Dig It 8

j Newsletter No.8 July 2000 ISSN

1440-2475

dleFiinders

U ,n i v e r si t"y ARCHAJ:OL06Y SOCIJ:TY

.. j

Contents Presidentiql Address Constit utio n Holdfust Bqy: A Mqritime Heritqge?

The Burrq ExcqVqtion .

ReAections on the pqst: A non-Archqeologicql Perspective.

The Lqnd of the Greqt White Sqlt Lqke Crossword The Spqtiql Orgqnisqtion qnd Ideology of Poonidie Mission .

Vi ncentorix Ho[dfust Bay A OK (Pa rt One) St. Mary's Cemetery: A Field Schoo[ The Nightly Adventures of A Closet Cor.servator

)en Rodigues

Pqge. 1 Pqge. 2 Pqge. 4

K.qtrinq Stqnkowski Jen Rodrigues

Pqge. 6 Pqge. 9

Greg Cq rver

Pqge. 11

Dqrren Griffin .

Pqge. 13 Page. 14

Richard Deacon Chris Lewczak Susq n Piddock.

Page. 19 Page. 20 page . .,, :. . .:. .

Tracey Trelor

page. _) ,-

Greg Cqrver

:he views expressec/ in Dig It Jo not IJeces_,_lrJly reflect those o(the Editors or the FlinJers Uni~ -ersi~v ,.J.r..:h.:Jeofoy,\ 路Society. Petmissioo fOr the use o(extr.:Jds fi-om other public.Jfions h.:J:i either been y r:Jnted or JIJ.Jftempt m:;de to cont:;ct the otigin.71 puNisher :;nd/ or .:Juthor(:;). 5hL'ufd there h.we beell JllY irwofunt.Jry in!rt!Jgemeot o f ~-. .yynght the Ec/ftc)rs would yr:1teflrl t/t/71:,路 wete to f>e houyht to their .]fteotior;.

Presidential Address Well here it is, the first Dig-It for the new millennium. So tar the year has proved eventful for the Archaeology Society and the rest of the year should be more so. We have already held the welcome barbecue, had a good response to the fair day, held an extremely wet and cold excavation at Birdwood and the society has been involved in catering for the public lectures.

The club is approaching one hundred members this year, which must be getting close to a record for the Arch Soc. By the way if we reach the magical figure of one hundred we get extra funding for all the good stuff from club and societies so tell all and sundry to join up.

If you don't already know there are heaps of opportunities for participating in workshops and field trips in the second semester so get your butt into gear and get involved. The sign up forms for these workshops are outside the Archaeology Office in SSS. This year Flinders Uni is holding the National Archaeology Students Conference (NASC) in November. The Archaeology Society is assisting with the conference and is looking for help to make this the best yet. If you would like to be involved please let the committee know and we will find something for you to do. You can access the NASC Web page through the Archaeology home page. Adelaide is hosting the joint ASHA/AIMA conference in November/December this year so the festive season is certainly going to be busy.

By the way those Archaeology Society T -Shirts are in the pipeline again so keep your eye out. That's enough from me for now so here's hoping you had a groovy first semester, a better break and have an even groovier second semester.

Cheers for now Greg Carver June 2000

1

ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY l.

NAME:

2.

OBJECTS:

l.l 2.1

2.2 2.3

3.

3.2

3.3

There shall be a Flinders University Archaeology Socrel; . ~ereinafte r known as the Society .

To fulfill and promote an interest in archaeology. In..-o!\'e;::;:eat wi th local Indigenous communities and associated group~ and societies. with emphasis on cultural heritage in South Australia. 路 In order to achieve these objectives the club shall hold a拢 I~ two activities in each semester apart from Annual General Meeting, General \ leetings and Fair Day Activities.

The assets and income of the Society shall be applied solely in furtherance of the abovementioned objects and no portion shall be distributed direclly or indirectly to the members of the Society except as bona fide compensation fo r services rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of the Society.

All members of the Club and Societies Association Inc . shall be eligible fo r me mbership of the Society upon payment of the Society minimum membership fee.

The Society Membership Fee shall be payable, by 31st March each year, and sha路ll be determined by the Committee provided that the fee shall be no less than the minimum set

by Club and Societies Association Inc. The Committee shall put forward nominations for Life Membership at the AGM to be approved by a quorum of the membership.

COMMITTEE: 4.1

4.2 4.3 4.4

4.5

4.6

4.7

5.

~0~

MEMBERSHIP: 3. 1

4.

CO:\~

The affairs of the Society shall be managed by a Committee comprised of:(i) President (ii) Two Vice Presidents (iii) Secretary (iv) Treasurer (v) Publications Officer (vi) Club and Societies Delegate The Committee shall meet at least once each month during the academic year.

The Committee shall have the power to make any regulations necessary to put this constitution into effect.

A member of the Committee shall cease to be a member of the same upon any of the following happening:(i) He/she submits in writing, his/her resignation to Honorary Secretary. (ii) He/she is absent from three consecutive Committee Meetings without leave of absence being granted by the Committee. (iii) He/she ceases to be a member of the Society.

The Committee shall have the power to appoint from time to time such officers and subcommittees as it deems necessary. The duties of such officers and sub-committees shall be defined by the Committee to which the said officers and sub-committees shall be responsible.

The Committee shall have the power to fill any vacancy occurring on the Committee provided that such an action is ratified by a General Meeting of the Society, to be held within one month of such action being taken.

