468 MATHEWS — ROCK CARVINGS AND PAINTINGS. [Nov. 19, 



rock paintings on Chasm Island, in the Gulf of Carpentaria/ These 

 are the earliest authentic records of the discovery of carvings and 

 paintings respectively in any part of the Australian continent, so 

 far as I am aware. Since that period rock paintings have been 

 found in several places in West Australia, South Australia, Victoria, 

 Queensland and New South Wales. The rock carvings have also 

 been observed in a few localities, long distances apart, in all the 

 colonies mentioned with the exception of Victoria. The fact of 

 these carvings not being reported in Victoria may probably be 

 attributed to their having escaped the notice of investigators rather 

 than to their non-existence. 



Among the Darkinung tribe of aborigines, who occupied the 

 country from the Hunter river to the Hawkesbury, I had the good 

 fortune to meet a few natives who told me that when they were boys 

 they had seen both painting and carving on rocks done by their 

 countrymen, between 'the years 1843 ^^^^ 1855, and it is probable 

 that the practice was continued for some years later. From the 

 last-mentioned date to the present the blacks have disappeared very 

 rapidly by death, and the few survivors have lived chiefly amongst 

 their white supplanters, abandoning most of their former customs. 



To those who may be desirous of taking part in investigations 

 respecting this subject a few practical directions relating to taking 

 the necessary notes and the subsequent preparation of the plates for 

 publication may be found of some assistance. The investigator 

 should provide himself with a suitable note-book, a pencil, a tape 

 measure of thirty-three or sixty-six feet in length and an ordinary 

 pocket compass. 



On reaching a cave containing paintings a careful sketch of all the 

 figures in the relative order in which they appear upon its walls 

 should first be made. Then note down the dimensions of every 

 figure in this sketch, and at the same time fix by measurements their 

 relative position to each other. If the paintings consist of different 

 colors these should be carefully noted in the sketch. The dimen- 

 sions of the cave should be measured, and the direction 

 which it faces should be taken with the pocket compass ; the bear- 

 ing and approximate distance from some conspicuous or well-known 

 point should also be stated, as this information will greatly facilitate 

 its identification by others. 



In making notes of carvings found on the surfaces of rocks a 



^A Voyage to Terra Australis, Vol. ii, pp. 188-189. 



