10 



THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



The outline of a Dolphin carved at Jibbon, Port Hacking 

 by Aboriginals. 



pick or chisel of hard rock. The older 

 figures had broader and deeper fur- 

 rows than the newer ones, and in some 

 very ancient engravings the natural 

 deca_y of the surface of the rock has 

 almost obliterated the drawings. 



Another style of illustration which 

 the blacks practised was to make red 

 hands in caves. White paint was 

 made from burnt cockle shells mixed 

 with wood ashes from the camp fire, 

 made more durable bv mixing it with 

 blood. Red paint was got from iron 



clays, and black paint from charcoal 

 mixed with fat. Having mixed his 

 paint, the artist took a mouthful of 

 it, then he placed his hand on the rock, 

 the palm to the wall and the fingers 

 outstretched. On this he squirted the 

 paint from his mouth, and when his 

 hand is removed, the print of it on the 

 rock is seen blocked out by white. 

 Finally its outline may be filled in with 

 red paint. Sometimes the rock was 

 first greased to make the paint adhere 

 better. 



A rock carving at Curl Curl, Manly showing an aboriginal Man, and 

 a Strap-tooth Whale. 



