Marked Rocks, Terrabile Creek

Item details


Name of item:	Marked Rocks, Terrabile Creek
Other name/s:	Curban Marked Rocks
Type of item:	Archaeological-Terrestrial
Group/Collection:	Aboriginal
Category:	Grinding groove
Location:	Lat: S31° 32.444’ Long: E148° 36.671’
Primary address:	Terrabile Creek Off Curban-biddon Road, Curban, NSW 2827
Local govt. area:	Gilgandra

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Terrabile Creek Off Curban-biddon Road	Curban	Gilgandra			Primary Address

Statement of significance:


	The marked rocks site on Terrabile Creek has local historical significance as a place used by Aboriginal people prior to, and in the early days of, European occupation of the area. The presence of permanent water at the base of the rock shelf and grinding grooves at its top suggest that it was part of traditional trade and hunting routes in the region. The site has associations with the Aboriginal people of the region and with the early European residents of the Curban district who used it as a recreational site. The place has local historical and historical association significance, rarity and representativeness. It also has a high degree of integrity.
	Date significance updated: 03 Feb 09
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Physical description:	The marked rocks site is a sandstone rock shelf that outcrops on the western bank of Terrabile Creek south of the Village of Curban. At the base of the rockshelf is a waterhole that holds water even in the driest periods. The rockface is marked with scratchings of initials of European visitors to the site that appear to date back many decades. On the top of the rock shelf are grinding grooves that are typical of markings used to identify distance and direction of water on Aboriginal hunting and trading routes.
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	The site is considered to have little archaeological potential.
	Date condition updated:03 Feb 09


Current use:	Open Site
Former use:	Open Site

History

Historical notes:

The area covered by the Gilgandra Shire sits at the convergence of the territories of three Aboriginal language groups, the Gamilaraay to the northeast, the Wiradjuri to the south and the Wayilwan to the west (Sommerville 1994:46-47). Archaeological evidence suggests that Aboriginal people have occupied the land to the east of Gilgandra for up to 25,000 years and in the Warrumbungle Ranges for up to 17,000 years (Fox 1996:52). Numerous cultural sites testify to the complexity of Aboriginal culture and the people’s relationship with the land. The Terrabile Creek site was apparently an important site in the hunter-gatherer economy of local for an extended period of time Aboriginal site. The presence of permanent water here and grinding grooves indicate that the site was possibly on hunting and trading routes. These grooves provide indications of direction and distance on these tracks. (Dundas 2006)

John Ross Patterson was one of the early European settlers on the Castlereagh. He was evidently an employee of James Walker of Wallerawong, who held large runs in the region from the 1830s. In partnership with fellow employee James Gibson Patterson took up a run named Bimble. He later managed Curban for Robert Bennett. Patterson expanded Curban by adding extra portions. (Back to Gilgandra Committee 1937:21-22) Bennett built the first house at Curban (Dormer 1983:53). By 1841 17 people were living at Curban. The census undertaken in that year recorded 13 adult males, two adult females and two female children. (Dormer 1983:15) During the mid to late 19th century horse drawn coaches ran from Dubbo to Coonamble via Gilgandra three days per week. Coach drivers included James Brown, Paddy Murray and William Walden. (Back to Gilgandra Committee 1937:15)

A police station was established at Curban in 1878. At this time the locality was also known as Terribile. A village had been surveyed and building allotments offered foe sale in the Village of Terribile in 1866. Dormer 1983:54) The police station was relocated to Gilgandra after that town overtook Curban in population. (Back to Gilgandra Committee 1937:40) The decline of Curban was exacerbated by the construction of the Dubbo to Coonamble Railway Line to the west of the village. The village was situated on high ground between Terrabile Creek and the Castlereagh River and was easily cut off by floods.

The presence of permanent water and a sandstone shelf at the marked rocks site led to it becoming a recreational site for residents of Curban and district. Generations of residents have carved initials into the rock face.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
2. Peopling-Peopling the continent	Aboriginal cultures and interactions with other cultures-Activities associated with maintaining, developing, experiencing and remembering Aboriginal cultural identities and practices, past and present.	(none)-
8. Culture-Developing cultural institutions and ways of life	Leisure-Activities associated with recreation and relaxation	(none)-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The marked rocks site on Terrabile Creek has local historical significance as a place used by Aboriginal people prior to, and in the early days of, European occupation of the area. The presence of permanent water at the base of the rock shelf and grinding grooves at its top suggest that it was part of traditional trade and hunting routes in the region. The place has local historical significance.
SHR Criteria b) [Associative significance]	The marked rocks site has associations with the Aboriginal people of the region and with the early European residents of the Curban district who used it as a recreational site. It has local historical association significance.
SHR Criteria f) [Rarity]	The Curban marked rocks site is a rare identified example of a marked Aboriginal site in the Gilgandra Shire.
SHR Criteria g) [Representativeness]	The marked rocks site is representative of marked watering places on Aboriginal pathways through the region and is also representative of early European recreational sites.
Integrity/Intactness:	The place has a high degree of integrity.
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Local Environmental Plan	Gilgandra Local Environmental Plan 2011	I20	09 Dec 11
Heritage study

Study details

Title	Year	Author	Inspected by	Guidelines used
Gilgandra Shire Community Based Heritage Study	2008	Ray Christison	Ray Christison	Yes
Gilgandra Shire Community Based Heritage Study	2008	Ray Christison	Ray Christison	Yes
Gilgandra Shire Community Based Heritage Study	2008	Ray Christison	Ray Christison	Yes
Gilgandra Shire Community Based Heritage Study	2008	Ray Christison	Ray Christison	Yes
Gilgandra Shire Community Based Heritage Study	2008	Ray Christison	Ray Christison	Yes
Gilgandra Shire Community Based Heritage Study	2008	Ray Christison	Ray Christison	Yes

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title
Written	Back to Gilgandra Committee	1927	Back to Gilgandra Souvenir Booklet
Written	Dormer, M.	1983	The Bushmans Arms
Written	Fox, P.	1996	Warrumbungle National Park
Written	Gulargambone Historical Society	1992	Gulargambone Homes and Holdings
Oral History	Ken Dundas	2006	Information on Grinding Grooves
Written	Lambell, M. & Byrne, N.	1997	Pioneers & Personalities

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

(Click on thumbnail for full size image and image details)

Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	Local Government
Database number:	1590101

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