THE BIRDS OF COOLABAH AND BREWARRINA — NORTH. 127 



Relative to Plate xxvii., a plau of " The Fislieries," I 

 transcribe a copy of the following liitlierto unpublished Report 

 given to the Curator of the Australian Museum, by Mr. A. W. 

 Mullen, Surveyor, etc. to tlie Western Land Board, Bourke. — 

 " Survey of ' The Fisheries,' in the Darling River, opposite the 

 town of Brewarrina, New South Wales. — Bourke, 17th July, 

 1906. — 'In compliance with verbal instrnctions from the 

 Western Laud Commissioners, I have the honour to transmit 

 herewith a plan and tracing of compass survey of ' The 

 Fisheries ' at Brewarrina, made on the 15th June, 1906 ' " : — 



" These fish-traps are supposed to have been constructed by 

 the aborigines, but so long ago that all tradition is lost, even 

 the oldest local blackfellow — ' King Watty of the Fisheries ' — 

 cannot tell how the}' originated. As far back as white men 

 can remember, the aborigines have used these traps, and to 

 this day they are kept in repair and fish are caught in them 

 by the local aborigines. The traps are constructed of loose 

 stones and small boulders, arx'anged in four rows or dams on 

 the natural rocky bar in the bed of the Darling River, oppo- 

 site the town. The surface of the water on the upper side of 

 the bar is about eleven feet above the surface of water on the 

 lower side of the bar when the river is Ioav, so that when a 

 fresh occurs the water runs rapidly over the bar and through 

 the traps, giving fish many obstacles to surmount in ascending 

 the stream, while the water is shallow. The fish are caught 

 in these traps when the water is running through them and 

 just exposing the tops of stones. The stones in the traps are piled 

 up to a height of from one to two feet, the bases being about 

 double the height. As far as I know, only fish ascending the 

 stream are caught, they enter the traps at the gaps left on the 

 lower sides of the widest portions of the traps in which the 

 water is deeper than in the narrow ends of ti'aps. When the 

 stream is at a suitable height for trapping fish, the aborigines 

 are always on the watch, and when a fish is found to have 

 entered a trap, it is driven into the shallow, narrow end of the 

 trap and knocked on the head with a stick." 



In answer to queries of mine, Mr. Mullen writes me as follows, 

 under date 18th July, 1916: — " T do not know of any fish-traps 

 now, othei- than those at Brewarrina, but the late Mr. William 

 Crowley, of Collywarry, told me there were stone fish-traps on 



