Old Nugget

USC179_0004
Our camp was right amongst the timber - the big tall blackbutt timber, and just on the eastern edge of the rainforest. We named it Louisa's Camp after the missionary girl who came there to see old Nugget. Old Nugget was an aboriginal, who must have been over 80. He never had a tooth in his head, and his hair was as grey as a badger! We all used to go and sit and listen for about an hour. I didn't stop for long, because we had to be out very early in the morning.
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There were three aboriginals that I associated with during my teamster days. One was old Nugget, there was another one known as Teddy Brown and of course there was old Roger Bennett. He worked for the Wilchefskis and the Berthelsens at Deep Creek and Yankee Jack.
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There were some areas of special significance to the aboriginals, which Nugget

cont . . . /

USC179_0005
STATEMENT BY SIDNEY GRANVILLE JARVIS . . . PAGE 3

used to tell me about. Nugget told me a lot about Wabby Lake, where there used to be a big hill and a lot of wong shells. He told me that one day, a pretty girl died there and he said that he had given this girl water and wongs, but she still died. She had louse. The aboriginal name for louse was doolong, and we always called the hill "Doolong". The site where she died, which we called Doolong Hill is south of Wabby Lake.
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It was at Eurong that old Nugget had a hut. He used to camp there. Sometimes he would stay at the camp at Eurong and sometimes he would come back to camp at Louisa's with us.
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The two blackfellas who used to work with us, Teddy Brown and Nugget used to go out naked at times on the rocks and they would fish there with a line, a cord line. They would fill their mouths with wongs and go out and just stand on the rocks and when a big wave came, they went underneath it, and then came up again. When they caught hold of an oyster fish, they called
They the "bowey", they used to run up the beach with it, get it off the rocks, pulling it all the way. They used to keep the wongs for bait, in their mouths, as they stood on the rocks.

Once when we were mustering our bullocks, Nugget pointed out to me a large clearing on the ground. He said it was a "christening ring", and the site is Just north of Crouyeah Creek. It was flat country and it's in a little bit. That's where Nugget said the christening ring was. I suppose it's about a hundred yards in diameter. They christened the kiddies there, and they got there names. If there was a girl and there were two boys after her, those two boys would have a fight and the one that won, he got the girl and those two, the girl and the boy cleared off. They might have gone somewhere up North, or come into The inside somewhere. They went away for a week or two and then they came back [handwritten: but The] tribe. They were married. That's how Nugget said it was done. The only other really sacred area that Nugget told me about, where he wouldn't take us to, was Wabby Lakes. I don't recall Nugget saying anything about burial grounds. I never thought to ask him about that.

cont . . . ./

USC184_0003
John: We were talking about the Nugget and Doolong (????) Hill.
S.J.: Just before you get to Wabby Lake, there used to be a big hill there with a lot of wong shells, and he told me, he said one day, a girl, a pretty girl there, he siad she was sick, and I give her water and wongs, but she dies. Well, Doolong, that means louse. Aboriginal name for louse. He reckons a lot of louse been there. And Doolong, we always called it Doolong Hill.
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John: Ike tells me that when he started going to Eurong in 1931, there was stumps of the house there.
S.J.: Yes, a little hut. Nugget had a hut there. He always lived there. Camped there.
John: He camped there, even when you were up at Louisa's, or did he come back to Lousia's?
S.J.: He'd camp out sometimes. He's stay out at the camp, or sometimes he'd come in.
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John: Can you tell me anything abuout the are, south of Eurong, where Nugget had pointed out to you as being, what he called the "christening ring".
S.J.: Yes, well that's just norht of Gairoway Creek (?????). Inside there...they tell me it's grown up a lot. Well, there's flat country in there a bit, and that's where old Nugget said that "christening ring" was.

USC184_0004
John: Is there anything else you can tell me about the aborigines, or any signs of their occupation when you were there?
Did they have any particularly sacred areas, where Nugget wouldn't take you to? Or tried to keep you away from?
S.J.: No, no. The only area, was say Wabby Lake.
John: Did you hear them say anything about any burial grounds?
S.J.: No, no. I never asked him that. I should, you know. I never thought of asking him that. I don't know what they done, really.

USC295_0003
Old Nugget was a happy, outgoing, very fine specimen of humanity. He worked for the teamsters in early days, looking after the bullocks.
There was very little feed for stock and they couldn't work them for long periods. After a few weeks work they would let the bullocks go to forage for themselves. They would go to the ocean beach. Some would go north and some south. As Nugget was always on the move, he could tell the teamsters where every bullock was. He knew every one of them. Nugget was a loner. To the best of my knowledge he never had a wife. He lived on the ocean beach in a little hut. He only visited the mainland from time to time, to spend the money earned from the teamsters. He would come back from the mainland looking sick and miserable. He would ask Mum for a bit of flour, tea and sugar and off out to the beach he would go to live on wongs and be fat and shiny the next time we saw him. Nugget would spend hours writing characters or sand and showing us kids where and how to get wongs at low tide and how to catch and cook fish he also showed us how to catch yabbies in the creeks with sharpened sticks.
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Nugget and Teddy Brown would be in their element. Dad always took a pronged spear, but our efforts were on the breadline, while the piles of fish would mount along from Teddy Brown and Nugget.

USC295_0005
Our camp was right amongst the timber - the big [print missing] blackbutt timber, and just on the eastern edge of the rainforest. We named it the Louisa's Camp after the missionary girl who came there to see old Nugget.

Old Nugget was an aboriginal, who must have been over [80?] He never had a tooth in his head, and his hair was as grey as a badger. We all used to go and sit and listen for about an hour. I didn't stop for long, because we had to be out very early in the morning. Louisa came there and used to sit and talk to them.
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There were three aboriginals that I was associated with during my teamster days. One was Old Nugget, there was another one known as Teddy Brown, and of course there was old Roger Bennett. He worked for the Wilchefskis and the Berthelsens at Deep Creek and Yankee Jack.

USC295_0006
There were some areas of special significance to the aboriginals, which Nugget used to tell me about. Nugget told me a lot about Wabby Lake, where there used to be a big hill and a lot of wong shells.

He told me that one day, a pretty girl died there and he said that he had given this girl water and wongs, but she still died. She had louse.
---
It was at Eurong that old Nugget had a hut. He used to camp there. Sometimes he would stay at the camp at Eurong and sometimes he would come back to camp at Louisa's with us.

There is a big midden near Poyungan Rocks. It was an area where the aboriginals used to go fishing. The two blackfellas who used to work with us, Teddy Brown and Nugget used to go out naked at times on the rocks and they would fish there with a line, a cord line. They would fill their mouths with wongs and go out and just stand on the rocks and when a big wave came, the would fish there and then come up again. When they caught hold of an oyster fish, they called them the "bowey," they used...
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Once when we were mustering our bullocks, Nugget pointed out to me a large clearing on the ground. He said it was a "christening ring," and the site is just north of Grouyeah Creek. It was flat country and it's in a little bit. That's where Nugget said the christening ring was.
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They were married. That's how Nugget said that it was done. The only other really sacred area that Nugget told me about, where he wouldn't take us to, was Wabby Lakes. I don't recall Nugget saying anything about burial grounds. I never thought to ask him about that.

USC313_0016
Nugget

USC313_0018
Nugget