Antiquity of Man in Victoria. 137 



deuce, for they do not refer to the craters which were last in 

 eruption. Thus, Mount Leura is probably older than some other 

 mountains in the same district, e.g., than Mount Noorat, of 

 which the crater is perfect. Accordingly one would expect, if 

 there were any reliable aboriginal traditions of volcanic action in 

 the Camperdown district, that they would refer to Mount Noorat, 

 rather than to Mount Shad well. Mount Elephant, or Mount 

 Leura. Warrenheip is in a much better condition of preserva- 

 tion than Buninyong ; its crater walls are far more perfect, and 

 as the two mountains are equally exposed, Warrenheip was 

 probably in eruption much the later. Traditions of volcanic 

 activity in the Ballarat district should refer to Warrenheip rather 

 than to Buninyong. 



The origin of these traditions is easily explained without 

 accepting them as historic. Some of the Victorian craters 

 resemble the form of the aboriginal ovens ; the vesicular basalts 

 look like cinders, and burnt, carbonized tree-stems occur in the 

 lava flows. The igneous origin of the mountains would be 

 obvious to even less keen observers than the Australian abori- 

 gines. Moreover, the people who asked the aborigines as to the 

 former eruptions from the mountains, probably put leading 

 questions, and may thus have themselves originated the traditions. 

 The aborigines had many legends, which no doubt arose from the 

 endeavour to explain natural objects. The traditions that 

 stones lying about Buninyong and Mount Elephant have been 

 thrown from the craters is not an unnatural invention to explain 

 the occurrence of the numerous volcanic bombs on their flanks. 

 The folk-lore of most nations contains legends of stones being 

 thrown to their present positions by giants, or by the elements in 

 fury. Thus, the hills of liver-coloured quartzite, near the end of 

 Lake Eyre, are reported to be the liver of one of the Mura-mura, 

 the legendary giant forerunner of the present aborigines. This 

 Mura-nmra was dying and was harassed by dingoes, and in his 

 agony he tore out his liver and threw it away. The idea that these 

 hills had been thrown where they are was, to the aborigines, the 

 easiest method of explaining their existence. If these hills had 

 been composed of volcanic materials, instead of quartzite, the 

 legend might have been quoted as proof that the aborigines 

 witnessed the eruption. 



