Eneabba Stone Arrangement
Encyclopedia
Eneabba Stone Arrangement is the name given to a registration on the Western Australia's Register of Aboriginal Sites. The arrangement is listed as being located at 29°56′43"S 115°5′46"E, about twelve kilometers (7.5 mi) east of the coastal town of Leeman
, Western Australia
. While the Western Australian Register of Aboriginal Sites lists it in Zone 50, Site Number S01963, it should be noted that the co-ordinates as listed were also stated as unreliable.
In an effort to locate what is known as the Ring of Stones
, expeditions were mounted by Rupert Gerritsen
and others over a period of six years. The Eneabba Stone Arrangement came under investigation as a possible option for the Ring of Stones
, but unfortunately it was not found at the registered location. In fact, the Eneabba Stone Arrangement was not locatable within the proximity of a 20 kilometre radius to its reported location. The Registrar of Aboriginal Sites was informed of this by letter on 31 October 2009, and the results of these expeditions were published in 2010.
, as distinct from the Eneabba Stone Arrangement, was by surveyor Albert Earle Burt, who found it while engaged in a coastal survey in 1875. Burt and a companion had been raising trig point
s near the coast, but were forced to strike inland to obtain supplies. Unable to penetrate through an area of dense Acacia
(Wattle) scrub, the men set fire to the bush. After the fire had died down, they proceeded inland, finding the arrangement in the area where the Acacia scrub had been thickest.
Some time later, a Geraldton shepherd named William Stokes reported having found something which has been associated with the Ring of Stones
while searching for lost sheep. He reported that he saw a line of stones running for approximately a mile through the bushlands. Another man named King reported finding a line of stones pointing in the direction of the thicket although no locational information was given so the association is doubtful.
Later, Burt formed the view that the arrangement was associated with the Vergulde Draeck. This view fired the imaginations of treasure seekers, as the Vergulde Draeck is known to have had on board 78,600 Dutch guilders in eight chests. In the words of Malcolm Uren
,
Burt and a second expedition led by Constable Loxton tried to relocate the arrangement in 1931-32, but they were unsuccessful. In the late 1930s, an expedition under J. E. Hammond burned hundreds of acres of scrub and spend about a fortnight searching the area with the aid of a metal detector
, but without success. Using Burt's original mudmap, recently discovered in Police archives, Gerritsen was able locate the site in October 2008, but the ring had been destroyed, probably by treasure seekers, with all the rocks put in a pile in the centre of the clearing.
Late in 1938, a bushman named Gabriel Penney told Dongara Hotel publican
Jack Hayes that he had come across a Ring of Stones
seven years previously, and the two agreed to visit the site together. According to Hayes, "we walked for what I thought was about fifty miles but which Gabriel Penney said was seven or eight miles, and we emerged from the bush not twenty yards away from the Circle of Stones. In all my life I have never believed such a feat of bushmanship possible." Hayes took photographs and made sketches of the arrangement, then the men dug in the centre of the ring. They soon found that the soil was no more than two inches deep, beneath which was a flat surface of limestone. They found nothing of value.. Subsequent research has established that this is a different feature to the Ring of Stones
reported by Burt, being further inland, about 50 kilometres further north and of a different size and form.
Accounts of the discoveries by Burt, Penney and Hayes, Stokes and King were published in newspapers in Perth in the 1930s and by Uren in his 1940 Sailormen's Ghosts. Uren hosed down speculation of a connection with the Vergulde Draeck, stating "the theory has persisted because age has given it an air of verisimilitude
it never rightly possessed. Far more likely is that the Circle of Stones had something to do with native rites." Nonetheless, the myths surrounding the arrangement persisted. Even in the 2000s, the myth of "this elusive ring of stones" was still being reported.
It is now accepted that the Ring of Stones
is not the indigenous stone arrangement known as Eneabba Stone Arrangement but possibly constructed by European hands.
Furthermore, while the Eneabba Stone Arrangement has been afforded listing on Western Australia's Register of Aboriginal Sites under the name Eneabba Stone Arrangement, it has not been established with any certainty that such a site actually exists except on that register.
Leeman, Western Australia
Leeman is a small coastal town in the Shire of Coorow.Land was first surveyed and sub-divided in 1961 and the townsite was gazetted in 1961 as Snag Island, a name that is still in common use...
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. While the Western Australian Register of Aboriginal Sites lists it in Zone 50, Site Number S01963, it should be noted that the co-ordinates as listed were also stated as unreliable.
In an effort to locate what is known as the Ring of Stones
Ring of Stones
The Ring of Stones, also known as the Circle of Stones, is a stone arrangement which may have been constructed by some of the 68 marooned passenegers and crew from the Dutch ship the Vergulde Draeck, wrecked about 100 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia in 1656...
, expeditions were mounted by Rupert Gerritsen
Rupert Gerritsen
Rupert Gerritsen is a noted authority on Indigenous Australian prehistory. Coupled with his work on early Australian cartography he has played an influential part in re-charting Australian history prior to its settlement by the British in 1788.-Early Years:...
and others over a period of six years. The Eneabba Stone Arrangement came under investigation as a possible option for the Ring of Stones
Ring of Stones
The Ring of Stones, also known as the Circle of Stones, is a stone arrangement which may have been constructed by some of the 68 marooned passenegers and crew from the Dutch ship the Vergulde Draeck, wrecked about 100 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia in 1656...
