Getting Stone for Tomahawks, etc.
Mr. John Green, in reply to my questions on this subject, says that the stones used for making tomahawks were dug out of the quarries with a pole of hard wood. The stones were found in blocks, not much larger than the ordinary tomahawks, and shape was given to the blocks by striking off flakes with an old tomahawk. The cutting edge was formed and polished by grinding and rubbing on a piece of sandstone. Sometimes a stone was found in the bed of a creek or river, or on the sea-shore, of the desired form, and this was ground and sharpened, and used as a tomahawk; but such a stone was considered as very inferior to the tomahawk of greenstone shaped in the manner above described. Pebbles were never used by the men of the Yarra tribe if they could get the greenstone blocks. The greenstone was brought from a quarry near Kilmore, on a range called Mount Hope by the Europeans, and known as Wil-im-ee Moor-ring (Tomahawk-house) amongst the natives.
The flakes of basalt, &c., used for skinning animals, were struck off by blows given with an old tomahawk or some other suitable stone.
The wood of the silver wattle (Acacia dealbata) was used for making the handles of tomahawks. The native name of this wood is Ur-root. The piece of a bough chosen for a handle was pared on one side as far as the pith; it was then heated in the ashes of a fire, and bent with the hands. The gum used for fastening the handle to the stone was obtained from the silver wattle. The handle was tied with sinews (Berreep) from the tail of a kangaroo.
The Rev. Mr. Bulmer informs me that the natives of Gippsland never, as far as he can learn, got stones from a quarry for their tomahawks. They selected suitable stones amongst those lying on the sea-beach or in the bed of a stream. They shaped the cutting edge either with an old tomahawk or a piece of stone. They did this by striking it near the edge, so as to cause pieces in the form of flakes to fall off. As soon as the edge was thin enough, it was ground and polished on sandstone. The flakes called Kra-gan, used for jagged spears, skinning animals, &c., were made in the same way, namely, by striking the edge of a block of stone with an old tomahawk.
The old tomahawks from Gippsland in my collection seem to have been formed in the manner described by Mr. Bulmer.
He says that the natives often used pieces of reed, sharpened at the end, for skinning animals. Reeds are plentiful in many parts of Gippsland, and being easily obtained and readily fashioned, and quite as effective as the flakes of stone, it may be supposed that they were, as a rule, preferred. Broken spears, and reeds not suitable for spears, are always found at a camping place, and when quite dry and sharpened at the end, would be as good as a sharp flake for skinning the kangaroo, &c. It is not known whether reeds were used in other parts of Victoria for this purpose.
