The First Everything
By Steven & Evan Strong
(Special Thanks to: Samarah Wood [for Photos], Erik Bower and Richard Patterson [Research])
Image Created by Richard Patterson
While teaching, and on some occasions selecting and detailing content that became part of the senior Aboriginal Studies course, it had been my assumption (which was never challenged) that before World War 2 the Original people, culture and their on-going plight was marginalised and patronisingly dismissed throughout the country as the last gasps of a primitive civilisation in its ‘death throes.’ My students, and any that studied this course were given many examples of the appalling conditions endured, endemic racism and attempts to extinguish all traces of Original Lore and ceremony taking place all over the country in the 1930’s and earlier. They were taught that there was no slackening of the pace as all Original people were not even regarded as second class citizens and during any national census were tallied as ‘Flora and Fauna.’ I now wish to qualify and correct that mistaken allegation. I, no we, and that goes all the way up to the top level of the N.S.W. Department of Education and Board of Studies, were wrong and apologise for the rash and poorly researched proclamation, and will now tidy up some loose ends through reference to a 1937 article (23rd October, 1937) published in Adelaide newspaper “The Mail.”
The article was written primarily as an overview of the major points raised in a book, “Scribes of the Stone Age, which has been accepted for publication in England.”(1) Written by Frederic Slater, a “well-known Sydney journalist and authority on the Australian aboriginal (sic),”(2) he was also the President of the Australian Archaeological Education and Research Society and it could be claimed with some confidence he was Australia’s top expert on Egyptology. His pedigree is unchallenged, but what he wrote and researched led to some findings that would be considered radical and still vigorously disputed today.
Slater was not averse to being sensational and when investigating the Standing Stones site, surely he knew that in declaring “the Egyptians learned their system of hieroglyphs from the ancestors of the aborigines (Sic),”(3) he was not going to endear himself to mainstream academia. Nevertheless, his peers had elected Slater to represent them and he “has been a student of the Australian aboriginal (sic) all his life, and is an authority on the language. By request, he has supplied native names for hundreds of Australian homes.”(4)
Slater’s focus was divided between establishing the credentials of what he thought was the First Language ever spoken or recorded originating in Australia, and advancing the real history and incredible reservoir of knowledge the Original people understood thousands of years ago.
Murrigiwalda-Sacred Language
According to the correspondent “a few years ago he acquired a valuable aboriginal (sic) vocabulary” which “is known as a Murrigiwalda (sacred language) and gave him the key to many avenues of investigation.”(5) He did not actually earn the privilege to be alerted to such a seminal interpretation, it was, and this seems part of a pattern we have observed whenever sacred issues and artefacts are involved, given to a woman by the name of Mrs. David Dunlop. The writer of this article stated that “the vocabulary had been the property”(6) of the “wife of the first magistrate at Wollombi and contained clues to aboriginal (sic) rock-carvings,”(7) and as Slater was to find out two years further on, it was also the key to deciphering the rock arrangements, carvings, letters and other symbols found at the Standing Stones site.
Slater used this ‘Original dictionary’ to decipher the carvings at Burragurra and Mt. Yango and what he read certainly wasn’t printed in any contemporary account of Original history and Lore. It made no difference as his work was like a beacon amongst a climate of intolerance and racism, and what was an equal surprise, what he discovered was acknowledged and about to be published. It states in the article that “the stone-age aboriginal (sic) believed that men came from a protoplasm created by God as a special species, and that original man could speak from the moment of his creation.”(8) We are told that Slater “offers evidence”(9) to support his readings that the Original people “had a deep knowledge of the human circulatory system, that he believed that the origin of the planetary system was tidal, that he understood the creation of the world and knew much about light, darkness and fire. Fresh evidence is also given that he believed in the immortality of the soul.”(10)
“It is stated, too, that aspects of Mr. Slater’s research will be of particular interest to students of the origin and history of Freemasonry.”(11) We included this final somewhat bizarre excursion into secret handshakes, coloured robes and European rituals simply because the exact same observation was made by Professor Elkin (first professor of Anthropology at Sydney University). In 1931 he was in marginal to no contact with some Original people in the Kimberleys (WA), but could not break the linguistic stalemate. None of the neighbouring dialects were successful and Elkin was unable to strike a compromise until these naked, illiterate nomads used “ancient secret Masonic hand signs. He was struck by the startling sematic features present in the natives.”(12) With Elkin’s ear now attuned to their cosmopolitan repertoire he then noticed that “many of the words spoken were of Egyptian origin.”(13) Of course, if Elkin had been fully acquainted with the entire Original historical narrative and First Language he would have reversed the parameters, geography and his last statement in observing that ‘many of the Egyptian words spoken were of Original origin.’
