Preface:
Historical Background.
[Excerpts
from "History of West Australia", Chapter 17, by Warren
Bert Kimberley.]
. . . . Mr. Ridley, attached
to Mr. Padbury's first party, was a Government Surveyor,
and in his report wrote flatteringly of the district ["the
scenes of Gregory's explorations" (in the Pilbara)].
The example of the pioneer
was therefore early followed by other gentlemen.
By May, 1863, Messrs. K.
Brown, S. Hamersley, A. Brown, B. Clarkson, F. Pearse, and
Dr. Martin had chartered a vessel—the Flying Foam, Captain
Cooper—to convey them to the Glenelg River.
The Glenelg was reached on
the 30th June, and the ship proceeded as far as the
rapids, about twenty-eight miles from the coast.
...
The Government voted £150
towards the expenses of the expedition, and commissioned
Dr. Martin to act as surveyor and botanist.
Surveyor-General Roe, who was
acquainted with the country from his voyages with Captain
(since Admiral) King gave valuable instructions.
Mr. Panter, inspector of
police, was given charge of the party, among whom were
Messrs. Turner, F. and H. Caporn, Du Boulay, W. Scott,
Langoulant, and Stokes, besides Wildman and two natives.
The ship New Perseverance,
under Captain Owston, was chartered, and on 2nd March,
1864, sailed on the quest. Horses were taken for the
inland travelling.
Page 273
FROM DOUBTFUL BAY TO THE LOWER RAPIDS OF THE GLENELG
RIVER.
June
22, 1863.-
Doubtful Bay is a magnificent
sheet of water, 9 miles in length from north to south, and
six miles in breadth from east to west.
...
At 8.45 a.m.,
a party consisting of three of the explorers, with one
servant, and the master of the vessel, left in the long boat
to climb the range eastward of the bay to search for a
navigable entrance to the Glenelg.
Fires, in groups of two, sprang
up from the sea-beach, where the party landed, to the summit
of the first range;—they are doubtlessly native signal
fires.
...
The walk was so fatiguing that
the ascent to the highest point of the range was not
accomplished.
The natives seemed very
numerous, judging by their fires and cooeeing,
but they kept out of sight at first; indeed, a near view of
one individual only was obtained.
This native carried a bundle of
unusually long spears.
Before the party rejoined the
boat, however, several were seen in the distance, as if
watching the behaviour of their unlooked for visitors.
...
June 25.-
[Following a violent encounter]
After the skirmish our
party passed by some of their fires recently extinguished by
scattering about, probably with a view to conceal their
proximity just before the attack.
Around their fires were strewn
fragments of greenstone (syenitic) with conchoidal
fractures, broken so as to adapt the cutting edges for
making and pointing their spears, chips and shavings of
which lay in all directions.
Specimens were obtained of this
greenstone and also the limestone (a brecciated limestone)
which is used, after burning, as a paint.
Several other geological
contributions were brought away from the vicinity; they
nearly all belonged to the primary group.
None of the native weapons were
secured, as it was not deemed expedient to follow them into
the mangrove thicket; and the whole affair from beginning to
end occupied so short a space of time that not one of the
party noticed even whether the spears were barbed or not.
The half-moon figure seems to be
their war standard: even the night previous to the encounter
we noticed the shape of the fires on the side of the hill
above their camp, to have a half-moon-like outline.
In person the natives were tall,
broad-shouldered, muscular, and exceedingly black.
Their hair was straight and tied
at the back of the head.
They had no covering whatever.
Our party remained on the spot
for about half an hour afterwards, collecting such botanical
and other specimens as lay in their way.
Just before leaving in the boat,
the native women and children, who, from higher ground, had
surveyed the attack, commenced a wail which resembled that
fabulous Dutch concert, where every performer contributed to
the harmony by playing his own melody fortissimo,
all commencing at a given signal. One remark more may be
worth recording, perhaps, as it may tend to prove how little
communication takes place between the various native tribes.
When the attacks were made on
Grey and Stokes, the natives invariably retired when a shot
was fired, or, at latest, when the first man fell.
Here, however, it was only at
the second shot that some connection between the boat party
as a cause, and the falling of their men, as an effect,
seemed to dawn upon them.
The report of the rifles did not
produce the slightest hesitation or sign of fear.
July
3.-
...
Our old friend the very
beautiful pea,—of a bright scarlet colour, with a jet-black
spot on one end, is still met with in every ramble ashore.
These peas appear from the
seed-pods to be precisely similar to those of Abrus precatorius
which come from the East and West Indies, where they are
used as beads.
