The Present and the Past

Behind the Bridgewater Lakes (where we had an enjoyable lunch) is a limestone ridge riddled with caves.

These caves are collectively called the Tarragal Caves.
When we were there I didn’t know anything about them, but they were close to the road so I just had to climb up and have a look.

As I climbed the slope to the cave mouths I watched the ground closely. As I went I began to notice fragments of shell scattered through the grass.
Back in my university days I spent a few field seasons on some Archaeology digs and surveys. I have vivid memories of spending a full month helping a friend sort ancient fish bone and shells from a coastal Aboriginal midden (rubbish heap) as she gathered data for her thesis. It was simultaneously fascinating and ridiculously tedious, but I learnt a lot about coastal archaeology in the process.

The shell material I saw scattered down the slope was very reminiscent of that midden, and others I have seen. So as I climbed the slope to those caves I was fairly sure they had been used by Aboriginal people as rock shelters.

The largest cave had a sandy floor in one corner. This sand was also littered with tiny shell fragments.My impression of long term use was further concreted by what appears to be heavy smoke staining, possibly from hundreds of years of camp fires.One corner of the large cave held this large pillar formed when a stalactite and stalagmite joined.
At the far end of the complex is a lower, but deeper cave.It also has a sandy floor this time with very recognisable shells and pieces of charcoal.
This piccie is taken looking out of the smaller cave. The car parked near the junction is ours, Deb was no doubt knitting as she waited for me.

The view from the cave mouth, it is easy to see why the local people chose to use this spot. Quite apart from the nearby marine resources and the shelter, it is simply beautiful.
As we drove away I commented to Deb that I would have to find out if there was any information on prehistoric use of the caves.

Well I found a little, records I could access indicated that the caves were in use.

Also there was an Aboriginal myth associated with the cave. They apparently believed their creator spirit Bundjil sometimes lived in one of the caves and also descended from there to “walk the shore”.

Then I found this an engraving made by Thomas Ham, a surveyor in 1851
Thomas took some licence with the background but the basic shape is right when looking out of the cave, in particular the pillar on the right is very recognisable. Also if you compare it with my piccie of the view the basic propertions of the cape in the distance are more or less right.

I wonder if there were Aboriginal people there when Thomas Ham visited? Or were they added to the sketch for “colour”?
The British visitors with their early Victorian period formal attire crack me up. How different was my attire, jeans and t-shirt!

A Mystery Solved.

The riddle of the mystery object has been solved!

However, in true Uncle Harry style I am going to inflict yet more photos on you all before I reveal our detectives.

If you want me to stop you’ll have to cease telling me you like my piccies!

Well here we go again, following our brief stop at Port Fairy we pushed a further 80km (50 miles) along the coast to Portland.
Just beyond Portland (another 20km) lie Cape Nelson and Cape Bridgewater.

As this was a lightning trip we shot across to both.

At Cape Nelson we stopped for a late morning tea and I (strange as it sounds) took some piccies.

My piccies there focussed on the rather magnificent lighthouse.I liked the shapes and shadows of the doorway and the walls around it.This piccie gives an indication of how the lighthouse perches near the edge of a cliff.
Past Cape Nelson lies Cape Bridgewater.
There are some interesting features there called “The Petrified Forest”.They are in fact an oddity known as “Solution Tubes” which form in prehistoric, vegetation covered sand dunes. When the vegetation is removed the old dunes erode away leaving the tubes.

Behind the "Petrified Forest" you’ve probably spotted a man-made feature on Cape Bridgewater.A wind farm.
Many people hate these. I actually quite like them.
Yes they stand out, but I think they have a kind of majesty.
Also they are a symbol that we are finally beginning to look at alternatives to an economy based on finite fossil fuels, with all the problems they come with.
I also like the fact that one of our most ancient machines is being modified as part of a solution.

Finally we drove down to the Bridgewater Lakes and parked ourselves on a jetty overlooking this lake. For a late lunch.
This piccie shows our setup. Our folding chairs have done many thousands of kilometres with us. The large soft bag is a cooler bag, the small one my camera bag. The red bag is one of Deb’s knitting bags. Her knitting goes almost everywhere with us. Knitting is probably her favourite pastime and it is something for her to do when her loony husband is “Getting just one more photo of that…”Oh, and you might also notice my mystery object on the table.

Which brings me to an announcement

Rayna of Coffee Rings Everywhere nailed it with her guess: “Is that something you use to warm water? You could pack the chimney with hot embers or something?”

Cheers all round! Take a bow Rayna
Rayna you are exactly right, except for the type of fuel.
This item is called an “Ecobilly”
To use it you loosely fill the chimney part (underneath) with eucalyptus leaves. You turn it upright on a piece of bare ground and fill the top chamber with water.
Put on the lid and apply a match.Eucalyptus leaves have such a high oil content that they burn with an intense heat (as unfortunately attested by our bushfires). The heat coupled with the fire being contained in the cone means it will usually boil in 3 minutes.
All from a tiny fire that leaves a small pile of ash.
And here an unflattering pic of me tending said object.Jaydee deserves an honourable mention for her guess: “I was going to guess a coffee maker of some sort - but it's doubtful. It's probably more of a case of me needing another cup.”
You just boil plain water in the billy, but hey you certainly could make coffee with that water (although we usually make the bush staple - tea).

Next: Aboriginal rock shelters