11. Spring on the plains
In some previous stories, we looked at an article written by Harry Parris, of Nagambie, in 1953. From what we now call the Rushworth forest, he surmised the Ngurai-illum balug people may have moved to Waranga swamp (now covered by Waranga Basin) and then on towards what is now the Tatura/Toolamba area, where more wetlands abounded with food sources. An alternative suggestion was the lakes complex around the Colbinabbin-Corop area.
Wetlands would have been excellent areas to take advantage of a range of food sources in the springtime, so these are reasonable propositions. As water holes dried up, fish could be caught more easily and plenty of water birds would be nesting. While crossing the plains, reptiles and marsupials would be on the move; new growth would be occurring in many of the food plants, while harvest time for grain crops would be approaching.
BURIALS AT SAPLING POINT
Aboriginal burials are an indicator of places frequented by the local clans. Waranga swamp could have been one such spot. In 1938, some local fisherman found a skull and some bones in the vicinity of what is now called Sapling Point. Waranga Basin was at a 12-year low at the time, with the bones being found about 30 metres from the high-water mark. Reminiscent of the lines in the well-known Paul Kelly song, “Jindabyne”, the fisherman “stayed up there fishing…reported it when they came back down”. The bones weren’t going anywhere in the meantime.
Things moved pretty quickly after that. Senior Constable Ashe and a witness went back out to the Basin later that day with one of the fishermen, who had found a portion of a human skull and some bones. They unearthed more bones, and “what appeared to be a portion of another skull.” The bones were around 10-20 cm under the ground, apart from the section of skull that had probably been unearthed by wave action. Constable Ashe said “mixed with the soil were what appeared to be pieces of burnt charcoal. I could not find any traces of clothing or buttons.”
MEDICAL REPORT
Homicide detectives arrived from Melbourne the next day, taking the bones back with them for medical examination at the City Morgue. Dr Mollison conducted a full examination of the remains and concluded that the bones were of a young adult female and an older male who had been dead for many years (possibly over 100) “and had been those of Australian aboriginals…there was nothing to show that the deaths were due to any violence.”
The Coroner agreed with the Detective Davis that “there are no suspicious circumstances.” It is unclear what happened to the remains after the Coroner had completed his work.
SOME OBSERVATIONS
Perhaps the remains were those of a husband and wife. It was not uncommon for older Aboriginal men to have wives younger than themselves – sometimes much younger. If the deaths were not the result of violence, then perhaps the pair died around the same time as a result of illness or disease. Dr Mollison’s conclusion about the age of the remains could mean that the deaths pre-dated European colonisation of the Waranga area. As noted in an earlier story, diseases such as smallpox had by then spread south from northern Australia, decimating Aboriginal populations well before Major Mitchell traversed the area.
Pre-Waranga Basin days, the location would probably have been well above the level of water in the swamp. Aboriginal burials had all sorts of variations, but some common themes were the likelihood of one or two people being buried there, the presence of ochre and charcoal in the grave, close proximity to water and/or where the people happened to be living at the time.
Reference: Report of Coroner’s Inquest held on 3.5.1938; Aboriginal Burials, Victorian State Government fact sheet (2008)