Terms of office for Committee members shall be from the 1st January- 31st December.

FINANCE: 5.1 5.2 5.3

5.4 5.5

There shall be one account in the name of the Society at the Flinders University Branch of the ANZ Bank. The account shall be a Savings Cheque Account.

All Society funds shall be kept in the Society bank account and appropriated only with the approval of the Committee.

The Honorary Treasurer, shall keep proper books of account for the Society and shall prepare such statements of the Society's financial affairs as the Committee directs. Society books shall be kept in the Clubs and Societies Association Inc Administration Offices and will be accessed only by those persons nominated by the Committee.

The financial year of the Society shall be from 1st January to 31st December.

The Honorary Treasurer shall prepare at the close of each financial year a statement of the Society's financial affairs which shall be duly audited and forwarded to the Flinders University Club and Societies Association Inc.

2

~

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING : There shall he an Annual General Meeting of the Society to he held hy the .\ Ist Marcil each year to: (i) receive a report from the Committee. (ii) receive the audited statements or the finan cial affairs of the Society for the previous year. (iii) elect the Committee, (iv) conduct such other business as is properly brought bcl'orc the meeting.

6.2 The Honorary Secretary shall give fourteen day s notice of the Annual General Meeting hy means of an advertisement published in two (2) issues of Hot Tips pri or to the date of the Annual General Meeting and a notice placed conspicuously on the Clubs and Societies Association noticeboard in the Flinders University Union Building. Place an advertisement prior to the meeting on the Archaeology Department noticeboards , Flinders Uni versity.

7.

GENERAL MEETINGS: 7 .I The Honorary Secretary shall convene a General Meeting of the Society: (i) at the direction of the Committee, (ii) within fourteen days of a petition signed by one-third Of the total membership or ten members of the Society, whichever is the least; provided that such a petition shall state the business to be di scussed at the General Meeting.

7 .2 The Honorary Secretary shall give seven days notice of a Qeneral Meeting by means of a notice placed conspicuously on the Club and Societies Association notice board in the Flinders University Union Building and on the Archaeology Department noticeboards, and by letter or email to each member.

8.

VOTING: 8.1 The Chairperson at each meeting of the Society shall be the President or a person eligible to vote elected by the meeting.

8.2 Persons eligible to vote shall be: (i) at Committee meetings, members of the Committee, (ii) at General and Annual General Meetings, those members of the Society present.

8.3 The Chairperson of each meeting of the Society shall ha ve a deliberati ve vote onl y after three meetings if consensus is not reached.

8.4 All questions before meetings of the Society shall be determined by a simple maj ority of those voting except where stated otherwise in this constitution.

9.

QUORUMS: 9.1 The quorum for a Committee Meeting shall be half plus one of the Committee.

9.2 The quorum for General or Annual General Meetings shall be one-third of the total membership or a minimum of ten members if the membership is 30 or less of the Association: provided that for a General Meeting called under clause 7 .I (ii) of this constitution. the quorum shall include at least fifty percent (50%) of the petitioning members.

10.

ALTERATIONS TO THIS CONSTITUTION: 10. 1 The procedure for altering this constitution shall be: (i) the proposed amendments shall be set out in full and posted co nspi cuous ly on the Cluh and Societies Association noticehoard in the Flinders Uni versity Uni on Building at least fourteen days before the (Annual) General Meeting ~tl which they are to be discussed. (ii) the amendments shall be agreed to by at least two-thirds of the members o i' the Society present at the (Annual ) General Meeting at which they are di scussed. (iii) the amendments shall subsequently be approved by the Flinders Universit y Club and s,1cieties Association Inc. II. Should the Society be disbanded or in any way become defunct then all assets of the S,lCiet y shall be helu in trust by the Flinders University Club and Societies Ass ociation Inc. Such funds shall be recorded hy Club and Societies Assnciatillll Inc. as a ledger entry until such time as the Society is rL路cnnstituted ~md reafliliatec! or for a period uf fiYc years. After this period the assets will be transferred tu Club and Societies Association Inc .

6.

6.1

March 1992 June 1995 March 199X November 1999 March

3

::woo August 2000

from the assemblage without inviting obvious biases into the study. There were, in addition, other problems encountered in this research. Almost all the metal objects including the coins were very badly corroded. This made it difficult to decipher the engravings on some of the items, particularly those with maker's marks. Other objects seemed to have been broken possibly due to improper storage methods.

Another problem faced was the theft of at least one very valuable item, an 1852 Adelaide gold one pound stolen just before documentation of the artefacts.

The absence of certain artefacts meant obvious biases in the artefact analysis.

These, amongst other problems, were covered in the thesis in more detail.

Holdfast Bay: A Maritime Heritage?

The first series of excavations at Glenelg in Holdfast Bay, South Australia saw the recovery of over 5,000 pieces of artefacts. The Society for Underwater Historical Research Inc. (SUHR) excavated the site from 1974 to 1978. It was, and still is, a site of great significance in terms of the state's history. The site was where the state's first colonists landed in 1836 and where all kinds of activities have taken place since. These factors, amongst others, seemed to have paved the way for Glenelg becoming one of Adelaide's most popular metropolitan beaches. A number of activities took place on and along the jetty as well as on the foreshore. These included maritime, social, military, religious, recreational and economic activities.

