CONNECT WITH COUNTRY

Bassendean (Bassendeen | Bassendeene) is  a stunning area of bushland that features steep rocky outcrops that plunge down into the Moredun Creek that runs through these sacred lands.

 

One of the last known untouched habitats of the endangered Bell's Turtle and Red River Gum, Bassendean is located on the outskirts of Tingha a small town on the Northern Tablelands in New South Wales. Before non indigenous settlement the area now known as Tingha was mainly lived upon by people from the Nucoorilma clan of the Kamilaroi Nation. 

It has only been in recent years that this land has been returned to First Nation custodians for stewardship.

 

To truly appreciate this area you need to step foot on it for yourself. These lands contain numerous signs of the Nucoorilma people ancestors. Such cultural markers include:

 

Scar trees which are scars created by humans on the trees through the removing of bark which was used for various purposes. The characteristics of these trees can be noted in the following ways:

• scar more-or-less regular in shape, often with parallel sides and slightly pointed or rounded ends

• scar usually stops above ground level

• exposed sapwood free of tree knots or branches or evidence of a branch having been at the top of the scar

• exposed sapwood at the base and (more rarely) at the top of the scar may show stone or steel axe cuts

• tree an Australian native species which occurs naturally in the district

• tree usually over 200 years old

• Often occur along major rivers, around lakes and on flood plains.

 

Aboriginal mounds are places where people lived over long periods of time. Mounds often contain charcoal, burnt clay or stone heat retainers from cooking ovens, animal bones, shells, stone tools and, sometimes, Aboriginal burials.

• circular or oval shape

• often less than 50 cm high and 10 m wide, though sometimes much larger

• dark (often black) and sometimes greasy sediment

• lumps of burnt clay or stone and small fragments of charcoal often present

• shells, animal bones, stone tools and human burials sometimes present

• rabbit burrows present

• Usually near rivers, lakes or swamps but occasionally some distance from water. Mounds often occur on floodplains and the banks of watercourses. They are also found on dunes and sometimes among rock outcrops on higher ground.

For cultural respect purposes these areas on Bassendean have not been photographed. 

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Grinding Stones 

 Slabs of stone that Aboriginal people used to grind and crush different materials. Usually made from abrasive rocks such as sandstone or coarse-grained basalt or quartzite.

• grinding stones made from sandstone or quartzite are usually flat. Basalt stones can be more rounded

• grinding stones have a worn depression, varying in shape from a circle to a long thin groove

• the depth of the grinding area will vary, and a hole may have formed where the stone is completely worn away

• may be traces of food or pigments on the stone. Fats may leave glossy stains

• depressions or grooves may occur on different sides of the same stone

• some grinding surfaces have carved lines

Here the Grinding groves were used to also sharpen spears.