This brings us back to the Standing Stones site, as happens so often. All of the words spoken, which spread everywhere and is from the very beginning, are sourced from a common Original First Language (Murrigiwalda). Once Slater was granted access to this disclosure from antiquity he set to work translating the rock arrangements, markings, letters, angles and symbols that were placed on that mound. Of course, once destroyed and bulldozed in 1940 the old maxim of out of sight out of mind certainly overwhelmed his research and the revelations encoded. Yes we have his notes and are aware that he had compiled over 28,000 words which was incomplete and only a part of this language, but where is the proof today? The many who dismiss or deliberately look elsewhere will and do contend that these claims of marked rocks displaying angles, markings, shapes and geometry beyond the reach of any Original rock, stick and bone technology, needs rock-solid evidence in support before any credence can be awarded.
Shaped, Sharp with Seven Sides
And that is a reasonable objection and until addressed leaves his notes unsupported and the site still unrecognised. The shaped rocks were the only medium we had presented in some quantity, but in our haste to cover all bases the quality and masonry skills required in at least one rock recovered deserve more consideration and a closer inspection with the assistance of Samarah’s camera and lens. The shaped stone Samarah photographed was found at Emu’s Nest, which is close to the mounds and quite similar in many respects to most of the stones still laying in the paddock beneath the larger and smaller mounds. Despite what is shared this rock is unique in one important respect, all the rocks visible lying on the ground that were originally on the mound have eroded to varying degrees. There isn’t one rock that hasn’t escaped the impact of weathering, run off or contact with soggy soil.
Photo by Samarah Wood
Well, there is one, this rock. Two sides were found face-down sandwiched between other rocks, these two protected sides and edges have managed to avoid most of the elements and remain close to their pristine state. The rock is igneous and very hard, dark brown in colour and the two sides that are still in near ‘mint condition’ have been at the very least sanded and possibly even polished. The faces on these sides are flat, smooth and without depression or kink. The edges are sharp, so much so if running paper along the edge it will cut. I have cut myself and bled when accidentally dropping the rock on my arm. If I sat down for tea tonight and had no cutlery, this rock would be a better substitute as it has a sharper edge than any blade used on the table to assist in cutting and slicing the food on the plate.
Photo by Samarah Wood
It seems logical to assume that these two sheltered sides and edges were the norm, and when first shaped and cut every edge and face was equally sharp and level. Consisting of seven sides it is a rather complex geometric shape of which we have seen nothing anywhere That comes close to this shape or pattern, be it in Australia or any other continent. Nor have we seen or heard of ancient edges so sharp, but the legacy of this rock extends well past the technological gadgetry applied.
What takes this seven-sided rock up another level is the lines of convergence. When placed with the flat smooth surface on the bottom, if the lines of the two edges were extended to the point where they would eventually meet, this would be the exact same position the line of the top edge, if it is also continued forward, would also converge. What was deliberately created is an object that is so precise the three most prominent edges narrow to the same point. As intentional and clever as the meeting of three angles is, the reasons that inspired such geometry and precision, complemented by some amazing technology and stunning masonry, ask many an inconvenient question that can only have an Original answer.
Found extremely close to the Standing Stones site, there is a message of significance engraved and encrypted, and we strongly suspect that this rock was either bound for or taken from that site. Of course, there are easily a hundred shaped rocks laying near the two mounds and some are quite simple, others more complex like this one, but until photographed with this equipment and expertise we were unable to visually present the finesse of cut, alignment of shapes and level of skill required. Those two sides are standard bearers against which every other rock must be compared and reconstructed. It is quite possible many of the rocks were cut and shaped to this high standard and have since weathered, but even if this was a freak occurrence there is still the issue of what tools were required along with the undoubted skill on display that has to be the culmination of many years in apprenticeship. Nothing less than a metal blade of high strength, a hammer and some type of tool used to sand and polish very hard rock would suffice, and we are told that none of these implements existed in this country until after the Invasion.
The A, B, C’s of the First Alphabet
Irrespective of the inherent technological contradictions, what this rock does confirm is that Slater was correct in reporting that a huge variety of shaped stones were part of an assemblage that made the Standing Stones site so sacred. But this is not enough proof, if for no other reason than he also claimed there were other essential elements involved. More is needed and there is one strand of this mixture of symbols, arrangements, markings, hand signs, body parts and numerous symbols that certainly raised a few eyebrows and elevated the condescension levels of critics. The talk of an Original alphabet consisting of 16 letters was something we had some trouble absorbing. Slater actually compared the Original letters used to those we are familiar with in our English dialect, and also listed the letters that are missing. He went further in emphasising the dominance of the five vowels, and listed them as we would, “a,e,i,o,u”(14) which would make these five letters the most used and important of 16 letters of the First Language.
Photo by Samarah Wood
Ros’ Rock 2 most prominent feature is a striking rendition of the letter A, without betraying location or tribal association, we can state it was found within the tribal boundary of an Original group with a direct association to the two mounds. Extensively discussed in earlier articles, this rock literally ‘reeks’ of a multitude of sophisticated technologies, but what is fascinating is what is exhibited on this rock with a Standing Stones pedigree and although the technology responsible is also very advanced, it is not the same. The acute sharp angles and edges of the shaped rock are an extension on this ever-expanding tool-kit and another device used to chronicle our ancient heritage and history.