Other aims in this research included examining the site formation processes (cultural and environmental) so as to attempt to reconstruct the activities that took place as well as assessing the historical and archaeological significance of the site. Also studied were indications revealing the lifestyles of the people, the social and gender classes as well as the social and economic developments that occurred.

In other words attempts were made to reconstruct the cultural, economic, social, recreational and even religious activities of the people who either lived at or visited the site. The necessity and importance of this study were attributed to the lack of research conducted on this collection of artefacts following the excavations and also because a more controlled series of excavations were due to take place the following y~ar (early 2000). It is also perhaps worth noting that very few studies have been conducted on jetty sites and their associated material culture which placed

Research into the uses and significance of the artefacts was undertaken for an Honors thesis in 1999. Prior to this no study had been conducted on the artefacts which were separated and stored in different places (in private homes and government institutions) within South Australia. This research was also to set a stage for future studies to be carried out in various areas from the work undertaken in this study. The investigation included an analysis and interpretation of the artefact assemblage and the main method chosen was based on the function and uses of the artefacts.

The reason for this was to include all the artefacts whilst concentrating on one particular pathway. The decision to do this and not take a random sample from the collection for analysis was because the Ho Idfast Bay artefacts had no recorded provenance. As such, no sort of random sampling could be extracted

4

this research as one of the few undertaken to date. The resulting find arrived at in the research was the conclusion that while the artefacts reflected the archaeological and historical significance of the site, the view of the big picture was skewed due to the recovery methods during excavations and the absence of some of the artefacts in the analysis. For this reason, further research needs to be undertaken.

Two main sites and studies included in this research for comparative purposes were the Long Jetty in Bathers Bay, Fremantle and the Albany Town Jetty in Albany, both in Western Australia.

These were the two 1host similar and contemporary of studies. The fmal task included in this research was to provide a series of recommendations for future studies undertaken in relation to the site.

Jen Rodigues.

5

enthusiastically commenced. Over the

THE BURRA EXCAVATION.

next few days Trench One, excavated by the ever musical Sally May and the

From the 15 1h to the 21st of April this

athletic Julie Ford (located at the top

year, students from Flinders University

of the depression in the riverbank),

conducted an excavation of a possible miner's

dugout

in

Burra,

provided

South

artefacts and snake tunnels. Some of

Australia. The team under the co-

the more 'interesting' items recovered

direction of Claire Smith and the redoubtable enjoyable,

Peter

Birt

spent

of interesting

a wealth

included a black bottle base, ceramic,

an

a horseshoe and a frog.

if sleep deprived time

Trench Two aptly lead by the terrible

trying to establish whether depressions

twosome of Jody Steele and Tim

in the side of the Burra creek were in

Owen (of Fern Avenue fame) started

fact collapsed miners dugouts as part

off its life at the very bottom of the

of Peter's PhD research into the

depression, next to the creek.

archaeology of multi-culturalisim in South Australia.

Over the next week both Tim and Jody were

During Burra's copper mining boom in

from their trench. However, as was

housing. Thus they and their families

predicted on the first day, Jody and

lived in homes dug into the banks of

Tim struck what

~-

is

believed to

possibly have been the lime mortar

The excavators arrived in Burra bright

floor and part

eyed and bushy tailed, all ready to

day.

start. By the end of the first day three lm x 2m trenches had been laid out had

and

appeared to be plaster being excavated

miners could not afford traditional

excavation

excited

frustrated by the amounts of what

the mid nineteenth century, many

and

alternatively

been

6

oft.~

wall on the last

During her time in Burra (in between numerous other commitments), Claire was also trying to create an exhibition of the items excavated from the site with the help of Cherie De Leiuen and Paul Saeki called 'Fragments of the Past'. This exhibition, co-ordinated by

Despite the fact that Jody and Tim

Cherie, opened on the 22"d of April in

spent all day digging in the dirt under

Burra and at the Flinders University

the harsh sun (aww), each night they

Art Gallery on the 14th of June. Plans

grabbed their glasses of Canadian Club

are also being made fot this exhibition

Whisky and Coke and set out creatinato

to be taken to South Africa.

and downloading a site on to the web

We

about the Burra excavation and each

must

also

acknowledge

the

valuable received from the Regional

days findings. This web site is located

Council of Goyder, the National Trust

at:

of South Australia Burra Burra Branch

Http://wwwehlt. flinders.edu. au/archae

and

ology/* smithlburraweb/projectfront. ht

the

Mid

North

Regional

Development Board. Without them,

m. Look it up! This site is a true

this project would not exist.

testament to their abilities to drink and manipulate the world of computers at

¡•

the same time.

8

fifth day a possible plaster wall end or alcove was discovered nmning almost in the same direction of the wall in Trench Two.

They then spent every waking hour excavating furiously to locate as much of the floor as possible (if you've ever seen Tim excavate furiously it is a site to behold). Trench Three, excavated

This caused great excitement and

by Katrina Stankowski and Chris

rejoicing as it now can be said with

Langel D deccke was located between

some justification using the evidence

Trench One and Trench Two in the

from trenches two and three, that the

middle of the depression. (creating the

depression in the riverbank was in fact

'logical' sequence of 1,3,2).

a miner's dugout.

During the excavation a great deal of interest was generated due to local press

coverage,

including

radio

interviews and newspaper articles, the excavation site was also promoted by the Burra tourist office and was open for the public to visit. Volunteer cultural tourism students came down from Adelaide for a day or more to conduct tours and generally lend a hand. This they did with enthusiasm, This trench proved to be the most

with some of the students deciding

frustrating, as the clay was very hard

they liked playing in the dirt better

packed. Four days passed with only

than providing tours .

the occasional finds of fragments of glass, metal, ceramic, trapdoor spider nests and one burrowing frog. On the

7

Reflections on the past: Archaeological Perspective.

