Australian Archaeology

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Archived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.au

Full Citation Details:

Lampert, R.J. 1975. Comment on the Montagu Island Survey.

'Australian Archaeology', no.2, 44-45.

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References

Bird, E.C.F. 1972 Bowdler, S. 1974

Dakin, W . J . 1960

Fullager, P.J. 1973

Lampert, R. J. i n p r e s s

Royal Australian Navy

Coasts. Canberra: A.N.U. Press.

An account of an archaeological

reconnaissance o f Hunter's I s l e s , north- west Tasmania, 1973/4. Recs. Queen V ? h ! a f i a h s e w n , 54.

Austrazimr Seashores. (2nd Edition) Sydney: Angus and Robertson.

Seabird Islands. No. 2. Montagu I s l a n d , New South Wales. The Aust. B i r d

Bander,

11, 36-39.

Kangaroo Island and t h e a n t i q u i t y of Australians. I n Wright, R.V.S. (d.) Stone Tools u s CuZtwuZ Markers

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Change, EvoZution and Complexity.

1974 A u s t r a l i a

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e a s t c o a s t New South Wales.

Aus 807, Montagu Islcmd t o J e d s Bcqj.

1:150,000, 6th Ed.

Thorn, B.G. and J. Chappell 1975 Holocene s e a l e v e l s r e l a t i v e t o A u s t r a l i a . Search, 6, 90-92.

Comment on t h e M n t a g u Island Survey

A few, a d d i t i o n a l p o i n t s a r e r e l e v a n t t o t h e survey.

In t h e 18509s, Reginald Barlow c o l l e c t e d s t o r i e s from some o f t h e o l d e r Aborigines l i v i n g along t h e coast adjacent t o Montagu Island, publishing them under t h e nom de plwne, 'Wolrab', a s reminiscences i n t h e Mbmcya E d n e r on 26/1/1888 and 5/2/1892.

In t h e 1888 reminiscences, Barlow t e l l s how t h e Aborigines mourned t h e i r 'dead brothers who had been l o s t years ago i n passing

backward and forward t o Montagu Island i n t h e i r f r a i l bark canoes'.

A s i m i l a r , o r perhaps t h e same, event i s r e f e r r e d t o by Barlow i n 1892 when he speaks of 150 members of t h e Wagonga t r i b e being l o s t en route t o Montagu Island t o c o l l e c t s e a b i r d eggs. These

accounts support S u l l i v a n ' s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , formed independently from archaeological and environmental evidence, t h a t Aborigines v i s i t e d t h e i s l a n d by canoe i n r e c e n t y e a r s , t h a t t h e c r o s s i n g was dangerous, and t h a t t h e journey was made t o e x p l o i t seasonal foods

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i n which t h e i s l a n d was p a r t i c u l a r l y r i c h . I am indebted t o M r H . J . Gibbney of t h e Research School of Social Sciences, A.N.U., f o r b r i n g i n g t h e s e references t o my a t t e n t i o n .

There i s evidence f o r Aborigines having v i s i t e d o t h e r o f f s h o r e i s l a n d s along t h e south c o a s t of New South Wales. In h i s j o u r n a l o f 1797, t h e explorer George Bass r e f e r s t o Aborigines on Brush Island, 1 km offshore from k r r a m a r a n g P o i n t . Writing i n t h e

Proceedings of the Geographical Society o f Australia

f o r 1883, J . F . Mann t e l l s o f Aboriginal canoe voyages t o t h e T o l l g a t e Islands, 3-4 km o u t from t h e headlands f l a n k i n g t h e entrance t o t h e Clyde

River. Like Montagu I s l a n d , both Brush Island and t h e Tollgates have muttonbird r o o k e r i e s .

R. J. Lampert

A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON SOME WAISTED BLADES FOUND ON KANGAROO ISLAND, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

While examining s u r f a c e c o l l e c t ions o f Kartan t o o l s from Kangaroo I s l a n d , I saw s i x implements t h a t bear a s t r i k i n g resemblance t o t h e f l a k e d waisted blades of Papua New Guinea.

O f t h e f o u r i l l u s t r a t e d h e r e , A

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C were found r e c e n t l y on a p a s t o r a l l e a s e and a r e owned by t h e farmer, while D, together with another waisted t o o l , was discovered by t h e archaeologist H.M. Cooper. Both o f t h e specimens c o l l e c t e d by Cooper a r e i n t h e South A u s t r a l i a n Museum and a r e a l r e a d y on record (Cooper 1968).

A s i x t h implement, i n t h e museum a t Kingscote, came t o l i g h t on a p a s t o r a l l e a s e n o t f a r from t h e one on which specimens A

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C were found. The d e s c r i p t i o n s given here a r e based on photographs taken with a hand-held camera, b r i e f notes and a few b a s i c measurements.

F u l l e r d e t a i l s w i l l follow a f u t u r e examination.