The Sun’s Nine Rays
With two rocks standing in support we are getting much closer to validating Slater’s research on the Standing Stones, but the appetite of the committed sceptic is insatiable and will demand another sizable serving of archaeology, and perhaps the engraved nine-rayed sun may appease their addiction to deny. Found very, very close to the two mounds, this artefact confirms the existence of the central character that underpins this language. This pivotal symbol is focused around the sun or circle beginning with one ray and ranging up to nine rays, all radiating outwards. They are the elemental building blocks of this language, and from our point of view its discovery is enough on its own to validate Slater’s work.
Discovered by an “amateur archaeologist”(15) the rock is small but the message monumental in implications. Slater listed the symbols that stand for the Gods/ten principles of life as a circle beginning with one ray then increasing one by one until reaching the pinnacle, a circle with nine rays. The tenth symbol is unlike the preceding nine and represented with a symbol that looks something like a horse shoe. This nine-rayed sun is the most sacred symbol and has a primary definition, “the guide to truth”(16) which can be extended to mean “the guide to the soul brought in with the unity to life.”(17) So sacred is this iconic symbol, it reaches across to the mathematical realms in symbolising the number nine and also depicts “one of the first forms of the cross.”(18)
Granted of all the recent rocks examined this is the least imposing, smaller with a cruder worn cut and the central stone circle long gone, and it doesn’t need a geologist to realise that the engraving on this rock is old. That being the case, the straight vertical line that cuts through three rays is markedly different.
Sharper, cleaner with a deep cut, it is the most impressively constructed line on the rock. However, it is obvious it was chiselled or marked in some fashion before the nine-rayed sun was engraved, nevertheless, that line looks much newer and the end result of a more refined blade. This is not unexpected, in fact the appearance of older yet more delicate and straight lines, is a feature we have commented on in previously articles on Ros’ Rocks 1 and 2.
Third Time Proves it
The three artefacts stand united in defence of the Standing Stones. Slater wrote of the alignments, angles and interplay of shapes found on the “shaped stones” we have seen in abundance on the slope and paddock below, and surely the seven-sided rock we have presented is a fine example of a sophisticated technology we are assured by experts never existed.
In the same nebulous non-category is Ros’ Rocks 2, the letter A belongs to an alphabet those versed in the development of early languages deny was spoken. The engraved nine-rayed sun is a seminal part of an Original sacred language that has never been recognised in any academic arena since Slater’s last public statements in 1939. We have copies of Slater’s original notes and the detailed map he made of the Standing sites site a few months before it was destroyed, we have his account of the sacred Original words and their meanings, we have mapped the two mounds and examined many shaped and marked rocks and we have seen an example of the alphabet and the most important of the ten sacred symbols that tell “the whole story of creation.”(19)
Regrettably the liberal use of the plural we in the last sentence is an ‘us and them’ proposition, and in 1939 ‘us’ consisted of Slater and his on-site colleague and ‘them’ was everyone else on the planet except a few Original Custodians of the Old Ways. With his hand written notes an invaluable guide, his pedigree in archaeology consummated through his posting as President of his peers, three recently found examples of different strands of the First Language available to be investigated by experts, there is only one question still unresolved.
Why is it that Slater, who was elected to be Australia’s archaeological commander-in-charge, is still completely ignored within the same academic circles he was once so roundly endorsed? What more must be found or written that could break this impasse? As things stand the answer is simple, if Slater could, like Lazarus, rise from the grave and walk amongst us now, the academics may take notice. If his notes, hundreds of artefacts, a first-hand account from the person who destroyed the Standing Stones site and Original confirmation has not stirred the interest of one academic or appointed official, alas outside miraculous intervention, nothing will change and Slater will still retain his pariah status. It may well be bad science, scurrilous behaviour and deceitful to deny his research, but it does maintain the status quo. And if being realistic what more could we expect, but more of the same?
SOURCES:
(Special Thanks to Researchers Erik Bower and Richard Patterson)
(1) “Came From Africa To Australia Our Black’s Ancestors”, The Mail, (Adelaide: 23rd Oct. 1937), 6 (N).
(2) Ibid.
(3) Ibid.
(4) Ibid.
(5) Ibid.
(6) Ibid.
(7) Ibid.
(8) Ibid.
(9) Ibid.
(10) Ibid.
(11) Ibid.
(12) Tristan Rankine, ” Hidden Bits of Australian History- Page 2″, Awareness Quest; Australian Archaeological Anomalies, http://www.awarenessquest.com/images/Awarness%20Quest%20website%20Dec08/www/research2.htm
(13) Ibid.
(14) Frederic Slater, (1939), Personal Notes“.
(15) Personal Communication (2014).
(16) Slater, Notes
(17) Ibid.
(18) Ibid.
(19) Ibid.
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