A

on hindsight, I believe it gave me one of the best chances of making the most of my stay in Australia. The fieldwork aspect of the course provided the outdoor opportunities for work and study that I enjoy. It also allowed me to see parts of the state or country at the same time. My classmates, who went through to complete their degree with me, were all Australians. In some ways, I was reminded of my being different whilst in others, I had the unique opportunity to meet some of the best people I could ever have met, lecturers and students included. This, in my opinion, is one of the best and most meaningful things in life. After all, there is hardly and point in traveling all the way to a foreign country and missing the opportunity of learning a different culture by finding security only in the company of those from your own country or region.

non-

A suggestion was made to me to write about my experiences as an international student. The following is what I can recall given the short space of time.

In the four years ( 1996-1999) I had been at Flinders, I have never regretted my move to Adelaide or undertaking a major in Archaeology. Perhaps unlike most international students, I had been in the country twice before traveling around the western state to see parts of it and meet some of its people. I liked it from the start and decided it had a culture with which I was comfortable and to which I was attracted. As for Archaeology, this decision came later, but before I resigned from my last permanent job in preparation to move to Adelaide. This decision, in other words, was made before I arrived at Flinders.

Undertaking casual work was another experience I enjoyed while at Flinders.

However, easily the best part of my entire stay in this country was the travels I made during the semester and term breaks. I decided that being in the country already gave me the best and most economical chance to see parts of it I had not already seen. It was also during these travels that I had the opportunity to meet some ofthe best people I have ever met.

I had always looked forward to this move: an opportunity to return to studying as well as experience a different lifestyle and culture. I perceived Adelaide as having a slower pace of life that would be easier for me to live in; a place that would provide me with the personal space I needed and longed for and an opportunity to live independently; a place that would be more affordable than most other capital cities in Australia.

I remember a Dutch traveler I met I north Queensland in the summer of '97.

Sitting down near Mission Beach he chose to share with me stories of how he had traveled for a year once before and upon returning to Holland how he had found difficulty in adapting to his lifestyle back home. Hence, his choice to travel again and, this time, in Australia.

His story had an effect on me, leaving

My only other concern was the choice of major sequences and their impact on my carer. It was always at that back of my mind if Archaeology (Sociology being my other major) was an intelligent choice and worth all the time and money I was putting in. On occasion, the thought still enters my mind. However,

9

me to consider how I was going to adapt to my previous lifestyle. I somehow came to the conclusion that it must surely be the person who changes and not so much his or her home country that no longer seems the same. I had been keen to move to Adelaide and had enjoyed almost all my moments in Australia. But suddenly, it dawned on me that I may have changed as a person -perhaps more than I realised or wanted to. I still wonder about my experiences, and how these may have changed me in more ways that I could have ever imagined.

It was suggested to me that I write this

article describing my experiences of being an international student.

Admittedly, I initially found the concept amusing but realised, on hindsight, that perhaps it is not that much of a laughing matter after all. In all, however, I am glad to be able to say that I enjoyed my years in Adelaide and Flinders. I miss it, especially now that I am no longer there.

After all, how often do we realise what we should value until the moment we discover we no longer have it?

Jen Rodrigues \

10

ROSS arrangement of events Cores mall stone tool rrname of Prof Vincent . stone tool that is twice as as it is wide e method for dating ~ nic remains . _ __ DS deliberately ' ed goods.

RANGE kes come from this A Social grouping The study of tree ring ·ations Which Dutch East Indian ship - wrecked in 1629 A Class of consistent artefacts CATIONDATING ·_-\.n early period of food uction - _' arne the ship wrecked of the -A Coast in 1712 '.N Surname of a famous Movie chaeologist.

F nil name of a female Archaeology lecturer _ Middle Eastern mound site lacial Lake deposits The study of Humans as Animals.

A collective name of early Hominids - Processual • e first Age A distinctive and recognisable form _-\ human made portable object The exchange of goods A Native North American tool used for making holes _ Crude stone pebbles found in Lower Pleistocene contexts.

11

The Land of the Great White ·Salt ' . Lake ,.,, '

The Australian continent is become one scarred by salt. This is not a probess that has begun yesterday or last week or for that matter last year, but a process that began over two hundred years ago. It began with the landing of the first Europeans.

~

We are told by scientists the water table is rising in many areas as a direct result of tree clearing. Early governmental policies required many land owners to dear their newly purchased land to allow for agriculture to expand. With less trees on the landscape less water was required but there was little change in the rainfall. The rain previously needed to water the extensive forests of native "vegetation ~as no longer requir~. Excess water seeped past the plant roots into underground water supplies. Over time the water table ,rose with this added influx of rainwater. The rising water table brought salt to the surface that was previously held deep in the earth. Consequently many areas previously regarded as prime crop growing . land has become saturated with salt and is useless.

All the above many of us are beginning to understand. Why is it that governmental policies are not in place to stop this land clearance? Why is it the policies that are in place are not up held? Trees are still being cleared in many states including South Australia at an alarming rate. From individual trees to hundreds of acres, trees are being destroyed. With federal government's, state governments' and individual councils' ·sanction, trees are be · felled.