, but unfortunately it was not found at the registered location. In fact, the Eneabba Stone Arrangement was not locatable within the proximity of a 20 kilometre radius to its reported location. The Registrar of Aboriginal Sites was informed of this by letter on 31 October 2009, and the results of these expeditions were published in 2010.
History
The first recorded European to sight the arrangement known as the Ring of StonesRing of Stones
The Ring of Stones, also known as the Circle of Stones, is a stone arrangement which may have been constructed by some of the 68 marooned passenegers and crew from the Dutch ship the Vergulde Draeck, wrecked about 100 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia in 1656...
, as distinct from the Eneabba Stone Arrangement, was by surveyor Albert Earle Burt, who found it while engaged in a coastal survey in 1875. Burt and a companion had been raising trig point
Trig point
A triangulation station, also known as a triangulation pillar, trigonometrical station, trigonometrical point, trig station, trig beacon or trig point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity...
s near the coast, but were forced to strike inland to obtain supplies. Unable to penetrate through an area of dense Acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
(Wattle) scrub, the men set fire to the bush. After the fire had died down, they proceeded inland, finding the arrangement in the area where the Acacia scrub had been thickest.
Some time later, a Geraldton shepherd named William Stokes reported having found something which has been associated with the Ring of Stones
Ring of Stones
The Ring of Stones, also known as the Circle of Stones, is a stone arrangement which may have been constructed by some of the 68 marooned passenegers and crew from the Dutch ship the Vergulde Draeck, wrecked about 100 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia in 1656...
while searching for lost sheep. He reported that he saw a line of stones running for approximately a mile through the bushlands. Another man named King reported finding a line of stones pointing in the direction of the thicket although no locational information was given so the association is doubtful.
Later, Burt formed the view that the arrangement was associated with the Vergulde Draeck. This view fired the imaginations of treasure seekers, as the Vergulde Draeck is known to have had on board 78,600 Dutch guilders in eight chests. In the words of Malcolm Uren
Malcolm Uren
Malcolm John Leggoe Uren was an Australian journalist who edited the Western Mail in Western Australia.-Early life:Uren was born on 7 January 1900 in West Hindmarsh, an inner-city suburb in Adelaide, South Australia to Malcolm Francis Uren and Millicent Jane Leggoe. The Uren family then moved to...
,
Burt and a second expedition led by Constable Loxton tried to relocate the arrangement in 1931-32, but they were unsuccessful. In the late 1930s, an expedition under J. E. Hammond burned hundreds of acres of scrub and spend about a fortnight searching the area with the aid of a metal detector
Metal detector
A metal detector is a device which responds to metal that may not be readily apparent.The simplest form of a metal detector consists of an oscillator producing an alternating current that passes through a coil producing an alternating magnetic field...
, but without success. Using Burt's original mudmap, recently discovered in Police archives, Gerritsen was able locate the site in October 2008, but the ring had been destroyed, probably by treasure seekers, with all the rocks put in a pile in the centre of the clearing.
Late in 1938, a bushman named Gabriel Penney told Dongara Hotel publican
Publican
In antiquity, publicans were public contractors, in which role they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the collection of port duties, and oversaw public building projects...
Jack Hayes that he had come across a Ring of Stones
Ring of Stones
The Ring of Stones, also known as the Circle of Stones, is a stone arrangement which may have been constructed by some of the 68 marooned passenegers and crew from the Dutch ship the Vergulde Draeck, wrecked about 100 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia in 1656...
seven years previously, and the two agreed to visit the site together. According to Hayes, "we walked for what I thought was about fifty miles but which Gabriel Penney said was seven or eight miles, and we emerged from the bush not twenty yards away from the Circle of Stones. In all my life I have never believed such a feat of bushmanship possible." Hayes took photographs and made sketches of the arrangement, then the men dug in the centre of the ring. They soon found that the soil was no more than two inches deep, beneath which was a flat surface of limestone. They found nothing of value.. Subsequent research has established that this is a different feature to the Ring of Stones
Ring of Stones
The Ring of Stones, also known as the Circle of Stones, is a stone arrangement which may have been constructed by some of the 68 marooned passenegers and crew from the Dutch ship the Vergulde Draeck, wrecked about 100 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia in 1656...
reported by Burt, being further inland, about 50 kilometres further north and of a different size and form.
Accounts of the discoveries by Burt, Penney and Hayes, Stokes and King were published in newspapers in Perth in the 1930s and by Uren in his 1940 Sailormen's Ghosts. Uren hosed down speculation of a connection with the Vergulde Draeck, stating "the theory has persisted because age has given it an air of verisimilitude
Verisimilitude
Verisimilitude is the quality of realism in something .-Competing ideas:The problem of verisimilitude is the problem of articulating what it takes for one false theory to be closer to the truth than another false theory...
it never rightly possessed. Far more likely is that the Circle of Stones had something to do with native rites." Nonetheless, the myths surrounding the arrangement persisted. Even in the 2000s, the myth of "this elusive ring of stones" was still being reported.
It is now accepted that the Ring of Stones
Ring of Stones
The Ring of Stones, also known as the Circle of Stones, is a stone arrangement which may have been constructed by some of the 68 marooned passenegers and crew from the Dutch ship the Vergulde Draeck, wrecked about 100 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia in 1656...
is not the indigenous stone arrangement known as Eneabba Stone Arrangement but possibly constructed by European hands.
Furthermore, while the Eneabba Stone Arrangement has been afforded listing on Western Australia's Register of Aboriginal Sites under the name Eneabba Stone Arrangement, it has not been established with any certainty that such a site actually exists except on that register.