Aboriginal Rock Paintings and Carvings. 147 



support of these conclusions I may state that close to the figure 

 shown in Plate IX., Fig. 7, I found a sandstone I'ock which had 

 been used by the aborigines for grinding their stone weapons. I 

 observed places hollowed out by sharpening tomahawks, and near 

 tliem were much narrower hollows in which it was evident some 

 pointed instrument had been ground. I saw the sa,me thing on 

 a rock close by where the hgure shown in Fig. 8 is depicted. 

 The carvings of men and otlier objects are generally found on 

 horizontal surfaces of sandstone rocks, which are numerous for 

 many miles around vSydney ; but are sometimes seen on the walls 

 of rocks occupying a perpendicular position. 



As regards the age of these drawings, some wild and fanciful 

 hypotheses have been propounded by some writers, but from the 

 facts set forth in this paper it must be conceded that the practice 

 of painting rocks was in vogue among the aborigines at the time 

 the white people first settled in New South Wales. 



With respect to the rock carvings, so far as I am aware at 

 present, they have not been observed by any European in course 

 of pi'oduction, but, nevertheless, I am not inclined to attacli any 

 great antiquity to them. As far as I liave been able to learn, 

 these carvings have not been observed in any other part of New 

 South Wales, except within a radius of about fifty miles from 

 Sydney. This point is not, however, definitely settled. I am 

 making enquiries through correspondents in ditterent parts of the 

 colony, with a view of ascertaining if the practice has been 

 observed elsewhere. 



Mr. Ernest Favenc, who has travelled a great deal in Western 

 Australia, informs me that, in the Murchison District of that 

 colony, he found gigantic representations of a human foot, and 

 and other marks, scratched upon granite rocks by the aborigines. 

 These scratchings were not deep, owing to the extreme liaixlness 

 of the stone, and appeared to have been worn out by repeated 

 rubbing, probably with a very hard pebble, along the outlines 

 drawn on the rock. All the figures of feet seen by Mr. Favenc 

 had six toes. 



Mr. W. Y. L. Brown, Crovernment Geologist, Adelaide, states 

 that he has seen at Paratoo and Oulnina, South Australia, 

 representations of the feet of kangaroos delineated in outline 

 on the surface of the rocks by some sharp instrument ; and at 