Queensland is supposedly about to change their laws relating to land clearance.

Recent programs on television show images of bull dozers dragging chains shredding huge areas of native vegetation

' to ·t,tllow for more ~gric'9~!Ufe . ~fore the,, laws do cbarige. J )o the~ J>eQple.:think the ·salt problem.will )tqt.happen.to them? ·wei~ t~ey are _prgb4bly right if ~on't hapReri'•to them but It 'will certaitily be-Somethiilg their children or their grand childXcim will have to deal wit}l. How is it possible that the farmers are able to continue this practice when it · is a know fact that rising salt levels are directly attributed to rising water tables created by extensive land clearance?

On a smaller scale individual farmyrs are allowed to destroy trees hundreds· of years old with impunity. One small example .is the recent destruction of a red· gum in the vicinity of Birdwood in the Adelaide hills.

No names need be mentioned nor addresses dtsclo~ed as the ,. fdrmer is not entirely , ~t . fault. The -• dJiry farmer · approached his local coundi ana reqti¢~~d pernlls~iori ' .io r~mo~e ·a tf~~. · ~elmission was readily granted by somebody''. i1 the council office 'who had not even viewed the tree. _This farmer wished 'to put in' hew fences"and expand his dairy allowhlg him to milk ·'more cows, making his business more . profitable. This : · is · not · an unreasonable request you might' ,say;. 'but .this tree . was abOut 5mts in diameter and about3offi:ts high. It is difficult t9 age a red gum however due to its size ifwould have to be betWeen 250 and 300 years old as a minimum. If this particular · farmer had made his cat,t:le race a,~ut a metr~ : s~ller the tree 'could have stayed. This would have given his cattle ~4ade on hot summer days and have allowed an ancient icon to survive. '

'

'

'.

;),

To mal(e the matter worse~ 'this particular tree bad' an Aboriginal scar oii it. Many years previously a shield was ~cut from this tree probably · by the local Peramangk people. The Peramangk have lived in the area for thousands of years living in harmony with the land. It has been ·suggested that trees in this area may have been used for habitation by the Peramangk j

,. ;

(Roberts 2000). Nothing remains of this tree today except a few photographs (Fig 1). It has been cut up with a chain saw for frrewood. How can the local council be allowed to grant permission for the removal of a tree of this age without first . sighting it? How can a culturally modified tree of such significance to Aboriginal people be destroyed without Indigenous consultation? Should there not be some legislation enforced to stop this practice?

The fact is there is legislation but few are aware of it, obviously including the Birdwood Council.

Another recent example of the thoughtlessness of some in our midst is the destruction of the canoe tree located on the Currency Creek near Goolwa. Just prior to Christmas of 1998 thi~ tree was ring barked by vandals an4 had racial slogans sprayed over it. It has been estimated the tree could be anywhere' between 300 and 500 years old. It had been a landmark for international visitors and locals alike, yet it was attacked with no compunction. Today it is still surviving but barely.

l

Many ofus are aware ofwhat is happening but what are we doing? Recent articles in newspapers read "Protecting urban area trees" (Advertiser, Jan 24, 2000:7), "School trees to be cut down" (Advertiser, Jan 27, 2000: 17), "40,000 years of history" (Advertiser Jan 27, 2000: 18), "Builders' suburban backlash" (Sunday Mail, March 19, 2000:38), or "Rush to beat new tree laws"(Sunday Mail, March 26, 2000:7).

These are some of the articles related to issues of trees being destroyed in this century alone. When does it stop? What is required to make it stop? Somebody should be held accountable for this wanton destruction. Legislation needs to be implemented and enforce to ensure it is stopped if not for our sake for those that come after.

Greg Carver May 2000.

13

+路"

The

Spatial

Organisation

and

Australian missions, there is a lack of

Ideology of Poonindie Mission.

study

in

this

area

by

Australian

Darren Griffin.

archaeologists. Historians, such as Peggy Brock, Richard Broome and Henry

The study of the period of contact

Reynolds, have long recognised the

between Indigenous and non-Indigenous

significance of these sites in the scheme

groups and the changes this contact

of our contact history, but they are still a

brought to both societies is a relatively

fairly

new area of research in Australian

archaeologists.

new

area

of research

for

archaeology. The material culture from this period can give us clues to the new

Poonindie Mission was arguably the

relationships and ideologies which were

most important early mission site in

emerging

that

southern Australia. It was the only

historical documents may not be able to

Anglican mission established with funds

provide.

from the government in South Australia.

...

I

during

this

period

Its design and layout reflects the ideas Mission sites provide the perfect context

and hopes of the

for the study of contact between two

missionaries to South Australia as well

different cultures. They are a constructed

as the official colonial government

space that is designed to force or coerce

policy regarding Indigenous relations.

the cultural ideologies of one society

The aim of my thesis is to study the

onto another. However they are also

spatial organisation of the mission site in

areas where the dominant ideologies are

order to gain a greater insight into the

assimilated, resisted or manipulated by

ideologies

the colonised culture. The layout and

administrators

design of the mission can also reflect a

Poonindie Mission.

behind and

early European

the

creators,

residents

of

two-way absorption of cultural values and ideologies.

