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The girls are not required to go through any initiation ceremony similar to that prevailing in certain parts of the coast, but on reaching the age of womanhood, or upon being allotted to a husband, every woman carries a thick stick or wanna as a badge, and which is also incidentally used as a weapon of defence and an implement for digging roots.

As may readily be understood, polygamy is a usual custom among the aborigines, and until the advent of the white man infanticide was extremely common. In the case of the mother's death in giving birth to a child the baby was almost invariably buried alive with its mother.

With regard to food customs, all native boys and girls are forbidden certain foods until they reach man hood and womanhood, and all natives are forbidden to eat the animal or plant representing their particular totems on the occasion of a death in the family. If, for example, a person's totem was the kangaroo he would refrain from eating the male animal in case of a death on the male side of the house, and the female when any of the womenfolk died. Scarring the body is also a common custom throughout the State, restricted to the breast in some cases, in others involving the back and arms as well. So far as can be ascertained the practice is merely ornamental and has no ceremonial or symbolic meaning.

One of the chief ceremonial observances is the corroboree, which is perhaps the most distinctive of Australian aboriginal customs, though to a certain degree it resembles similar customs of the Polynesians. It is in the main a war dance, but with various modifications is used to celebrate other important events. A very usual method of performing it is for one native to stand in the centre of a half-circle of painted and decorated savages, who dance in front of him with wild gesticulations and cries, while he exhibits different pantomimic gestures expressive of certain events such as hunting kangaroos or emus, and occasionally chants a descriptive song. As a rule, the corroborees, which may extend over several nights, are performed by the men, while the women sit round the outside of the semicircle and form the audience, often, however, joining in the chants. The singing is usually a monotonous drone which cannot by any stretch of the imagination be regarded as melodious. In some parts, as at Roebourne, it is said that the women sometimes have a corroboree of their own after the men have concluded their ceremony. When poison corroborees are held—that is, when the spears are poisoned —the result is generally death for some parti cular member of the tribe, or the corroboree is the prelude to a murderous attack upon tribal enemies.

When we take into consideration the low state of intelligence of the Australian aboriginal in his natural condition we can scarcely expect to find much evidence of either art or manufacture. Some rudimentary know ledge of them may, however, be found in their attempts at personal adornment, particularly on the occasion of tribal ceremonies, in the preparation and ornamentation of their weapons and in the rude rock-drawings and paintings that are here and there to be found. Personal adornment is usually crude and repulsive; the hair is arranged with feathers from the emu or other bird, and sometimes with shavings cut or scraped from a billet of wood, while their bodies are marked with daubs of red ochre and pipeclay, without any pretence at design beyond following the lines of the ribs and other parts of the body. Some attempt at manufacture is shown in the plaited grass rope which they use as loin-cloths. Their dwell ings give no idea of either design or permanency, being merely shelters from the wind erected by placing boughs against a support in the crudest possible manner. The use of colour is also seen in the decoration of their weapons. A certain amount of skill is shown in the manufacture of these articles, which are made of stone or wood and scored with lines or other simple devices into which pigments of various colours are rubbed.

The most remarkable attempts at art are shown in the rock-drawings and paintings which have been dis covered in various parts of the continent, and which have been used as an argument in favour of a higher stage of civilized development on the part of those natives in whose territory they are found. In Western Australia they are confined chiefly to the northern districts, though examples have been seen at other places. The first were those discovered by Ensign Dale in 1830 while exploring the York district. On the wall of a sand stone cave he found a rudely-carved representation of the sun, "a circular figure some 18 in, in diameter, emitting rays from its left side." Close by were impressions of an arm and several hands. The most important discoveries were those made by Sir George Grey in the valley of the Glenelg, about 60 miles from the coast. At the entrance to the first cave examined a "most extraordinarily large figure" was seen peering down upon him, and on the walls and roof of the interior were paintings of a man and several women. The rock face was painted black so as to throw the red and white colour of the drawings into greater prominence. Hands, heads, an ellipse, and other objects were sub sequently found, perhaps the most remarkable being the profile of a human face and head cut in a sand stone rock, a carving which displayed undoubted signs of antiquity. The colours used in the paintings were red, yellow, blue, black, and white. Similar drawings were found by Mr. F. S. Brockman when in charge of an exploring expedition in the Kimberley district in 1901. These have been described by Dr. F. M. House, who accompanied the expedition as naturalist:

"The most interesting thing connected with these natives, or rather with a section of them, is the custom