340 R. H. MATHEWS. 



Line, 460 miles from Sydney, town of Byrock, parish of 

 Bye, county of Oowper, there is an outcrop of granite, about 

 an acre or more in extent. It is irregular in shape and 

 does not project more than a few feet above the surround- 

 ing country, which is practically level. The aboriginal 

 name of this granitic outcrop is Bai, a word signifying tlie 

 semen of men and animals. 



On various parts of the exposed surface of the rock there 

 are a number of patches of a reddish-brown colour, the 

 staining being due to oxides of iron introduced by natural 

 agencies. These stained patches vary in size from a few 

 inches to several feet. They are of different forms, and 

 the imagination of the natives has assumed certain ferrugin- 

 ous outlines to represent hunting and fighting weapons, 

 utensils, tracks of men and animals, sacred instruments, 

 and other objects connected with their daily life. I made 

 a rough survey by compass and pacing of the positions of 

 some of the most important of these delineations, and 

 submit the following descriptions of them. 



Near the northern extremity of the rock is a small hole 

 in which water collects in rainy weather and also during 

 every thunderstorm which falls, and remains for a consider- 

 able time. This little "rockhole," called in the native 

 language wuggarbuggamea, was a great camping place of 

 the aborigines when this part of the country was first 

 occupied by European settlers. And there is still residing, 

 in close proximity, the remnant of the old Ngeumba tribe, 

 accompanied by a few friendly aborigines from the sur- 

 rounding country. 



Baiame, the principal hero in the mythology of these 

 people, is said to have had his home at this rock in the far- 

 away past. He dug the water hole with his stone hatchet, 

 and everytime it became blunt during the operation, he 

 whetted it on the surface near him. The pictorial stains 