All the early policies that related to Aboriginal groups in South Australia

Although these concepts have been

were inexorably linked with the original

studied by anthropologists, looking at

ideology behind the establishment ofthe

1'+

colony. This ideology can be considered

mi!!!sions to reflect this , segregation ·

a fusion between the humanitarian ideals

policy. Poonindie Mission is tl}e inost

of the Colonial Office and Christian

successful example of these · rmss1ons,

missionaries and the capitalist interests

and according to the State Heritage

of the South Australian Company and

Branch Files is the earliest example of a

Board of Commissioners. Their theory

segregationist

was that the Indigenous population of

(6028-12592)

• 1'

mission

in

Australia.

Australia were lost souls , wlio" only •

needed to be assimilated into European

The

culture to become happier, healthier and

establishment of Poonindie Mission was

more productive individuals.

Mathew Bladgeb Hale, who arrived in

~

mam

individual

behind . the

South Australia in 1848 to become the ·--...,

However l?_y 1850 South Australia's

Archdeacon

to

Adelaide's

B1ishop -,.

:,

colonial goyernment was finding it

Augustus Short. Together with MatJ:l,lew

difficult to

original

Moorhouse, the Adel~ide' Protector of

assimilation policies. They < therefore

Aborigines, they believed that the ·best

increasingly

began

way to achieve their aims would be to

administrative

responsibility

accomplish

its

handing of

remove young Aboriginal people from

Aboriginal people over to the Christian

Adelaide

missionaries.

missionaries

technical skills so that they might gain

concluded that the government policy of

employment and be self-sufficient in a

assimilation had not been effective in its

European, Christian, capitalist society.

aims to "civilise" and "Christianise" the

Hale's original aim for Poonindie was to

Aboriginal population, nor to protect

only take young Aboriginal people who

them from the violence of European

had already learnt how to read and write

settlers.

English at the Adelaide Native School

and

provide

them · with -.

The

Establishment on Kintore A venue. '

The missionaries decided that the best way to achieve these aims would be to

In keeping

segregate the Aboriginal people' from the

policy, Hale's mission was originally

rest of European society. They built their

planned to be established on Boston

with

the

segregationist

·.

Island, an uninhabited island off the

Aboriginal cottages and dormitories, the

coast from Port Lincoln.

white staffs houses and a brick kiln.

He actually moved there in September

There were also the outlying shepherd's

1850, but was unable to fmd enough

huts and wurlies constructed by the local

fresh water and eventually Hale applied

Pangkala

for land at Poonindie, about fifteen

accommodation for married couples

kilometres north ofPort Lincoln, next to

were uniformly small, two-roomed brick

the Tod River. There was already land

and stone cottages with whitewashed

there that had been set aside for an

exterior walls, thatched roofs and dirt

Aboriginal Reserve (Section 457), and

floors.

thirty-three surveyed sections that were

provided a direct contrast to how the

vacant.

European staff lived. They resided in

people.

The

Aboriginal

The Aboriginal living space

multi-room stone houses, amongst the Hale modeled the layout of the mission

shady trees, on slightly higher ground

on a typical English village with the

behind the church.

church as the focal point. It is interesting that Hale seems to have attempted to

At the height of Poonindie' s success in

transport the rigid class system of an

the 1870's, it was leasing 15, 455 acres

English village to Poonindie as well. The

of land. 200 acres of this was under

be

wheat, 20 acres under hay and 60 acres

considered to occupy the same social

still being cleared. It owned 10, 529

position as the , agricultural working

sheep, 150 cattle, 24 horses, 6 bullocks

class, the European staff would take the

and 30 pigs. It was supporting one

place of the . skilled middle-class and

hundred people,

presumably Hale would be the Lord of

staff and had been self-sufficient since at

the Manor!

least 1860.

Aboriginal

labourers

could

including European

Poonindie Mission was closed due to the Together with the church, the mam

greed of the local Port Lincoln farmers

mission

and the economic depression of the

complex

comprised

of

a

bakehouse and oven, superintendent's cottage,

schoolhouse,

1890's.

individual

16 I

Poonindie Mission provides contact

our shared history that we can best

~istorians

contribute to the Reconciliation process.

and archaeologists with the

:f:

~:perfect

text in which to study the

relationships and ideologies between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

It provides a space where the ideologies

of the early colonial government and church were made solid through the design,

spatial

organisation

and

development of the mission. Poonindie is one of the best examples of the new segregationist ideology that was being applied to mission space, not just in this colony,

but around the

whole

of

Australia in the mid-nineteenth century.

Through

studying

the

spatial

organisation of Poonindie Mission we

Picture 1: Poonindie Church c. 1860s.

can ~in@: deeper insight into these early

Dr Octavius Hammond (Superintendent,

ideologies which shaped the nature of

1856-

relations between Indigenous and non-

1868 and rruss1on doctor from

Indigenous

1850 until his death in 1878.) and

people

well

into

the

twentieth century.

his wife in doorway. (Mortlock Library)

In '.addition I feel that studying. ~ontact sites such as Poonindie is of great benefit

to

the

wider

Australian

community. I believe these places are significant to both Indigenous and nonIndigenous people, and it is through a better understanding and recognition of

17

Picture

2: 路 Farm

machinery

implements at Poonindie.

and

(Mortlock

Library)

\

18

i

Ia: . lZJl

t-: ...

'-- . \"- /

19

j

( ..r ;

'

Holdfast Bay A OK (Part One)

By Chris Lewczak

During the hottest part of the year the Society

for

Underwater

Historical

Research conducted an underwater excavation around the Glenelg Jetty.

