After and Before: Egyptians in Australia (Part 1)

After and Before: Egyptians in Australia (Part 1)

By Steven & Evan Strong

24/03/22

It is still to this day puzzling, but most assuredly understandable under the current state of disorder and fear, why all talk of an ancient Egyptian presence with all the associated archaeology found in Australia, is so readily ridiculed. Every report, without exception, of such evidence since World War 2 has been officially dismissed as not being sourced from Egypt, bogus or mischievously manufactured by someone with bad intentions. The recurring problem is that before World War 2 such proof was never so cavalierly trashed, in fact because of the academic standing of many academics and archaeologists the reports in newspapers and journals were seriously entertained and rarely criticised. There is a clear line in the sand before and after the war, and it is that reversal in attitude and surge of antagonism that is the focus of the first half of this report.

                Before the war the real chance that ancient Egyptians were in Australia over a long period of time was seriously canvassed and supported by academics of high standing and sound archaeology. There were no commentators contemptuously dismissing the credentials or methodology of their research, it seems that many agreed or at the worst remained silent. Extensive recent research by our colleague Erik Bower through many State Libraries revealed dozens of articles published in the newspapers wholly supportive. The current popular press practice when an item of news pushes the boundaries will inevitably see a dissenting voice adding balance or often a sensible calming voice. That is now, but before the Second World War all of these article’s chronicle one unchallenged version of events, there is no critique.

Four Academics of the Highest Pedigree Insist an Ancient Egyptian Presence was Part of the Australian Landscape

The one shared finding of these four academics is that the connection between ancient Egypt and Australia is unquestionable, so too is their status and qualifications. Sir Grafton Elliot-Smith was the first Australian scholar to be knighted for his services to academia and Sir Ralph Cilento is an English academic who received the same honour. Even though the other two gentlemen were not bestowed this honour, Frederic Slater was the first president of the Australian Archaeological Research and Education Society, and Dr. Hermann Klaatsch was a German professor who introduced into European Universities the unheard-of concept of spending an extensive time in residence at the site of an archaeological discovery. In pursuing this unique approach, Klaatsch spent four years primarily in Australia (1904-1907) trying to prove that humanities’ genesis began in this continent. In combination eminent researchers of this stature present a compelling case in all agreeing that ancient Egyptians did indeed travel to and from Australia thousands of years ago.

                This brief overview of four eminent scholars will be chronological in presentation and therefore begins with a German academic whose name is Dr. Hermann Klaatsch who came to Australia to investigate the archaeology, anthropology and language of Australian Original people still living under semi-Old Way culture and customs. His brief was to determine whether he was right in his belief that it was Australia from which modern humans originated.

                What caught him slightly unawares over his four years in country was the clarity and consistency of Egyptian influences that seem to have an Australian ancestry. Although dubious as to the reality of all forms of magic, Klaatsch openly conceded a connection in observing that “the learned priests of Egypt, who were so clever at duping the profane crowd, were worthy successors of the magic-doctors of their ancestors as exemplified amongst the Australians.”(1)

                But there was so much more that bound both ancient cultures, none more unexpected than the “binding and mummifying the body was still practised in some parts of Australia.”(2) So common was the practise and so ingrained was Klaatschs’ colonial/racist viewpoint he conceded that mummification was “carried to a high pitch of perfection amongst ancient Egyptians. Amongst the Australian savages we find it in its crudest and most primitive form.”(3) When refencing the very beginning of mummification in Egypt Klaatsch stated that “it has been proved that the oldest mummies are trussed as they are amongst the Australians.”(4) What needs to be appreciated is not only is the timing earlier, we are not dealing with one crude form of mummification on show, as Klaatsch devotes an entire chapter describing sixteen different variations in Australian techniques.

                Barely ten years after Klaatsch was in Australia, Sir Grafton Elliot Smith was confirming and repeating the same Egyptian mantra. His field work left no doubt that “the culture of the Egypt of Tutankhamen’s day was diffused to the islands of the Pacific and Northern Australia.”(5) Elliot Smith conceded that he was “amazed”(6) by the “immense quantity of material available for study”(7) that related directly to “Egyptian customs in Australia.”(8)

He was genuinely unprepared for the abundance of archaeology with an ancient Egyptian imprint and admitted that “I did not know until now that the evidence was so definite and positive.”(9) “I have been looking at mummies from Darnley Island, in the Macleay Museum at the university, and the specimens in the Australian Museum. It is remarkable how curiously they have retained a lot of the old Egyptian customs.”(10)

                Sir Ralph Cilento is a highly regarded British archaeologist with skills in Egyptology, so for him even be in Australia conducting archaeology in the mid 1930’s would seem misplaced, especially so when his main focus was the Torres Strait, and in particular one of the many mummies found at Darnley Island. He was fascinated and highly impressed by the many Australian similarities to the embalming techniques used and religious rites of the 21^st to 23^rd Egyptian Dynasties.

