An axe quarry at Moor Creek, Tamworth District, New South Wales
Abstract
Some years ago Mr. E. Wyndham, of Daruka Station, Moor Creek, informed me that there was an aboriginal axe quarry on his property, and in May, 1940, I was able to visit the site. The station is now owned by Mr. G. Powell, who was absent at the time of my visit. One of his employees, Mr. Dell Fisher, kindly escorted me to the quarry. The quarry is, situated on top of a high ridge, running north and south, which separates Moor Creek valley from Tamworth. At several points along this ridge are outcrops of basalt, consisting of weathered columnar slabs. The main outcrop extends for about 300 yards and is from fifteen to twenty feet in width. The flat-sided slabs vary from rectangular to trapezoid, occasionally triangular, in section, and range from small pieces to columns several feet long. The stream-like outcrop is broken at several points where there are depressions in the mass of stones; several of these depressions occur beside one end of the outcrop, Places at which the aborigines worked are denoted by patches of flakes, among which, or nearby, hammerstones were found (Plate iv, fig. 6).
