Fish.
Amygest – White-fellow.
Kanim – Eel.
Gheerool – Mullet.
Bato – Water.
Kirrika – Honey.
Nukkung – Wild bee.
Kurrakun – The oak tree”.

Such is a fair specimen of Song, translated, with a little political licence. The orthography, although different from the system laid down in my Australian Grammar, sufficiently conveys the sound to enable me at once to discover the dialect of Wúllati the Poet who resided, near our residence on the sea shore, close to moon Island, until he died. The word “Nung ngnún” (See note 77 – ) means a song, and when attached to the verbalizing affix wit-til-li-ko becomes Nung-ngún-wit-til-li-ko, according to the idiom of the language, For to song a song, – English, to sing a song.

Threlkeld was therefore able to show from Mrs Dunlop’s accurate rendering of the song that it was sung in a dialect that originated in Lake Macquarie, therefore showing that the human personification of Wullatu was a Lake Macquarie (or so called Awabakal) man.

Compare this account with that published prior to this  in Issac Nathan’s The Southern Euphrosyne (1848).

Pialla Wollombi from Issac Nathan's 1848 work

There is so much more to learn and to discover in this district. I hope that we ta the University of Newcastle can help in setting up something like a research outpost out there so that the rock art can be preserved, safeguarded, documented, researched, and protected for future generations to come. We hope to also help in expanding it’s natural World Heritage listing to include its rock art as well. It is one of our region’s most sacred places, and deserves better. All roads lead to Yengo.

Yours sincerely,

Gionni Di Gravio
February 2009

Lost Threlkeld Manuscript – Missing Pages Come to Light

Missing page 267 from lost Threlkeld manuscript

We reported back in February of this year of a lost original manuscript Journal belonging to the late Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld, missionary to the Aborigines in the Hunter Region that was uploaded to the University of Newcastle’s Virtual Sourcebook for Aboriginal Studies in the Hunter Region. This original manuscript Journal covers the period from December 1828 to circa February 1846 and its present whereabouts are unknown.

Mrs Raven, great great grand daughter of the late Reverend Threlkeld, who sent us the original digital files,  recently located a number of copies of missing leaves from the manuscript which she copied and sent to us to incorporate into into the online manuscript. The missing pages are 154-161 and 267-268. There are also an additional two pages placed at the end of the digital PDF file.

She contacted us on the 21 August 2008 telling us of the mystery of the missing pages which she located in one of her regular cleanups.  What is intriguing is that the pages copied were from the missing Journal! Not only that, they are missing from the original photographed copy of the Journal, which would imply that they were copied from an in tact original. She cannot recall the source of the copies.

Pages 154 – 161 inclusive (1834) relate to Elizabeth Arndell’s  (LET’s mother-in-law, widow of Thomas Arndell, and Mrs Raven’s 3 x greats grandmother) application for a pension.  Pages 267 and 268 include the death of Reverend Samuel Marsden in 1838. All are in L. E. Threlkeld’s handwriting.

The original Journal which covers the period from December 1828 to around February 1846 is now lost, and presumably formed part of a series of Journal diaries. It originally was in the possession of an owner in Cattai. Prior to his death, the manuscript was lent to Mrs Raven, who then lent it to the Mitchell Library who digitised the full manuscript including additional papers belonging to Mrs Raven.

Please download the updated version of the PDF file.

Threlkeld, L.E. (Lancelot Edward), 1788-1859.
[Manuscript] A Journal Kept By Lancelot Edward Threlkeld. Missionary. [87 MB PDF]

Note: The original was a huge 450MB digital file which we have managed to optimise to 87MB which is still large for most people. We recommend firstly downloading the document to your computer by right mouse-clicking on the link and then choosing ‘Save Target As’. Then, pick a location on your computer and click ‘OK’. The file will be downloaded to your computer and you can track its progress. Please bear in mind that it is a large file, and so may take some time to download depending upon your connection.

Gionni Di Gravio
University Archivist
University of Newcastle

Lost Threlkeld Manuscript Online

An original manuscript Journal belonging to the late Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld, missionary to the Aborigines in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie areas in the 1820s onward has been digitised and uploaded to the University of Newcastle’s Virtual Sourcebook for Aboriginal Studies in the Hunter Region.

We sincerely thank Mrs Marjorie Raven, great grand daughter of the late Reverend Threlkeld for her permission to publish this important Journal. We also thank her son Lindsay and grandson Blake for preparing the digital files on CDrom for us.

The original Journal which covers the period from December 1828 to around February 1846 is now lost, and presumably formed part of a series of Journal diaries. It originally was in the possession of an owner in Cattai. Prior to his death, the manuscript was lent to Mrs Raven, who then lent it to the Mitchell Library who digitised the full manuscript including additional papers belonging to Mrs Raven.

The Journal was then returned to the owner, and following his death, subsequently lost. Every avenue of locating it pursued by Mrs Raven has come to no avail causing great concern for the fate of such an important historical document to Hunter Region and the Australian nation.

Its importance to local indigenous and non indigenous researchers at the University and wider regional community is inestimable.

It is vitally important and urgent that we track down the original and ensure that it is preserved and stored in a proper archival temperature and humidity controlled environment. It therefore greatly appreciated if anyone knowing the present whereabouts of the original could contact us on archives@newcastle.edu.au or 02 49215819.