From January to March the project, run

by Nathan Richards (Rubber Ducky Cowboy Extraordinaire ), look at seven different activity areas associated with

Storm Damage to the Jetty, April II, 1948.

Courtesy ofMortlock Library (B21956)

the original Jetty.

The reason for the excavation was to The Original Jetty was built in 1859

regenerate

avocational

and

archaeology

in

spaned

381

metres

long,

South

maritime Australia,

approximately 160 metres longer then

conduct a controlled excavation and

the present one. Materials for the Jetty

answer a range of research questions.

came from England on board the Berkshire, which ran a ground off the

coast of Brazil. In order to save the vessel 60 tones of jetty material was dumped overboard; causing the Jetty to be shorter then planned.

The Jetty had a Kiosk ( 1907) and an

All aboard the Good Ship LollyPop research

Aquarium ( 1929) added to it, as well

Vessel (a.k.a. Terry Drew's Boat).

as other loading and unloading gear in the vessel berthing area. The Jetty was

The seven areas that were looked at

ripped apart in a storm in 1948, which

included

only left the additions standing in its

underneath the extent of the old Jetty

wake.

and under the pavilion/ tearooms. The

the

main

berthing

area,

aquarium, bathing area (1887), and 2

20

control trenches close to the shore

to be their council rooms.

were also looked at.

Classy!

Pretty

all 6,648 minutes were spent on the

As for the 3D plots and what that tells

s路 e underwater, which uncovered 197

us about shallow water deposits, well

Ti-efacts

from

the

196

msq.

you'll have to wait for the much

路 路estigated, during 14 7 dives, 13 of

anticipated sequel, in the next exciting

:2e 9 grids excavated, with the help of

episode of DIG IT!

Ll-IR members, 4 TV stories, three e

throwing

.:_~ -estigatio ns

2

different

and I Honors Thesis to

... me out of it!

-eren't sexy!

up,

Who said numbers I'm turned on, what

think so. about you? .... I didn't ,;p

A special thanks has to go to Nathan Richards for supplying a lot of this data. Unfortunately the slack bastard is away working in NT or he would have done this himself.

Cheers Nugget.

All material was plotted m 3D, and

"'ith the use of Site Surveyor computer rogram, we are able to recreate the D positioning of each artefact to with in Smm of its actual position (close enough I think!). All artefacts raised, which was pretty much anything that we could fit

into the boat, was

catalogued and is being conserved as we speak by a team of dedicated

Who is this dark COWBOY figure, taming the wild rubber duckies of the open seas? (Photo Rebecca O'Reilly).

SUHR (please do not call us sewer) members.

One of the products of the excavation will be a permanent display of material excavated this year, and in the previous season (1 974-1978), into the new Ho ldfast Bay Info Center in what used

21

St. Mary's School.

Cemetery:

A

Field

Susan Piddock, Assistant Director.

In January and February this year Dr. Bill Adams ran the first historical archaeology field school at St. Mary's Church cemetery, South Road, St. Mary's. Bill was asked by Rev. John Stephenson, who has an interest in archaeology, to help identify the location of burials behind the church.

The church is surrounded on three sides by graves while the fourth side had a few graves and a large dirt area.

It was known that there were at least 70 unmarked burials around the church. While these burials are indicated in the church records, as pauper burials there was no money for permanent grave markers. Rather than simply backhoe the area, as occurs in modern cemeteries after 25 years, it was decided to treat the burials with respect and to learn something from them.

In September 1999 as part of the third year field methods class initial investigations were undertaken.

These included remote sensing work in collaboration with the physical scientists at Flinders, and some test trenches located in various parts of the church grounds. Both techniques showed some evidence of burials being present, and in the summer it was decided to excavate the area 10 metres by 14 metres with Bill and Tim Anson as Director and Co-Director of the excavation. After griding out the side it was time to remove the upper layer of dirt and soil. This was to obtain a clear idea of where possible burials were.

First thing in the morning and in the late afternoon the light was such that it was possible to see the areas of grave fill which were defmable by their edges and the different shade of the disturbed soil. These graves were

22

marked as quickly as possible before the light changed and where then plotted on to site maps. We had at this stage approximately 40 grave pits.

Watering the site also showed up the graves but didn't help with plotting, as . you could not go in to mark the graves.

This plotting ofthe graves was to be an ongoing process as further clearing of the site was to reveal more grave fill areas.

Now came the backbreaking work of digging down parallel to a couple of the grave pits to try and identify how far down the burials were located. This was one of the harder tasks of the dig as the heat was high to very high throughout the dig and heat stroke was a daily danger. We started going in at 7am and stopping in the afternoon heat. Finally it came to light that the burials were down around the six-foot level. At this stage a couple of digging weeks had passed. Bill, demonstrating that archaeologists have to be multi-talented and skilled, decided to bring a small backhoe in and remove several feet of soil to make the burials accessible. Pushing himself to the limit in the heat with the boys showing their wheelbarrow skills on the growing mound of dirt, Bill cleared a large area. Then came the job of removing the loose soil and re-locating the grave pits.

Attention now focused on finding the coffins within the grave pits. This was done by trowelling back the soil and looking for the telltale dark

fo re

as 路es. ~ an

of fi ll

Once we were down to the grave level it rapidly became clear that there were more burials present than indicated by the grave pits. With the children one pit could have two burials in it, and a number of children's burials did not have clear grave pits, and it was a case of following shadowy areas down to see whether there was a burial. Ashley Matic proved to be a good artist and was quickly occupied with drawing the skeletons in situ.

