j»cncd gold-licid". the existence of 

 itin quarry was however known before 

 Hbmdowski visited it and he referred 

 lg n as the ' c.Mfhr.ifeti Npot which 

 supplied the natives with stone foi 

 ,l,cn tomyhawks". Its existence was 

 also to William Buckley, the 

 niiipcd eonvict who spent 30 years 



,,moiiKsi the Aborigines, although he 



never visited it. 



Mount William was m the tcrri- 

 tfQ ol the Wurundjen tribe. some- 

 imics called thi- Yarra mbe, which 

 .wiupicd the valleys ot the Y;irr:i ,uul 

 ,h tributaries, everywhere right up to 

 |$g Watershed' I he quairv was n) the 

 country ol a local group of the trihe 

 whose «irta extended from the site 

 „i Melbourne, along the eastern side 

 of the Mai'ibyrnong. to the eastern 

 did of ihe Macedon range. Abnul 

 ,r.L- time of tile lit^t settlement ot ihe 

 I'ori Phillip district. Ihe head-man Ol 

 h,v group *j.s Hilli-hilleti. He lived 



at the quaiiy siie and conducted ihe 

 quarrying operations and super vised 

 the barter trade. 



The quarry was tribal property, but 

 I tic actual custody of it rested with a 

 small group of related people who 

 tnhcrired [heir rights 10 it lust how 

 these rights came about, or what they 

 were bused upon, is however not clear. 

 I he group included at least one per- 

 •on who was oulside Ihe Wurundjen 

 tribe altogether. This was the husband 

 ol Billi-billcri's sister, who was one 

 tal the head-men of the neighbouring 

 Kurnung-willam tribe and lived at 

 the present site of Bacchus Marsh. 

 His name was Nurtum-nurrum hiiu. 

 which is said to mean — Moss growing 

 on decaying wood At times when 

 Biili lal!c;i was absent, his place was 

 ta)g 11 brVi Nurium-niirrum-biin's son 

 who on such occasions came to lake 

 charge of the quarry. 



r"ta|* l. i). t . til iN. has»p» .'I debir> unionist whklv rtiaiW IMWffM ,r htoken axe 

 O-Jeber. |WI ^5 