The full digitised copy of this Australian regional treasure can be downloaded below:

Threlkeld, L.E. (Lancelot Edward), 1788-1859.
[Manuscript] A Journal Kept By Lancelot Edward Threlkeld.

Note: We recommend firstly downloading the document to your computer by right mouse-clicking on the link and then choosing ‘Save Target As’. Then, pick a location on your computer and click ‘OK’. The file will be downloaded to your computer and you can track its progress. Please bear in mind that it is a large file, and so may take some time to download depending upon your connection.

Virtual Sourcebook for Aboriginal Studies in the Hunter Region

ABC Newcastle (Newcastle)
Day Shift -19/02/2008 – 01:30 PM
Presenter: Carol Duncan
Producer: Jeannette McMahon
Interviewee: Gionni Di Gravio, Archivist, Newcastle University

With the recent Apology to the Stolen Generations delivered by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd last Wednesday (13 February 2008) Newcastle University Archivist Gionni Di Gravio discusses the Virtual Sourcebook for Aboriginal Studies in the Hunter Region: an online digital resource containing thousands of scanned documents and manuscripts relating to local Aboriginal Culture.

Broadcast Notes:

Today I wish to promote our University’s Virtual Sourcebook for Aboriginal Studies in the Hunter Region located here:

http://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/aboriginalsourcebook/

It contains thousands of scanned documents and images relating to the Region and I want to encourage local people to learn more about the Aboriginal Dreaming and culture right here, underneath their feet.

The problem we now face post Apology with many Australians is an education issue. I recently wrote to the Prime Minister to thank him for what he did last Wednesday, it was a magnificent day. It changed the country.

But, if you read the newspapers, or listened to talk back radio you would see that many people in the wider community either didn’t get it, or wondered why it was necessary.

So I suggested to the Prime Minister that he sponsor an advertising campaign. We have had millions in the past spent teaching us why we need a GST, an air force, army and navy, how to vote, the dangers of AIDS, etc and yet, not a cent educating us about our history with the Aboriginal people, and what has happened since colonisation.

A number of years ago I was fortunate enough to enrol at the University and study an Australian history course that blew my mind especially about Aboriginal people, learning much that was was not taught at school. From what I can gather listening to people, many are still in that boat, making up assumptions on Aboriginal people based upon childhood impressions. There’s always so much to learn.

It’s really important to be informed about the Aboriginal world, as it’s fundamental to understanding the land. Once we get over this hurdle I believe we will be much better able to look after this land and its people. Locally I think we should do our bit, and the Sourcebook has been our modest contribution towards bridging the divide.

This site was originally created to assist the Awaba project, a collaborative venture by the University of Newcastle’ s School of Liberal Arts and the Wollotuka School of Aboriginal Studies.

Prior to this, I had become fascinated with the ancient Aboriginal landscape, tracking down hundred year old obscure accounts by surveyors in the field relating to what they came upon in their travels in the Hunter Region. I found myself running down to the stacks in my lunch breaks to comb over old volumes and copy them. It got quite fanatical, until one day I collided into this researcher called Bobby from engineering who was doing the same thing, only over a later period. We decided to exchange articles and I can still remember bringing this massive stack of copies 1 foot together for the first time. Once we started scanning Threlkeld’s material for the Awaba Project, I went berserk scanning all the articles we had collected during those lunchtime sojourns. I remember my poor scanner at the time was like my mother’s pasta machine, I was churning out articles and putting them online like an Italian chef rolling out fettuccine.

The original brief with the Awaba Project was to digitise the works of Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld, but we continued to identify materials from the collections relating to Aboriginal people throughout Newcastle and the wider Hunter Region. Due to the assistance of scholars and members of the local indigenous and non indigenous community the site grew rapidly to include many hundreds of sources. It was all very exciting for us, and I felt like we were creating an online Black encyclopedia for the local Regions.

We hope that all this work will inspire people to a better understanding and respect of the richness and beauty of the Aboriginal view.

(A7771_i) Percy Haslam examining the only known site of a yellow ochre painted hand.
All others are of the familiar stencil type. Circa 1980.

(A7771) Percy Haslam with a group of students examining a cave

In addition the Aboriginal Collections held in the University’s Cultural Collections Unit are vast and of strong research interest, being records of local Koori culture and traditions, rock and cave art in the Hunter Valley, as well as a unique collection of weapons from the estate of the late Percy Haslam, renowned scholar and lover of Aboriginal culture. For further information on the University’s archival holdings relating to Aboriginal Dreaming and Culture:

See the website finding aid:
Aboriginal Dream Time of the Hunter Region

and guide:

Guide to the Collections relating to Aboriginal History and Culture. University of Newcastle Archives Rare Books & Special Collections, Auchmuty Library, 1996

Featured Digital Gallery:

Early Newcastle in the Newcastle Region Art Gallery: A Selection of Digitised Works

For further information on studying Aboriginal Dreaming and Culture at the University of Newcastle visit:
Wollotuka School of Aboriginal Studies

John Skinner Prout (1806 – 1876)
Near Newcastle on the Hunter, New South Wales. (c.1874-76)
Courtesy of the Newcastle Region Art Gallery

More Information on Aboriginal History and Culture in the Hunter and Central Coast Regions:

https://hunterlivinghistories.com/category/aboriginal-history-and-culture/

Dreaming