Once this was done the bones were carefully removed and placed in bags clearly marked with the bone type.

Then it was time to look below the coffin for other possible burials.

There was some concern expressed by the public over the removal of the skeletons and when contacted by us or by the Vicar it often proved that they were not aware of exactly how we were working, with visions of us randomly removing bodies in rubbish bags. Instead each ske leton had its own box and was treated with respect. Those with concerns were invited to come and see us at work. In an agreement with the

o ,-.,ith the children as much bone as ssible was found. There were several hild burials ranging from babies to older children. Because of their more fragile nature the infant burials tended to be fragmented or the bones were displaced by the weight above the coffin. The adults found tended to be more intact with the bones in their original position. and in one case the hair was still present in a small clump.

Both Bill and Donald Pate, who was visiting, proved a bit squeamish, but I thought it was really interesting thinking of possible tests that could be done- too much TV. archaeology.

23

Church of l路: nglanu the skeletons will be returned to St. Mary's within two years or the excavation tor reburial with some form of memorial marking their tina! resting place.

Tim Anson, as part of his Phd, is undertaking the analysis of the skeletons, and has since February removed several more bodies before the site is infilled. In total 7 adults and 17 children have been excavated. A considerable part of the grounds still needs exploring to identify the remaining burials, so that the Church can use the area for modem burials.

2'+

TURES

OF

A

o ·er. and I've fi nished therapy - "' : bring myself to talk about - ~- -onser ator. It all started at a · ~ : or Underwater S iHR) back in March . .. . itself with over 4000 the 1980s from beneath

-

.= _ ,: :: ...ci · g place in its day. Ships ~ ==--=- -:s and trade cargoes had loaded ~ - ere, a tea house had served ers with dainty delights, an · ~ ted visitors of all ages, keen ~ ed lines from its deck, and the g areas around it were packed with _ ~ers on hot summer days. It was no = so many artefacts had been recovered, that they were back on land, it was to document, conserve and display

er honour's thesis in 1999, Jennifer ·guez spent her final year at Flinders -- · ·ersity sorting, identifying, cataloguing and ioning the collection. The artefacts had · ginally been partially conserved by keeping - em in fresh water that was regularly changed; ereby gradually reducing the salt content and stabi lising chemical reactions. But many of the artefacts were still encrusted with various underwater concretions or were disguised by corrosion surfaces. The removal of these disfiguring surfaces, and permanent identification labelling of individual artefacts, was to be our task between March and June 2000. This was in preparation for a new Holdfast Bay museum display at Glenelg.

The society, we were told, had its own lab at Netley, and met regularly on Wednesday or Thursday evenings between 7 and 9 for treatment sessions (not psychological at this stage). The lab was a demountable hut, similar in size, shape and comfort to a sea container. It contained three tables, several buckets, a mop and two lights. We were able to plug into an electricity source for lighting, but the toilet was a par.ticularly green patch of grass behind the hut, and the procurement of water (essential in the art of artefact conservation) was an adventure in itself.

An eight-foot fence, topped with several strands of barbed wire, separated us from the nearest tap.

Two of the club members and session organisers, Nathan Richards (better known as Nugget) and John Perkins, became rather adept at scaling this prison wall . Should they ever find themselves in a detention centre I'm sure they would have no difficulty in escaping! After a few pairs of ripped trousers, however, and a near miss with certain essential body parts, John began trucking his own water in on a weekly basis.

Different artefacts require different methods of conservation, and David Tilbrook of ARTLAB was consulted to ensure the most appropriate techniques were used for the Holdfast Bay collection. His recommendations, for the most part, involved the use of acid, elbow grease, patience and a toothbrush (preferably one you didn't want to use again). We started our conservation activities with spoons, knives, sinkers, toys , locks, bullets and other oddments, but quickly moved on to the more numerous coins. For weeks we dunked successive batches of them in a weak acid bath, neutralised them with fresh water, and polished them with a toothbrush dipped in ground pumice. Our fingers grew numb with effort and our bottoms were permanently scarred with round rings from sitting on upturned buckets. Finally the last artefact was cleaned and polished and we celebrated with a packet of Tim Tams, but it wasn't over yet. . ..

It was still necessary to seal the artefacts with a coating of protective lacquer. For several weeks more we spread the tables with all sorts of oddments. One poor, addicted conservator would lay out the artefacts, a second would paint the tops of each one, while a third would follow behind testing for dryness and turning them over for a coat on the bottom. This was a less demanding activity with more rewards (the fumes of the lacquer, restricted in the confined space of the laboratory, acted like. a mild narcotic). We were able to complete our task quite merrily, and celebrated finishing the last bag with another packet of Tim Tams.

From here there was only the labelling to do.

After much debate it was decided to label each artefact with a dob of liquid paper on which was written either the actual accession number, or a symbol representing the accession number. We haven't had our Tim Tams for this one yet, as the labelling activity is still continuing. Most might

·.

think this conservation activity was really quite a strange way to spend our evenings, but in defence I would like to say that the company was entertaining and the results rewarding. The artefacts are now stable, and our efforts have revealed identifying maker's marks, dates of manufacture and visible signs of secondary, adaptive use. Further, more revealing research is now possible.

For those who would like to see the final results, the SUHR's Holdfast Bay exhibit will be on display at Glenelg later in the year. Precise date and venue details will be published in the next issue of Dig It.

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