38 Director' s Annual Report. 



earths. The specimen seen in the centre of Plate I is representa- 

 tive of the better made miilga shields. It is .shaped from the close 

 grained wood of probably a species of acacia, and the incisions 

 were made with a narrow implement held at right angles to the 

 face in the manner already described. The interstices are accentu- 

 ated with white filling. 



The Goolmarry Group. — The shields of this group are 

 elongate-oval in .shape and differ in many respects from the mulga 

 form already described. They are constru(5led of very light wood — 

 Erythrina vcspertilio the ' 'bastard cork" , or Acacia moUissima being 

 preferred — and although these weapons are small and well propor- 

 tioned they have a bulky and unwield}- appearance. The gool- 

 marry is decorated with curv^ed linear designs, often on both sides, 

 though as a rule the obverse is the more elaborately treated. Crude 

 representations of what has been described as a reptile, though 

 bearing more similarity to a clumsily drawn "herring bone," are 

 also sometimes found on the reverse of the goolmarry .shield. A .sec- 

 tion, taken either longitudinally or transversely, is a bilateral figure 

 contained by a straight line and one convex line — the latter to re- 

 ceive the impact of other weapons. The handle is shaped b}^ 

 cutting into the reverse of the shield. Some specimens of the gool- 

 marry exhibit across the curved face irregular charred incisions 

 which have been produced by the friction of another implement in 

 the process of fire making. In rare ca.ses a central longitudinal 

 groove is cut, into which the dust set free by fridlion accumulates 

 preparatory to combu.stion. The use of this kind of shield for 

 such a purpo.se is due to the softness of its wood, and also to the 

 fact that the goolmarry is not .so elaborate and consequently of 

 less value than other forms. The ornamentation of the specimen 

 shown in Plate I, No. 8743, is effe(5led by a pattern of interlaced 

 grooved scrolls. The rever.se of the shield bears a vague repre- 

 sentation of an animal — probably a reptile — and is also charred, 

 particularly at the extremities and hand aperture. 



The Western Group. — The manufa(5lure of these shields 

 is confined to the west, though they are extensively bartered. In 

 general form they con.sist of an extremely thin .sheet of wood, 

 elongate-oblong in shape, rounded at the corners, with a projecting 

 handle shaped from the same piece of wood as the body of the 