The leaves and root of this
plant taste like liquorice.
In the West Indies the Abrus
precatorius is called wild
liquorice.
The roots abound in sugar, and
from experiments made since the return of the expedition, I
believe them a perfect substitute for liquorice in every
respect. These beautiful seeds are strung for necklaces and
other ornaments by the people of both Indies.
Their specific name (precatorius)
was given from the fact of their being occasionally made
into Rosaries.
De Candolle, speaking of the Abrus,
says, "these plants attain a height of about 9 ft.
The seed is a wholesome pulse."
Hughes, in his 'Natural History
of Barbadoes,' treating of Cajanus
flavus, a pea most closely allied to
A. precatorius,
says:—"I know of no part of this shrub but what is of some
use.
The wood is good for fuel, and
by the often falling of its numerous leaves the land it
grows upon is very much enriched; and its fruit is of great
service by affording hearty, nourishing food to man and
beast.
The peas, green or dry, are
boiled and eaten, and esteemed very wholesome, especially if
eaten in the wet time of the year; for, being of a binding
quality, they prevent diarrhoeas and dysenteries, so common
in wet seasons.
The branches, with the ripe
seeds and leaves, are given to feed hogs, horses, and other
cattle, which grow very fat upon them."
Nearly every word of what
is-here said of C. flavus
applies to the pea now found growing abundantly in the
Glenelg district.
Here, too, the aborigines have discovered the valuable
properties of this useful legume: for on the 31st July, on
an island in Collier Bay, many pods of this pea were found
among the remains of a native feast, although no plants were
observed growing upon the island.
Page 251
July
16.-
My companion went to the top of
the range bounding the eastern side of the swamp, and on his
return reported that the country S. 30 ° W. promised easier
travelling, and we therefore started on that course.
After crossing the Glenelg and a
most important tributary, at a spot which we denominated
"Rocky Springs", we camped.
An entomological research
produced me only 30 coleoptera, of three or four species; a
beautiful white moth with red markings rewarded me.
Native fires sprung up in all
directions towards sunset; it is evident the aborigines are
close to us.
July 19.-
...
All the ground passed over
during the last three days has been recently burned by the
natives.
...
Just before sunset the natives
on shore lighted up many fires, and gave us a "cooee", but whether of friendship or
defiance I know not; however, we returned the salutation in
like form, and continued this pastime for an hour or so,
hoping to entice them, if they possessed canoes, to pay us a
visit.
Page 260
COLLIER
BAY.
July 30.-
At 6 a.m.,
left the anchorage of last night, and sailed till 8 a.m.,
when we anchored in Shoal Bay in 4 fathoms.
Here the long-boat left with a
crew of three, and three days' provisions, with a view to
walk to some high hills and examine the country which
appeared so promising from Mount Lizard.
Some of those left on board
landed on two of the islands for an hour or two's stroll in
the morning
....
[Those who visited the islands]
They observed recent tracks of
large parties of natives, who beyond doubt assemble on these
islands to feast on the produce of the sea.
...
[Those in the long-boat]
They brought with them three
specimens of the native canoes, which are a step, and that
only, in advance of the single log so frequently used by the
Australian aborigines.
They (the canoes- not the
aborigines) consist of three or four mangrove-sticks, about
6 or 7 feet in length, pegged together with pine.
The ends of all the sticks are
carefully sharpened, and only such sticks as are naturally
bent to a suitable shape appear to be chosen; about the
middle of the canoe there is a pine pin projecting 6 or 7
inches on either side, probably affording a similar support
to the native mariner as a stirrup does to a horseman.
Of course there is no attempt to
make a bottom to the canoe, nor do the specimens brought
show the least sign of ornamentation.
There is a red ochreous stain to
be detected upon them here and there, but we account for
them as having been communicated from the persons of the
natives coloured with wilgi,
or they may possibly have been designedly coloured with wilgi
(red ochre).
They also brought the first
specimen we had seen of a Hakea,
some few seeds, coral, and other natural objects, but
nothing remarkably interesting.
...
July 31.-
At 7 a.m.,
the long-boat, with an exploring party of six, taking with
them a week's provisions, left the vessel to examine the
river supposed to exist in the south-eastern corner of
"Secure Bay", which latter is laid down in the charts about
half its real size.
One of our party and myself, an
hour afterwards, left for the turtle islands; we were, as we
expected, too late for the turtles, but their recent tracks
upon the sand and their holes were numerous.
At the upper part of the sandy
beach there were the remains of an aboriginal festival.
Many old fire-places, cracking
stones, break-winds, the soft shell of many a turtle's egg,
with fragments of a turtle's carapace, were noticed about
the ground.