                Frederic Slater was the President of the Australian Archaeological Research and Education Society in the 1930’s and researched this Egyptian connection extensively. In the many press clippings about Slater found by Erik Bower one of the central themes is Egyptians coming to Australia. In his notes he spoke of the remains of an ancient Egyptian boat near the Standing Stones site. So too did Jack Bashford, the farmer who destroyed the site and removed the 184 basalt stones that made up the principal formation of the ten-acre complex of over 100 stone arrangements, made mention of the remains of the same ancient boat. Slater believed the Egyptians learnt about mysticism, magic, hieroglyphs, mathematics and so much more from the Australian Original people.        

Then Came the War

After the war Slater was never featured in any press, his reputation was vilified, his family shunned his work, and it is quite likely the book he wrote which was accepted by an English publisher was burnt and destroyed when the bombs fell during the war. The dissemination of information, which was so tightly controlled during the war continued, and was now becoming self-serving commodity controlled by an elite clique. Our role is to find the baton held by so many academics and continue down a path that these men were no longer allowed to acknowledge, discuss or entertain.

Ancient Egyptian Overtones

Our very first introduction into the possibility of an ancient Egyptian presence in Australia began when ex-NPWS Senior Park Ranger of the Snowy Mountains and Gosford area (John Gallard) contacted us offering to take us on a guided tour of the archaeology found in both the locations he supervised. He made some rather bold declarations in advance which had us interested but somewhat dubious and sensing our hesitancy he sent us a photograph of one site to ‘whet our appetite,’ that bait undeniably achieved its purpose. We have decided to present this evidence in chronological order of artefacts/sites seen, in the same sequence John Gallard shared with us, and that being our intention it begins with the photo he sent to us before we went on country.

                Although never overtly stated by John, our take was that this half human half ibis profiled engraving was meant to convince us that he had something out-of-the-ordinary that was the precinct of ancient Egypt. Well, he did, first up all Original engravings of humans and animals have two eyes and are front on. Profiled engravings may be non-existent in Australia, but in Egypt the reverse applies. Equally, this being has a club foot which is a distinctive trait of Durramullan, who is the first-born son of Biaime. But where this gets interesting in crossing boundaries is that every ancient depiction of such a hybrid of human and ibis found in ancient Egypt automatically means this is Thoth, the God of Wisdom.

                We did a brief search for something similar in Australia and came up empty, if John Gallard was using this photograph to tempt and intrigue, it had worked. A few weeks later we were on country in bush close to Gosford, standing on a rock platform waiting for the sun to break through a rather heavy cloud cover so we could get a clearer image of what he claimed to be an engraved ankh. This site is the closest and “first step away”(11) from Mount Yango, the place where the Sky-Hero Biamie landed a craft and disembarked with many other Sky Heroes. This engraving of an ankh, which is an ancient Egyptian device held exclusively by Thoth would have been carried by him alone. In what only strengthened this Australian connection and identity to Egypt, next to one side of the ankh were two ibis footprints.

                But the ever-present problem with this engraving was its antiquity, John Gallard made the point that he believed this was the oldest carved image or symbol on a rock platform that housed close to one hundred engravings. His suggested age of no less than ten thousand years is certainly in accord with the faint lines and troubles taken to both run water through the groves to coincide with the rare appearance of the sun. It is clearly the worst for wear of all the engravings, and since every figure, pecking and line is on the same sandstone rock, it seems safe to assume the most faded is the oldest. To my eye in these cloudy conditions, I really had a problem getting overly enthused as so much was barely visible. Irrespective of how much of the original engraving was still optically salvageable, there still remained one huge irregularity in the accepted genesis and timing of Egyptian Gods and localities. At the time John so confidently suggested the ankh and Thoth were never spoken of or recorded anywhere in Egypt, this proposed date is thousands of years too early.

Introducing Isis and Osiris/Durramullan and Ngalba

To be honest, at this stage Evan and I were beginning to wonder whether John Gallard’s promise of undeniable Egyptian archaeology stood up to scrutiny. Once the sunlight did make a brief appearance the photographs were taken, but I still wasn’t convinced it was definitely an ankh. We made our way about 50 metres to the south, but as we did I could feel the confidence in what was promised was rapidly vanishing. By the time we got to the second engraving I was virtually running on empty.

