Thanks to a recent chain of email enquiries, another lost piece of the Aboriginal jigsaw has possibly fallen into place, with the identification of the Wickham Corroboree ground.
An enquirer had asked whether Wickhams's Tree of Knowledge had any connections to local Aboriginal people. Not knowing whether it did or not, I posted a question on the Lost Newcastle Facebook group and learn't that the tree was probably one of a series of plantings of the Hannell Family, and that it had later been the resting place of many drunks, both white and black, that would regale stories to passersby, and talk about the meaning of life. Hence its nickname as the "Tree of Knowledge".
In early January I received another email from a researcher attempting to find out any information relating to the discovery of two infant Aboriginal burials in the vicinity of Maryville. This was accompanied by a 1963 newsclipping he had located in Local Studies, Newcastle Public Library. After providing some information about what I knew about Aboriginal burial customs, and the ancient topography, I read the article which provided information about the discovery of middens in the area, as well as the reminiscences of a former Wickham resident Mrs Farnham relating to a local Aboriginal tribe.
The 1963 article names her as "Miss Mary Farnham", but they may have had her age confused with that of her mother, Mrs. Janet Farnham (also referred to as "Mrs. Joseph Farnham") who did live to her 93rd year. Mary died in 1947 aged 82 years. She was born in 1865, the year that her mother married and moved to Wickham. The article describes how she:
"recalled having watched with her father, aboriginal corroborees in bushland now occupied by the St James' Church of England, Wickham. In an interview, she told of how the blacks spent much of their day spearing and catching fish with tidal traps in a low lying area between Maryville and Carrington." - NMH&MA 25th July 1963
Who "she" was is a little confusing from the story. As Janet's father died when she was five years old in 1847, she couldn't have described watching the corroboree with "her father". Mary, the daugher, was born in 1865, and so could have witnessed a corroboree with her father, but could not have been interviewed in 1963. I have not located an interview published prior to 1947.
We have managed to track down the original reminiscences of Mrs Janet Farnham published in the Newcastle Morning Herald on Saturday 28th July 1934 p.5 just prior to her 92nd birthday in August. It describes a corroboree held in 1852 that she witnessed (aged 10 years) on the grounds (now occupied at the time of 1934) by St James' Church:
"Just over 200 yards from where Mrs. Farnham now lives, at Holland-street, Wickham, aboriginal corroborees were once held. She visited Newcastle for the first time when about 10 years old, and, although it was a hurried visit, it was very interesting. Great excitement prevailed in town that day because a piccaninny had been born at the aborigines' camp, which was situated where St. James' Anglican Church now stands. To celebrate this all-important occasion, the blacks decided to hold a corroboree. Mrs. Farnham and her friends, with many residents of Newcastle, were privileged to witness the ceremony.
Describing the camp, Mrs. Farnham said that it was a huge clearing, surrounded by a dense forest of trees and thick undergrowth. The floor was covered with sea shells. The only approach was a single track, which was guarded at both ends by sentinels. A roaring fire was burning in the centre of the clearing, and around it the blacks performed their weird dances. Some were painted with ochre in grotesque fashion. After the ceremony, a huge feast was indulged in, and the spectators were invited to participate. Some, braver than the others, did so, and afterwards remarked that "although the food did not look tempting, it tasted good."" - NMH&MA 28th July 1934 p.5
If another article date 1939 she is again quoted in support of evidence of ancient streams in the district:
Further proof of the existence of underground streams was supplied by Mrs. Janet Farnham prior to her death at Wickham about four years ago at the age of 95. She recalled that aborigines held their corroborees on the present site of St. James' Church 90 years ago because they could dance near to the water gods underneath. - NMH&MA, 22 June 1939, p. 8
If the account is correct then this corroboree ground, 200 yards from her home in Holland St, would have encompassed a huge clearing taking in the Aboriginal camp located at the corner of Church Street and Hannell Street, and everything in between, around a block. Another possibility is an area adjacent to her house in Holland Street and across the rail corridor.
Gionni Di Gravio's full story with many more images and illustrations can be found here:
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