Author: Buckley, William
Title: Reminiscenses of James Buckley who lived for thirty years among the Wallawarro or Watourong tribes at Geelong Port Phillip, communicated by him to George Langhorne, manuscript
Date: [1837]
Accession Number: MS13483
Transcript Number: pp0019-010-0


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he had sent a message to the Tribes to send a certain number
of Tomahawks to enable him to prepare a new prop
for the Sky as the other had become rotten and their
destruction was inevitable should the sky fall on them
to prevent this and to supply as great a number
of Iron Tomahawks as possible - some of the Blacks
repaired to Western Port and stole the Iron work
from the wheels of the Sealers cart - It is about 25
years since I first saw an European Tomahawk among
them - on enquiring where they obtained it - they informed
me that while I was absent some distance in the
interior some white men had rowed up the Barwin
in a Boat and had left the Tomahawk at the place
where they landed on visiting the spot I observed the
place where the Strangers had dug to procure water
The Natives Tomahawks [are] (merang) are made of
talc shaped in an oval form and placed in a bent
stick the two ends of which are firmly bound
together - a syphylis disorder is very prevalent among
them - attacking not only the adults but the children.
Promiscuous intercourse of the sexes is not uncommon and
in certain festivals is enjoined - at certain times the
Women are lent to the Young Men who have not wives - the
women in other respects are faithful to their husbands
Sometimes a Black will go to a Willam or miam miam
to entice a woman away Should the husband be
within he will give permission to her to follow him
and on her return will probably snatch a fire brand
from the fire and beat her severely -

During [After] 30 years residence among
the natives I had become so reconciled to my singular
lot - that although opportunities offered, and I sometimes thought
of going to the Europeans I had heard were at Western Port