98 
A.W.R. Bevan, P. Bindon 
of the Mundrabilla meteorite shower is estimated 
by Aylmer et al. (1988) to be >1 Myr BP. 
Most fragments of the Mundrabilla iron are 
found within an area straddling the Trans- 
Australian Railway between the townships of 
Forrest and Loongana. However, De Laeter and 
Cleverly (1983) reported the discovery in 1978, by 
the late Mr A.J. Carlisle, of about 100 small 
fragments of the Mundrabilla meteorite near 
Tookana Rock Hole (31°41'S, 128°21'E) situated 47 
km NNW from Eucla on the Eyre Highway. The 
Tookana Rock Hole locality lies approximately 135 
km to the SE of the main strewnfield of the 
Mundrabilla meteorite. De Laeter and Bevan (1992) 
suggest that the Tookana Rock Hole material had 
been transported from the Mundrabilla area by 
human agency, almost certainly Aborigines. 
The heaviest specimen found at Tookana Rock 
Hole weighed 0.44 kg and the total mass of the 
recovered material was 3.97 kg. When the 
fragments were discovered, the finder reported 
that they were scattered over an area about 10 m in 
diameter. De Laeter and Cleverly (1983) concluded 
that the material represents the disintegration, by 
weathering, of a mass of around 5 kg. Moreover, 
De Laeter and Cleverly (1983) discount the 
possibility of human transport on the grounds that 
the state of weathering (apparently in situ) of the 
material suggests that transport must have 
occurred long before Europeans reached the area, 
and that Aborigines were not known to have used 
meteorites. While the observations of De Laeter 
and Cleverly (1983) appear to rule out transport of 
the meteorite by Europeans, they do not exclude 
the possibility of transport of the material by 
Aborigines in antiquity. 
Queensland 
Thunda meteorite 
A mass of iron weighing 62 kg was known before 
1881 at Thunda (25°42'S, 143°3’E) near Windorah in 
the Diamantina district of Queensland. The mass, 
originally buried in the ground had been known to 
Aborigines for some time and covered by them 
with stones before its recognition by Europeans 
(Liversidge 1886; Spencer 1937). According to 
Spencer (1937), two masses of iron, the "Old Man" 
and the "Old Woman" were known to Aborigines 
on Githa Creek. In 1881, the "Old Woman" mass 
was taken to the Thunda Homestead about 25 km 
to the north of the site of discovery. The 
whereabouts of the "Old Man" mass are unknown. 
Half of the 62 kg "Old Woman" (Thunda) mass is 
deposited in the Natural History Museum in 
London. 
Victoria 
Cranboume meteorite 
Among the earliest well-documented recoveries 
of meteorites in Australia were two large masses 
or iron weighing 3.5 and 1.5 tons found in 1854 
near Cranboume in Victoria (Walcott 1915). During 
the period 1854-1928, eight additional masses of 
the same meteorite shower were recovered from 
an area between Beaconsfield and Langwarrin 
bringing the total weight recovered to more than 
10 tons. Walcott (1915) noted from reports of 
people who had visited the site that the largest 
meteorite was originally buried in the ground with 
a small portion protruding above it. Old colonists 
are reported to have recounted a time when 
Aborigines used to dance around the meteorite, 
"beating their stone tomahaiuks against it, and 
apparently much pleased with the metallic sounds thus 
produced" (Walcott 1915). 
Locality unknown 
Barker (1964) refers to the recognition of a 
meteoritic mass by Aborigines at an unknown 
locality. In his words; 
"The blacks knew of a meteorite out in the desert, 
knew exactly what it was, how it fell and, in spite 
of their scientific ignorance, could describe it 
correctly, leaving no shadow of doubt that it was 
really there. But it was serving too useful a 
purpose where it was, a source for myths and 
superstitions that could be used to the benefit of 
the old people. So they would not reveal its 
whereabouts to any whites, though they were 
always willing to talk about it" 
UTILIZATION OF METEORITIC MATERIALS 
BY ABORIGINES 
While there are numerous, well documented 
examples of the discovery of meteorites in modern 
times by Aboriginal people (e.g., see Hodge-Smith 
1939; McCall and De Laeter 1965), currently, there 
are no known examples of the use of meteoritic 
materials by Aboriginal people in antiquity. Some 
problems arise from the confusion that exists in the 
non-meteoritical or non-geological literature in 
distinguishing genuine meteorites from tektites. 
For example, 'tektites' are commonly referred to 
by modern Aboriginal people as 'meteorites'. An 
example of this confusion, which is not confined to 
Aborigines, is well illustrated by Barker (1964); 
"In the desert country in the west of South 
Australia were hundreds of little round meteorites 
[sic], about the size of a pigeon's egg. Again the 
blacks knew what they were and stuck rigidly to 
their theory but white people were inclined to 
disbelieve. Now scientists are satisfied that the 
blacks were right, and these tiny black and shiny 
meteorites [sic] called australites or, more 
correctly, tektites can be seen in most museums" 
