109 



ON AN ABORIGINAL IMPLEMENT, BELIEVED TO BE 

 UNDESCRIBED, AND SUPPOSED TO BE A HOE. 



By R. Etheridge, Junr., 



(Paleontologist to the Australian Museum, and Geological 

 Survey of New South Wales). 



(Plate VI.) 



This remarkable object, that at first sight would be pronounced 

 as coming from one or other of the Pacific Islands, rather than 

 the Australian Continent, I am assured by Mr. Harry Stockdale, 

 whose name I have had occasion to mention in former communi- 

 cations to this Society, was obtained by Mr. Alexander Gilchrist, 

 F.R.G.S., "on the head waters of the Endeavour River, Northern 

 Queensland, about one hundred and fifty miles inland."* 



The Endeavour River is in Cape York Peninsula, about S. Lat. 

 15°, at Cooktown. 



Mr. Gilchrist continues — "The tribe was small in numbers, 

 about seventy, but possessed a lot of weapons ; they were Myalls, f 

 although friendly to me." 



But one use can be assigned to this implement, that of digging, 

 and for the sake of brevity will be referred to hereafter as a 

 "hoe." It consists of a stick with a diameter of three and a-half 

 inches, that has been chopped off short above, and with an iron 

 tool fashioned into a handle below, and the clean chops of the 

 cuts show that the operator was no novice in the practice of the 



* In a letter to Mr. Stcekdale. 

 t i.e., wild blacks. 



