The different kinds of shells, sponges, corals, fish, and birds are simply amazing. I can only specify a few, amongst which are the tremendous cup-sponge shell, fully three feet long, the peculiar montipara or screw coral, and the enormous sponges, the many wonderful kinds of fish, birds, &c., from these strange islands so near our shore, as well as from Mandurah, Rottnest, Garden Island, and Fremantle must be seen to be appreciated, and I recommend every one visiting Western Australia to go and see them for themselves. The collection of aboriginal curiosities and relics is ample. The skull of a notorious aboriginal murderer called Pigeon, who gave the police much trouble in catching him, was shown to me. This native was named Pigeon on account of his favourite way of despatching his victims by wringing their necks. There are some fine native shields, spears, knife dabbas, meeras or throwing-sticks, kileys or boomerangs, &c., and some most peculiar boat-shaped shells that are hollowed from young trees and used for carrying water or food; a wooden helmet, exactly like a sou’-wester, makes one think that one of the Dutch sailors who came ashore in the early days must have dropped his hat and some savage have copied the pattern in wood. The fish-spears have about eighteen barbs both ways; the spearheads are made of many kinds of different glass, and nowadays the natives knock down the telegraph insulators and make them into spearheads. In former times silex, of which knives and chisels were made, was used, but the other material is easier to get, and the black fellow is well known to be as much averse to trouble as some of the white fellows. I possess three spear heads from the Kimberly district, one of which gave the death-blow to a man from whose chest it was extracted.
Aboriginal Camp
The medicine-stick or bunganarrie used by the natives as a cure is very strangely marked, the markings no doubt constituting some imaginary spell. The dandie is used for tattooing, and the gunda-stick, with a knob at the end, looks like our life-preserver. The pindie pindie is a native ornament stick, frilled to represent a feather, and sometimes made of pretty green and cream colour. The effect is produced by scraping down the green part of a young branch about two inches till it frills, then scraping the inner pale part to frill over that. A space comes next, and then another frill, until the ornament reaches the length required. These objects the natives stick all over their heads. They also make very handsome ornaments of large mother-of-pearl shells by drilling a hole through the top, and hang them by a string of hair about their bodies. The women have an ornament made from pearl-shell called the binjah binjah, which hangs down their back attached to a currican or woman’s necklace. The long marrie is an ornament of kangaroo teeth attached to a hair-string, to hang down between the eyes. The booran is a belt made from human hair, worn by the Kimberly natives. The native women have most stringent ideas of mourning for their dead. A picture of one mourning for her brother shows her hair all screwed up in little knobs with wilgie clay and fat. Wilgie is a red-coloured clay or earth used for various rites and ceremonies. The tomahawk or pulboo has a handle of wood, the head being made of a kind of flint or stone, fixed in with a resinous substance called pulga or gum, made from the roots of the spinifex grass. Native spearheads too are fastened on with this gum, which is found in solid lumps, and dissolves with heat. String is made by the natives from the skin of the opossum by means of an instrument called the boolga, which consists of a long thin round stick, crossed near the top by two shorter sticks, and has somewhat the appearance of a boy’s kite. In making their implements they generally employ a tool called a bedoo, which resembles a spearhead. The ongath or fire-stick is used for lighting fires, and keeps alight a long while, burning very slowly. These sticks are carried about almost as we carry matches. The letter-sticks of the natives, or paper-talk as they now call them, are beautifully marked and of different sizes, the designs on those from the Gascoyne district being quite remarkable. Around the stick will be marked, in a kind of blue ink, all sorts of odd signs and figures, such as a crab, a gun, a leg, an arm, a lover’s knot, a hand and arm outstretched almost like a masonic emblem, and many other peculiar signs best known to themselves. The dewark, or throwing-stick, is also an interesting object, and so are the many aboriginal carvings and the sharp stones used in their sacred or tribal rites. The stones used for grinding their food consist of a large flat stone and a round smooth heavy one. Nalgo is the name of the principal seed thus ground, but they have many different kinds of food, which I will describe later. A tree called the boobah-tree grows at Derby, and produces a nut as large as a goose egg.
The natives about Perth and Fremantle were in early days very numerous and troublesome. Native risings were frequent, and many hundreds of aborigines were shot. The present site of the Great Western Hotel was the scene of a large fight, arising out of the murder of two boys, the sons of settlers, who were minding cows, and were set upon by the blacks. The boys ran away to the Swan river, and one jumped in and swam across, only to be speared on the other side. The other boy did not reach the bank, but received five spears in his back and died at once. At this the settlers were soon up in arms, and one bloodthirsty native called Yagin was outlawed. He was eventually shot near Hutt Street, where the rising took place, by Dr. Dodd, who afterwards took a large strip of his skin from shoulder to foot, tanned it, and made it into a belt, which he wore for years!
That silk can be grown in Perth is testified by some lovely blue and cream-coloured handkerchiefs made from silk grown here, and presented to the museum by Sir John Forrest. Next to this case is an old plan of Leschenhault Port, now called Bunbury, in 1803. Also a little picture of the ship Success and a man-of-war in Careering Bay, Swan River, in 1829.
Perth does not yet boast of a large Botanic Garden, but as, in the spring, the whole country around is one vast garden the absence is not severely felt. There is a charming public garden, small, but very prettily laid out, near Government House, and opposite the Post Office.
Sir John Forrest prophesied, ten years ago, that in the future Western Australia would come to the fore, and the prophecy is being amply fulfilled; no travellers now ever think of making a tour in Australia without coming to the West. Mr. Frederick Villiers, the famous war correspondent, says that when he came to the colonies, seven years ago, he was nearly coming here, and, now having been, he professes to be so much charmed with Perth, and the view of the Swan River, as to feel inclined to settle down and end his days there. These little corners of the world have made him dissatisfied with his business, and as I gazed upon the many spots of beauty on the river before me, while the faint red blush of the sky deepened into a crimson sunset and cast a glorious reflection on the water, I felt myself agreeing with Mr. Villiers and disposed to stay in my pretty Claremont home for ever, where the sun seldom shines too fiercely and the winter is like a gentle friend.
One spring day I drove in to Perth to see the flower show, then being held in the Town Hall. The drive over the bloom-covered slopes of the park, the sweet odours of the pretty flowers of the Bush mingling with that of the golden wattle, was most enjoyable. I can never ride or drive through that park, and gaze on the beautiful scene below, without feeling that God has indeed given us a lovely world to live in. It was a holiday, and consequently many little parties (frequently of two) were exploring the flower-scented knolls and enjoying the breeze from the water. Perth was quite gay, all the carriages of the élite seemed engaged in carrying their fair owners to the flower-show. On entering the Town Hall a perfect blaze of beauty in the shape of wild flowers met the eye. The silver and golden wattle, laden with fragrant perfume, drew me immediately to the spot where they were. In the “Salyang Mia-Mia” (wattle-house) a most refreshing cup of tea was to be procured. Sitting in this fragrant bower and sipping tea brought to mind the lines: