The Kurnai.
The original inhabitants

The Wellington Shire is rich in Aboriginal history, and was part of the territory of the Kurnai people, and evidence of the first inhabitants' occupation is to be found in many places. Shell middens are the most obvious, and are easily found along the shore of the Ninety Mile Beach, and there is a very interesting one at Jack Smith Lake. This example was shown to illustrate two distinct phases of food gathering, one when the Lake was a tidal lagoon from 2000 - 4000 years ago, and the second when it became landlocked. This area was occupied by the Brataualong clan, one of the five which made up the Kurnai of Gippsland.

Several examples of tool grinding rocks are also found in the Shire, with perhaps the most impressive being the Boisdale rocks just north of Maffra. In the territory of the Braiakolong clan, they are situated beside what used to be a waterhole, but is now usually dry. Water was used by the toolmakers in their tool grinding operations. These rocks are situated on private property, but the ones at the Knob Reserve at Stratford are accessible to the public. Some beautiful examples of ground stone axes have been found in the district, mainly coming from the river flats on the Avon River. Some years ago a number of primitive chipped artefacts were also found on a flat close to the foothills. These were thought to have originated from an earlier occupation, before the modern aborigines arrived. The Avon River, from the foothills to its destination, Lake Wellington, was obviously a favoured stretch of country, with a wide variety of food available.

Some of the older Red Gums show the scars of bark removal for canoes, and along the lower reaches of the Avon River, toe holds cut into the trees to assist in climbing to gather food are still visible. A good canoe tree stands at the Knob Reserve, which was a traditional meeting place of the Kurnai.

As mentioned above, the middens at Jack Smith Lake illustrate two phases of food gathering. When the lake was a tidal lagoon, cockles, mud oysters, and snapper were gathered and eaten. A sophisticated tool regime was associated with this period. When the lake became landlocked, these food items were no longer available, and they were replaced by the pipi from the ocean beach. This phase has been dated as occurring over the last five hundred years, and interestingly, the tools found with these deposits are simple ones made from local quartz pebbles. The foregoing information comes from an archeological study of the area by K Hotchin and P J May, 1984.

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