77 



NOTES ON THE OCCURRENCE OF ABORIGINAL REMAINS 



below Marine deposits at the Reedbeds, 

 fulham, near adelaide. 



By S. A. White, C.M.B.O.U. 



[Read July 11, 1919.] 



In 1893 Mr. William White, of the Reedbeds, conceived 

 the idea of forming a small lake as a sanctuary for water-fowl 

 and other birds. For this purpose he leased a piece of ground 

 from his younger brother (now deceased) situated close to what 

 was once a large swamp, and only a few hundreds of yards 

 from the sand-dunes near Henley Beach South. This part of 

 the country has been in the possession of the family from the 

 first, my grandfather, the late John White, having settled 

 there prior to the proclamation of the Colony in 1836. 



The excavation required in the formation of the artificial 

 lake was carried out entirely by hand labour and hand tools,, 

 and the excavated materials were carted to one side and 

 tipped, making a considerable mound around the lake. The 

 cost of labour alone amounted to over £1,500, in addition to 

 the personal costs and years of hard work done by the owner. 



The locality where the work was carried out was swampy, 

 being in the channel of the flood waters which sometimes came 

 that way from the River Torrens, and yielded a swamp vegeta- 

 tion, especially the "cutting grass" (Cladium filwm) that was 

 used in the olden days for thatching. 



The following is a statement of the various beds passed 

 through in making the excavation : — 



Ft. In, 



1. Alluvial soil ... 1 6 



2. Blue clay, very slimy and difficult to remove. 



At the bottom of this clay there were pockets 

 of seaweed, some of which were quite decayed 

 while other parts were well preserved ... 1 6 



3. Hard, rusty-coloured sand, sometimes cemented 



together with sea shells 3 



4. Hard black clay on fairly level bed 10-16 



5. A peculiar formation of "swamp-stone/' occur- 



ing in denticulated or stalactitic concretions, 



in yellow sand 3 



6. Pure white sand (not bottomed) 10 



As soon as the white sand was reached several clay-lined 

 basins were exposed. The clay was from half an inch in thick- 

 ness at the rim to 2 -inches, or more, towards the bottom of the 

 depression. Close to one of these basins was a length of black 



