very large mouths and teeth; the size of the latter and the squareness of the jaw are probably caused by continually tearing food with the teeth, as young children have not that squareness of jaw, neither have boys who have lived almost entirely with white people. Their mode of whistling, which consists in drawing the lower lip with the finger and thumb tightly on one side, has its influence, no doubt, on the size of the lips. The men of the Coorong, who subsist almost wholly upon fish, have much smaller mouths and thinner lips; their eyebrows also are not so heavy. In appearance they much resemble the New Zealanders."[1]
Dr. Strutt says of the natives of the River Murray:—"The face is generally round, rather broad, chin round and well formed, mouth large."[2]
Mr. Taplin writes thus:—"There is a remarkable difference in color and cast of features. … Some natives have light complexions, straight hair, and a Malay countenance; while others have curly hair, are very black, and have the features of the Papuan or Melanesian. It is therefore probable that there are two races of Aborigines; and, most likely, while some tribes are purely of one race or the other, there are tribes consisting of a mixture of both races."[3]
Mr. Carl Wilhelmi observes that the "striking peculiarities in the appearance of their body are their miserably thin arms and legs, wide mouths, hollow, deep-sunken eyes, and flat noses; if the latter are not naturally so formed, they make them so by forcing a bone, a piece of wood, or anything else, through the sides of the nose, which causes them to stretch. They generally have a well-arched front, broad shoulders, and a particularly high chest. The men possess a great deal of natural grace in the carriage of their body; their gait is easy and erect, their gestures are natural under all circumstances—in their dances, their fights, and while speaking; and they certainly surpass the European in ease and rapidity of their movements. With respect to the women we cannot speak so favorably by a great deal; their bodies are generally disfigured by exceedingly thin arms and legs, large bellies, and low hanging breasts, a condition sufficiently accounted for by their early marriages, their insufficient nourishment, their carrying of heavy burdens, and the length of time they suckle their children, for it is by no means uncommon for children to take the breast for three or four years, or even longer."[4] Mr. Wilhelmi adds, that there are considerable varieties not only of countenances and forms of body, but also of colors and skins. The skin of the tribes of the north is dark and dry in appearance, and that of the people of the south approaches a copper-color.
The Rev. Mr. Schürmann believes that the best fed and most robust natives are of the lighter colors.
Capt. Grey, writing of the natives of North-Western Australia, says:—"They closely resemble the other Australian tribes, with which I have since become pretty intimately acquainted; whilst in their form and appearance there
- ↑ Tribes in the Central part of Victoria, by W. E. Stanbridge, F.E.S.
- ↑ The Report of the Select Committee of the Legislative Council of Victoria.
- ↑ The Narrinyeri, p. 84.
- ↑ Natives of the Port Lincoln District, South Australia.
