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Northern Territory Times and Gazette (Darwin, NT : 1873-1927) (about)
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Cite: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3329541
3 corrections, most recently by boab - Show corrections
A Curious Discovery.
A discovery which promises to prove of more than ordinary interest was made recently in the Victoria River district. The following copy of the report handed into the Government Resident's Office speaks for itself: " This is to certify that we, the under-
signed, have seen the Boabab tree, on Bradshaw's Creek, bearing the
memorial-
Oct 9 (like) 15 or 75
FRED ADAMS SOUTHAMPTO
and consider the inscription to be of considerable age. The characters representing the year are indistinct, owing to the age of the engraving, but were evidently originally inten- ded to be 75 or 15, and we are of opinion that the memorial was cut either in the year 1775 or 1815. As both these dates belong to an earlier period than that of any recorded exploration of this part of the Northern Territory (Arnheim's Land), we think an interesting dis- covery may result from giving pub- licity to the fact of the existence of the marked tree. The tree is 12 miles up Shaw's Creek, a tributary of the Victoria River, and is, at a rough estimate, one hundred miles from the seaboard. The words "Fred Adams, Southampto," and the date "Oct 9," are perfectly clear, the final "N" only being wanted to complete the word (sup- posed by us to be) Southampton. The existence of the inscription may be due to the presence of some ship's crew sent hither in search of water, as at spring tides a vessel of light draught can be navigated the whole distance from the coast; but it is also probable the carving was done by some shipwrecked seaman making inland for sustenance.
We know of no other tree simi- larly marked in the neighbourhood.
(Signed) ÆNEAS J. GUNN.
P. C. McDONALD. HUGH YOUNG. D. BUCHANAN. D. DARROCH. Schooner "Twins"
Bradshaw's Creek,
20th April, 1895."