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Dave Ella our guide.
By Joseph
On the 18th of October Years 4, 5 and 6 went on an excursion to some of the Aboriginal sacred sites at Kuring-gai National Park. The Kuringgai People were the clan of that area and all the way down to where we live near Manly. We had a guide and his name was Dave Ella, he used to be a famous Rugby Union player for Australia.
It was quite a large park and there were lots of rock carvings, the Aborigines believed in lots of gods, but they called them spirits. One of the well known ones was called the rainbow serpent and when it traveled it's body made all the valleys and mountains and it's blood made all the rivers. There were many more, one for everything. They call this the Dreamtime and I have read lots of them.
The Gurinygai made lots of carvings on big flat open areas of rock. They would be of sea creatures like whales, animals like wallabies and people that could point to other sacred sites. The men couldn't go to the women's sites and vice versa. There were footprints carved in different directions to confuse the evil spirits.
They used the cones of the Banksia plants to burn in their fires. They were better than firewood and were used for a torch that burnt for about two minutes if they had to get up during the night for some reason.
They could even make soap out of wattle plants, you had to brake it, and squeeze it real hard on your hands, then a sticky fluid would come onto your hands, then when you wet your hands it turns to soap. They could use it for fishing too by putting it is a water which takes the oxygen out of the water, making the fish float to the top for the Aboriginals to eat. Also they could grind wattle seeds to make flour which would later make bread.
There was also a plant that grew needles, a tobacco plant, and one called the grass tree you could chew on and it was a sweet sugar flavour.
Whales were very useful, when they beached themselves the Aboriginals used the oil, fat, meat and bone. They lived in this area for thousands of years.
Special walkways are built to protect the engravings.
By Mathew
On the 18th October Years 4, 5 and 6 went on an excursion to Kuring-gai National Park. There we learnt that the Aboriginal people who lived here for 12 000 years.
They make soap out of Wattle plants. Did you know that if you chew on the bottom of a grass tree and it will stop you being thirsty.
Sometimes the whales would beach themselves and the Aborigines celebrate by feasting on it. They went in caves when it was raining or windy. The caves faced North or North-East and we saw a red hand print in the cave.
On the bus back to school.
By Nathan
On Wednesday 18th of October, Years 4, 5 and 6 went to Kuring-gai National Park about 30 minutes drive north of our school. It is a National Park with Aboriginal rock carvings, foot prints and paintings and so on.
We saw rock carvings from 12 000 years ago or more. There were female and male sacred sites. A female couldn't visit the male's site and the male couldn't visit the female's site.
We learnt that the leader wore a power belt representing their power. They were in caves only to stay out of the rain and the caves they stayed in were facing North East.
We saw banksias trees that can make a fire torch and the nuts for burning through the night. The Wattle seed pods can make soap that was used by Aboriginals.
The Aboriginals were basically vegetarians and their main source of protein was shellfish and fish. When the women were pregnant they would eat wallaby to have protein and iron.
We went to the lookout at West Head which looked over
the Hawkesbury River and Pittwater and then left.
SPace
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