                John began by quickly summarising the main points in the Egyptian account of Osiris being deceived, killed and chopped into pieces then lead on to Isis’ role in reassembling and resurrecting her partner. All of which I already knew and to begin with could see no purpose in sharing, well that was so until he drew our attention to the three main protagonists in the second engraving. Straightway, before he went further in drawing parallels and comparisons, I kept my focus on the male figure. There it was again, so Egyptian, the face was in profile and only one eye was present and accounted for, just like the Ibis-man. Now I was listening, and the empty tank was refilling.

                Not only refilled, but overflowing, as I managed to pull my eyes away from the one solitary eye, the profile and shape of the face didn’t seem human, more monkey-like, in fact my first reaction was it did look a lot like a baboon face. Either way, monkeys or baboons have never been residing in any form on the Australian continent, but when it comes to the continent that Egypt is part of, that is their home base. What only adds to the cross-cultural hybridisation, Thoth had two animal totems, the ibis flew while the monkeys walked like men. To have both representations of Thoth engraved into two sandstone rock platforms is well past a coincidence, it is now a historical fact. So as John told us the Dreaming story associated with this engraving, he now had my undivided attention.

                In this engraving Durramullan was captured by beings from the underworld and murdered, but women’s magic being so powerful, Ngalba used her magical shield to first reconstitute his body and then resurrect him. It is clearly the base upon which the Isis and Osiris narrative evolved, which may explain why the headdress of Durramullan looks so much like those worn by Pharaohs.

                Still on the same platform the third engraving is once again unique, but unlike the previous two, it is distinctively geometric and precise. Both arms are raised upwards with each elbow joint forming an exact right angle at ninety degrees. The arms are identical in width and length, and midpoint between the two arms sits exactly in the middle of the chest region. The same repetition and precision can be found with both legs, and it is undeniable that such symmetry or gesture cannot be found anywhere else.

                That precision and balance is of itself unparalleled, but what really tips the scales is that this engraved figure is not without precedent, not here but elsewhere. In Egypt the earliest form of hieroglyphs (Proto-Egyptian) has the same figure in the same proportions and is referred to as the God of Inheritance. Bearing in mind we have already seen on the same rock platform an Ankh and an almost identical narrative that is of Isis resurrecting Osiris, and both predate the parallels in Egypt. With those truths established in Australia and then passed on at a later date to Egypt, it seems entirely logical that this inheritance will be also recorded with the appropriate hieroglyph.

Boat, Bone, Exotic Metal, Compass and a Mini Stonehenge.

Those who are predisposed to take a contrary mainstream stance may well disagree in finding alternative explanations, no matter how far-fetched and convoluted their preferred choices may be, which is certainly the case in their response to the 300 odd hieroglyphs found at Kariong, it is highly likely whatever is offered in opposition will be unconditionally accepted. The problem being these engravings do not stand alone, there are four other supporting artefacts/sites that also must be considered and then somehow dismissed.

                If there was an agreement made that allowed the possibility of ancient Egyptians the rites of passage, they will need ocean-going boats and some form of compass to succeed and return. Still in the Gosford area but close to twenty kilometres east from the rock platform, and less than 200 metres from the ocean, is an engraving of an ocean-going boat. John Gallard was very keen for us to both see and make our own minds up as to whether his claim it was a boat designed to sail across oceans was accepted or questioned by us. The design of the boat with a very high curved prow and stern, is certainly not needed for sailing on rivers or lakes, boats like that are needed to sail through waves and rough seas. There are many engravings of boats in Australia but none like this.

                I will acknowledge one critic suggested that it could be a boomerang, but all boomerangs adopt some form of V-shape, whereas this shape has a long flat mid-section which means it would neither return, nor fly in the air effectively. The reality is that this shape has the aerodynamic capacity of a stick.

                So, with an engraved boat positioned within a ‘boomerang’s throw’ from the ocean waves, we seem to have the outline of a boat ticked off, but to sail such massive distances to the same location needs more, and the next priority must be a compass and awareness of directions. About thirty kilometres to the north of the rock platform with an Egyptian perspective is one single engraving, that once again is unique and even more precise and geometric than the engraved Egyptian God of Inheritance.