Near our fire we observed a
portion of a native canoe; it was the thicker end of one of
the sticks, standing in the place of the ribs; from this
specimen we suppose the natives to be in possession of
sharp-edged tools, probably made from the same greenstone
which they sharpen their spears with, because the end of the
stick was formed by clean even cuts, with no sign of
scraping; but as they do not require boring tools, the
mangrove-sticks being evidently chosen when dry and capable
of being fastened by driving a sharpened pine peg through
them, as a carpenter would drive a nail through boards, they
seem to be unacquainted with the use of them.
Moreover, the pine pegs drive
easily through the dry mangroves, and it is only rarely we
find the sticks split by the process.
...
When the natives visit this
island in the dry season to enjoy a turtle feast they must
bring the water from the mainland in shells; for these
latter we sought carefully but unsuccessfully.
Page 268
2.—Report
for the Information of His Excellency the Governor of
Western Australia, and the Promoters of the
North-Western Expedition of 1864, on the Voyage and the
Resources of the Districts Explored.*
THE DISTRICT OF THE
GLENELG;
CLIMATE, EXTENT, PASTORAL RESOURCES, AND GENERAL
CAPABILITIES OF THE SOIL.
Indigenous Vegetable
Productions.—
...
Fruits.—Amongst the edible
indigenous fruits, those of the "quandang" or native
peach-tree (Santalum preissianum)
deserves first mention: the fruit, notwithstanding its thin
pericarp and strongly acidulous taste, is grateful and
largely available for food.
Other fruiting bushes of the
same order (Santalaceæ)
yield berries of a pleasant flavour.
...
Native Vegetables.—Amongst
the indigenous plants available as culinary vegetables the
fine bean, which grows so abundantly on the sand-hills of
the coast, offers, when boiled, a nutritious diet: as a
species it is as yet unnamed.
The pea, Abrus
precatorius, is plentiful all over the district: its
valuable properties as a legume are recognised even by the
aborigines.
Horses eat greedily the
branches, ripe seeds, and leaves.
Several herbaceous members of
the small family Basellaceæ
may be regarded as a substitute for spinach.
The amylaceous roots of the
Dioscorea, "warrein", and Typha, "yun-jid" or "adjico", are
here, as in the southern parts of Western Australia,
important articles of vegetable food of the natives.
...
The waters of the district, both
fresh and salt, are rich in products which await enterprise
alone to raise them.
Foremost amongst these ranks the
dugong (Halicore),
a marine herbivorous animal included in the Cetacea,
observed in both Doubtful Harbour and Camden Sound: its
flesh alone, which is not unlike beef, would make it a
welcome visitant; but regarded as the source of an
invaluable oil, superior in a nearly twofold ratio to the
best cod-liver oil, its annual visit would give rise to a
fishery attended with greater profit, outlay and other
things being taken into account, than that of the sperm oil.
The pearl oyster of commerce,
the species valued for its nacreous substance, is
undoubtedly to be found here plentifully, for the aborigines
who would not be likely to undertake any excessive labour to
procure them, very commonly wear them as an ornament
suspended round the neck.
The Tridacna,
a conchiferous mollusk, found upon any point of the coast
between North-West Cape and the Prince Regent's River, might
be included in the pearl-oyster fishery; for although its
shell has no valuable nacreous lining, in it pearls of great
beauty and of considerable size are not unfrequently
obtained.
The trepang fishery could not be
profitably carried on by Europeans.
Whales and seals have been more
than once seen within the harbours of this district.
There are fine beds of oysters
for the table in Brecknock Harbour: turtles, crabs,
cray-fish, &c, abound.
Deep-sea fishery would in all
probability be a profitable occupation.
The fresh-water streams teem
with fish of large size and of excellent flavour.
Page 279
THE DISTRICT OF ROEBUCK BAY; CLIMATE, EXTENT, PASTORAL
RESOURCES AND GENERAL CAPABILITIES OF THE SOIL.
...
In the native wells, which are found on these plains at
intervals of not more than a mile, water is obtainable
within 16 or 18 feet, whilst within the belt of Cajeputi
trees it is found plentifully within 4 or 5 feet of the
surface
Page 283
THE ABORIGINES OF
THE DISTRICT OF ROEBUCK BAY.
The tribes of natives in the
interior excel those of the sea-coast in bodily structure.
They are more muscular, taller,
and apparently more intelligent; at any rate, the expression
of their countenances is more pleasing: some of those we met
had a profile more resembling that of a Polynesian, or a
Keloenonesian of the first division (New Hebrides, &c.),
rather than that of the second division to which the
Australian belongs.
