420 



A DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN OBJECTS OF UN- 

 KNOWN SIGNIFICANCE, FORMERLY USED 

 BY SOME NEW SOUTH WALES TRIBES. 



By Walter R. Hakper. 

 ( i'oiiimunkated by L'. T. Baker, F.L.S.) 



(Plates XII. -XVIII.) 



My opening duty in this papei' must 1)6 to gratefully acknow- 

 ledge the assistance I have had in its preparation. I am indeed 

 indebted to Professor W, Baldwin Spencer, of Melbourne Uni- 

 versity, who not only sent me his own specimen and procured 

 me others, but also it was by his advice that I greatly extended 

 my researches, and can now offer descriptions of nine of these 

 curious objects instead of two. To the Trustees of the Australian 

 Museum I owe four of the stones, and Mr. R. Etheridge (Curator 

 of the Museum) assisted me most generously. Mr. R. T. Baker 

 (Curator of Technological Museum), in addition to lending me his 

 two specimens, also figured for me one sent from Adelaide. Dr. 

 Stirling (Curator of South Australian Museum) sent me, through 

 Professor Spencer, the two specimens in his collection; and Dr. 

 Cooksey (Mineralogist of Australian Museum) was kind enough 

 to examine some of the stones, and give me his opinion as to their 

 composition, and the causes of wear present upon them. 



However, in spite of all this assistance, I regret to say I have 

 been unable to discover satisfactory reasons for their existence. 

 A number of theories have been put forward concerning their 

 uses, the principal of which will be examined later; but, as none 

 of these are based on facts, or ha^e any unquestionable proofs in 

 support of— but, on the contrary, many objections to — them, 

 these must still remain theories and the real use a m3'stery In 

 the hope of assisting in the solution of the mystery this paper is 

 written. 