                It is an engraved compass, that is an absolute certainty. There are the four cardinal points, all lines are ‘gun-barrel straight’ and set ninety degrees apart from each other. But there is more, the next four lines are set between each of the four directions at 45 degrees. What needs to be factored into any attempt to make sense of such an unexpected find, is that the rock is very hard, and every line is exactly the same width and depth. Under these conditions the end result is beyond the capacities of all stone, bone, stick and open fire tool kits. The uniformity, lack of kinks and consistency of cut requires an incredibly strong fine toughened blade or laser. What we also know to be true is that the gentleman who originally took us to this site also alerted the local university to its presence. One photo was sufficient and soon after a professor was standing just where we were and was no less flummoxed by what he saw. He did concede that the technology needed to do this was in the laboratory now, but as for a portable version needed so far out in the bush, that was impossible as such a device was not yet invented or remotely foreseeable in the immediate future.

                Then it got more interesting, not only is a symbol for north marked out, and even if we are mistaken and it symbolises another direction or meaning, whatever way the compass is read it is tilted 15 degrees further to the east than the present-day alignment. Does that mean this compass was engraved when the earth was aligned magnetically in a different position? That goes back to a very long time ago that has to be measured in five figures. If as some critics may suggest it is a recent post-Cook addition, then the perpetrators are using technology and equipment totally unknown and still is. Moreover, apparently it was used to literally cut a compass into the rock floor in the bush, and in return there was no financial gain, publicity or purpose. Then to top off the contradictions they were unable to correctly read the compass when formatting or cutting.

But it doesn’t end there, this is not the only artefact that proves an awareness of the four cardinal points on the compass was common knowledge in ancient Australia. Still remaining in the same bush found in the greater Gosford area, John Gallard took us to a site where there is a 43 standing stone construction, we referred to it a ‘mini-Stonehenge.’ It is a reflex response, as no other description came close. What only added to the intrigue was when John brought out a compass, this time around the match up was to the degree perfect. This was certainly created at a time after the engraved compass was created.

Each of the four cardinal points had the same formation of two vertical rectangular rocks standing upright supporting a horizontal slab that sat on top. Two were still intact while in both the other two formations the horizontal slabs have fallen to the ground, and because under each fallen rock there is a thick and varied assembly of lichens and algae, it would seem that they fell some time ago. Possibly once Original Old Way ceremonies were no longer held on this platform, as soon as that ritual ceased, which is at least a century ago, when they did fall there was no-one left to tend or repair.

Just over ten metres to the west, on the same rock platform is a cluster of fifteen rocks that are of the same geology, colour and size and could represent a star cluster that was used as a reference while navigating the seas between Egypt and Australia. May be not, it could be just a random scatter, but either way according to a modern-day compass the four stone arches are each deposited to the degree on north, south, east and west. That alone means so much, and asks many questions.

Beyond any Reasonable Doubt

The reason why we feel that there is an ancient Egyptian undertone present and accounted for in so much archaeology in this area is because we are convinced that we have with us a piece of a femur bone that was once part of an Egyptian body of the highest pedigree. Until now the archaeology we have examined is clearly a compelling review and impressive accumulation of circumstantial Egyptian evidence, but where is the hard evidence every court room craves? Where is the ‘body’ needed to seal the case? Well, the answer is that originally it was interred in a ten-metre excavated sandstone shaft that is positioned less than half a metre from three walls containing over three-hundred engraved hieroglyphs, that look so impressively Egyptian.

The arguments over the authenticity of the stone script at Kariong are ongoing. We have been there over fourty times and written extensively on why it is genuine, but that is all just a background setting in this article. We want to focus on the credentials and chemistry of both the ancient bone and metal jewellery an Original Elder of high standing Aunty Minnie Mace gave to us over ten years ago for “protection.”(12) Heavily encrusted in dirt Aunty Minnie was “guided”(13) to a presence and concealed existence of both artefacts. They were found by her within metres from the entrance pit to the ten-metre shaft that once contained the body of Khufu’s son Nefer-ti-ru.

At the time of retrieval Aunty Minnie did not know she had found a human bone of great antiquity and Egyptian royalty, let alone his sacred metal pendant which is of an extremely exotic and potentially off-world origin. As to whether it was a human bone, that was a difficult question that was clearly beyond my talents, but that missing skill set was resolved once speaking to the head of the Fractures Unit of the local Base Hospital who then agreed to give a verdict free-of-charge. Owing to the change in colour and very light weight, he felt it was very ancient and most likely the socket of the femur bone. However, as he pointed out that until now, he had only examined the bones of humans still living he suggested that the undoubted specialists most appropriate to this task was the team responsible for operating cat-scans.