...
Foremost among the ornaments in
common use by these people ranks the pearl-oyster shell of
the coast.
The centre of this shell, that
is, so much of it as can be ground into an oval shape whilst
retaining the nacreous substance very nearly flat, is either
worn plain or engraved. In the manufacture of these plain
ornaments, nothing more is required than the grinding away
of about two-thirds of the entire substance of the margin of
the shell, the drilling of a hole through it near one end of
the smaller diameter, and the suspending of the shell by one
or more thicknesses of the native string.
But the more valued ornament,
after passing through the processes enumerated, has its
nacreous surface completely covered with a lace-like pattern
composed of four and five sided figures, combined in a very
curious manner and included within one or several parallel
elliptical lines running equi-distant from the ground edge
of the shell.
These figures composed of three
or more series of the lines, are engraved to a depth of
about .025 of an inch; then the spaces are filled up with a
black pigment, a mixture of gum and charcoal.
...
As this race of people have no
rivers or deep-sea inlets to cross, the craft already
described as commonly used by the natives of the Glenelg
district is of rare occurrence here.
The instrument of most general
utility is in the form of a scoop; with this they dig wells,
and the indigenous roots used as food; it is their basket
and portmanteau: their water-jug and shovel.
It is of very varied size and
shape, both these latter depending upon the elbow of the
tree from which it is cut; so important an instrument is it,
that as a rule it receives the highest possible degree of
ornamentation; it is carved, sometimes inside and outside,
with closely adjoining parallel lines, disposed in a zigzag
pattern.
Some of the larger scoops are
not carried from place to place with the tribe, but left
beneath some bush in the neighbourhood of a well: these
larger instruments are those which receive the maximum
amount of decoration.
For cooking purposes they use
large shells, species of Strombus and Triton; (the seed of
the mangrove undergoes a most elaborate process in its
preparation as an article of food).
They also make bags of kangaroo
skin, fastened with a twine made of the fibres of an
Anatherum, and a species of the Liliaceæ; a kind of twine is
also made here of a mixture of opossum hair and vegetable
fibre; another kind, which was found in use only as a means
of suspending the engraved shells, was made of human hair
alone.
...
The usual stone hatchet of the
Australian native is everywhere found on this coast.
...
As concerning the natives of the
sea-coast, it will suffice to state that they are inferior
to the natives of the interior in physical development; they
are less cleanly in their persons and less industrious in
the chase.
The same extraordinary
mutilation, referred to by the officers of the Beagle
when describing the sea-coast tribes of this district
(Stokes, vol. i., page 117) was observed by members of our
expedition; but the custom does not extend beyond the tribes
of the coast.
...
Page 86
Appendix 1: Discussion of the
Paper by RGS Members, 22 January, 1866.
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL
GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON VOLUME X,
pages 86-89, 22 January,
1866.
2. Explorations
in North-Western Australia.
By James Martin,
Esq., M.B.
Appendix 2: Paper Read by Mr.
C. A. Wilson, F.L.S., &C., on Tuesday, 29th May, 1866.
SUBJECT—THE LATE EXPLORATIONS
OF THE WEST AND NORTH-WEST COASTS OF AUSTRALIA.
and I wish to draw particular
attention to the report of Mr. Panter, a member of the
second expedition.
In his journal- a clear and
concise one- he says:-
"The
day after my arrival at Brecknock Harbour I started inland
with a party, consisting of Dr. Martin, Mr. David Shields
(first mate of the vessel), and native (Dundale).
Footnotes
cooee
The word "cooee"
originates from the Dharuk language of the original
inhabitants of the Sydney area.
It means "come here", and has now become widely used in
Australia as a call over distances.
It was known among
white settlers in colonial times and Watkin
Tench refers to
the Aborigines of Sydney calling to each other in this way.
wikipedia-
cooee
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooee
Abrus precatorius
L. subsp. precatorius
Climber,
seeds are extremely toxic.
Fl. purple-violet,
Jan or Mar to Jul or Nov to Dec.
Sand, sandstone, limestone, basalt.
Coastal areas, creeklines.
Department of Parks and Wildlife Western
Australian Herbarium- Grazyna Paczkowska,1996.
http://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/16979
Tridacna
Tridacna is a genus
of large saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the
subfamily Tridacninae, the giant clams.
They have heavy shells, fluted with 4 to 6 folds.
The mantle is brightly coloured.
They inhabit shallow waters of coral reefs in warm seas of the
Indo-Pacific region.
wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tridacna
