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Aboriginal Occupation of Kangaroo Island. 

 Prof, Tate, in his excellent resume of the early history of the 

 Island, says {loc. cit.), " Flinders and Peron have each remarked 

 on the absence of any trace of man's sojourn on the Island." In 

 my brief visit I was fortunate in securing unmistakeable 

 evidences of the former presence of the aboriginal race on 

 Kangaroo Island. These evidences were — 



1. The occurrence of stone implements showing human work 

 nianship. Eight hammer stones bearing clear evidence of use 

 were picked up by me near Hawk's Nest. They consist of smooth 

 water-worn pebbles of a close-grained quartzite, such as were 

 commonly used by the natives of the mainland as hammer stones 

 or for chipping into implements. The presence of fresh water 

 near Hawk's Nest would make it a suitable place for the natives 

 to camp at, and as I spent two nights on the ground, I had 

 better facilities for obtaining such objects there than at most 

 places visited. 



Amongst the blown sandhills of the coast I also obtained some 

 chipped quartz. The workmanship is rough, but there can be no 

 doubt they were made by human agency. 



2. A kitchen-midden on top of headland at the east side of bay 

 at the Brecknells, The cliff's are about thirty feet above sea 

 level, with their upper surface slanting gently to the sea. The 

 surface, which has at one time been covered with blown sand, is 

 now bare to the rock, and is literally covered with broken shells 

 over a distance of fifty yards by twenty yards. A great variety 

 of both univalves and bivalves are represented, particularly the 

 former, and amongst these Turbo undidatus and T. stramineus 

 are conspicuous. 



It is difficult to account for such an assemblage of broken 

 sea .shells on any other supposition than a native kitchen-midden. 

 Sea birds sometimes form a larder, and will soar with their prey 

 and allow it to drop from a height on a rock to break it, but the 

 enormous quantity of the material, and the greatly shattered 

 condition of most of the shells can only find adequate explana- 

 tion by assuming the presence of man. 



In the retreating sandhills, cut by wind action, layers of shells 

 could also be seen in section, suggesting the probability that,, 

 when frequented by the natives, the sand came nearer to the edge 

 of the cliffs, and that its removal by the wind has concentrated 

 the shelly material as a residuum on the bared surface. 



The casual residence of native women taken from the main- 

 land, amongst the early settlers, is not sufficient, I think, to 

 explain the facts adduced ; and now that attention has been 

 called to this subject it is probable that further evidence of the 

 occupation of Kangaroo Island by an aboriginal population will 

 be secured. 



