nong and Banyena take their names). 
It comes from Banye, "a burning", 
but only applicable to roots and 
stumps, and Nong, which denotes the 
past. This strange name referred to 
a legend (for details of which see 
Bunjil's Cave) which has it that the 
lake's depression was caused by the 
burning out of the roots of a giant 
pine tree. This depression later filled 
with water, and thus became Buloke. 
The Lake, a name also suggestive of 
the cry of the bullfrog, which inhabits 
the shallows. 
During the wet period of about 
5,000 years ago, if not later, the lake 
was much greater in extent, as wit- 
nessed by the continuous line of sand 
dunes, and old shore, stretching from 
just north of Donald almost to Corack, 
and from Banyenong in the east, al- 
most to Massey in the west. There are 
great concentrations of oven mounds, 
or native cooking ovens, both in the 
south of this former bed, and on its 
northern periphery, at what are now 
Box Swamp and Mini Swamp. The 
ovens around this former lake-bed 
and along the Richardson River have 
been carefully mapped by Barry 
Golding, of Donald, to whom I wish 
to record my indebtedness. He must 
have spent weeks on this research, the 
results of which he so freely placed at 
my disposal. 
The campsites, or "blows", upon 
which stone implements can be col- 
lected are generally found far removed 
from the oven mounds. Just why this 
should be is one of the unsolved mys- 
teries of the pre-history of Victoria. 
In a former paper ( Vict. Nat, 83 ( 6 ) , 
June 1966) I have discussed these 
mounds as they occur in this State, 
and all I need state now is that the 
local evidence around Lake Buloke 
suggests that the oven mounds ante- 
date the campsites. The oven mounds 
are on the old shore of the lake; often 
in places which are now dry. The 
campsites are either close to present 
semi-permanent water, such as at York 
Plains, Lake Cope Cope, Lake Mur- 
rumbeet and Lake Wooroonook; or 
else they are close to surface water or 
soaks, such as at Banyenong, at the 
little blow south of it on the sand 
dunes above Dunstan's Lake, at Cres- 
wick's Well, at Youanduk, and on the 
Brothers Barrance property near 
Donald. 
What do we know of the people 
who lived at these camps and hunted 
upon these plains? A few short lists 
of words, one or two legends, and 
some place-names. Our lack of know- 
Youanduk 
campsite. 
(Rockhole on rise 
in left of 
photograph.) 
photo : Author. 
February, 1969 
45 