It was a great idea, but I did immediately point out the flaw in such a worthy venture, which was the undoubted cost and the financial reality that any cost was beyond our budget. “Not a problem,”(14) he rang the team and arranged for their services for one hour from 9-10 am next Monday to be at my disposal without any cost. Their conclusion, after “giving patient six times the normal dosage as he or she wouldn’t mind,”(15) was guarded but really left no other alternative in that it had “the bone density of a human bone”(16) which appeared to be very old.

So, at the very least we have an ancient bone found within five metres of an engraved Egyptian narrative detailing the death and burial of the son of Khufu, and to that equation must be added the metal pendant that originally had a complete circular clasp through which a chain or strap was used to hang around the neck. The metal looks and feels like aluminium, but is very hard. I was approached by Graham Lancaster, who is the Managing Director of the Environmental Analysis Laboratory based at Southern Cross University, and he was very keen to analyse this alloy as he too sensed there was something inside that was sitting outside the norm.

It turned out he was right twice over, the metallic content is 73% Aluminium, 3% copper and 24% of the content is unknown and unregistered in the Earthly Periodic Table. What was clear is that this metallic ratio of the first two elements is also unknown today. The last time that between 2-4% of copper was used with Aluminium as an alloy ends at around 3,000 years ago and most certainly includes the time of Khufu’s reign. Past that first chemical truth and time signature, there is real issue as to why almost one quarter of this metal has no known source or deposit found on this planet.

What are facts is that it was made over three thousand years ago and contains one element that makes this artefact no less than utterly unique and quite possibly mined and brought from another planet. And, as stated earlier, that off-world location will be canvassed and dissected in Part 2 of this article, but right now the archaeology that has a direct link to Egypt numbers eight and, in combination with four academics adds up to a new chemical algorism and the revival of Old Truths.

Sydney University, the Lost and Found Department

We deliberately left out any explanation or justification of the Egyptian influence at the three walls at Kariong which contain over three hundred engraved hieroglyphs. The reason being that all critiques and denials are specific to that one site and never address all the surrounding supporting evidence. They focus solely on discrediting that specific location and avoid any mention of all the sites and artefacts we have discussed. And even when extremely convincing evidence is gathered, it is either lost or ignored, and in the case of Sydney University, both approaches were simultaneously employed.

                Just above the hieroglyphs, barely 50 metres away and easily the closet Original engravings to the walls, is a very impressive, engraved star map that was charted and presented to Sydney University at sometime towards the end of the 1980’s. Rumours abounded that it was received and that the date calculated matched to the decade the time of Khufu’s reign in Egypt, and equally the proposed date of arrival of two of his sons in Australia. At no stage did the University deny receiving the chart, but claimed no knowledge of its present whereabouts or the date calculated. Through good luck and knowing the right people, we received a copy of the map and a date the experts from Sydney University supplied of 2,500 BC. In combination the total number of years through to today is in the mid 4,600 years, which goes a long way towards supporting the validity of the narrative on the first wall nominating Nefer-djes-eb and Nefer-ti-ru as being in Australia.

                The recurring inconvenient issue is, even if ignoring the Kariong site, that there are eight examples of archaeology that have an undeniable connection to Egypt, and the ‘deranged Czech’ without a name the experts claim responsible for the 300 glyphs cannot be used to explain away the other sites. So too the second line of offenders, whether students from Sydney University or mischievous ‘New Agers,’ can’t be used in all other sites, and nor have they been.

Our point is simply that it is the sheer bulk and quality of archaeology found in this one location that can only have one rational sensible explanation. Ancient Egyptians were in Australia thousands of years ago, to state otherwise contradicts science, Original history and the truth.                          

REFERENCES:

(1): Hermann  Klaatsch, 1923. The Evolution and Progress of Mankind, ed. Adolf Heilborn, trans. Joseph McCabe (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company Publishers). 219.

(2) Ibid, 219.

(3): Ibid, 214-215.

(4): Ibid, 215.

(5): 24th August, 1924. “Tut’s Egypt – How Culture Came to Australia”, Sunday Times, (Sydney, N.S.W.), 3(n).

(6): 2oth July, 1914. “Mystery of Man Stories in Skulls- Egypt and Australia – Professor Elliot Smith Amazed”, The Sydney Morning Herald, 9(n).

(7) – (10): Ibid.

(11) Angel John Gallard, 2011. Personal Communication to Steven Strong.

(12): Aunty Minnie Mace, 2012. Personal Communication to Steven Strong & Evan Strong.

(13): Ibid.

(14): Fractures Unit, 2012. Base Hospital.

(15): Cat scan Unit, 2012. Base Hospital.