Mount William Stone Hatchet Quarry is located in Central Victoria, which is Southeast Australia. It is one of the biggest quarries in Australia with 18 hectares, 51 concentrations of altered stone and waste, 34 flaking floors, 268 pits and shafts, and 34 production zones. Around 1500 years ago, the Wurunjeri group who was the traditional owner and natives of quarry ran it. The Wurunjeri group easily adapted with the local resources near the quarry and used these materials to create the famous Greenstone Hatchet. These Greenstone Hatchets were used for trade, hunting, and gathering. In addition, the axe was able to shape wood into shields, cut sheets of barks to be used for huts, and create traps to hunt animals (Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy 2008). As much as these tools were used for their own benefits, it was also used as a form of currency and traded with neighboring groups.
In the 1970s, Isabel McBryde, an Australian archaeologist, did an in depth research of the Mount William’s Greenstone Axes. McBryde’s research heavily focused on the distribution and the exchange of the axe stone, but also studied the technology used, exploitation of quarry sites, relationship between the form and function of the raw material, and the features of the artifacts (McBryde 1978). She studied the quarry and the axe through archaeological, petrological, and ethnographical account to uncover the distribution patterns. The archaeological study allowed McBryde to study the samples she gathered from the field and what most museums have collected. Ethnological records of the Greenstone axe showed that these axes were found up to 1,000 km away from the greenstone quarries (McBryde 1976). The research also showed that Mount William greenstone was clearly favored axe in the Victoria region of Australia. This raised several questions to be asked during her research, which were about the social and economic interrelationship between other aboriginals.
McBryde’s petrological studies allowed her to study the type of materials the Wurunjeri people used to make the greenstone axes. The research showed that the main rock type at Mount William was a fine-grained amphibolite that is composed of actinolite, albite, and magnetite. The amphibolites were not man made, but rather formed together through contact metamorphism (McByrde 1978). This study revealed the type of rocks the greenstone was used for and also helped reveal the exact location of where the rocks can be found. The only problem with her research as a whole would be that some of the samples were not documented with context, so it was assumed through associations with assemblages and dates (McBryde 1984).
The results of her research showed that there two main tribes in Victoria, which were the Kulin of the central and the Kurnai of the southeast. The Kulin and Kurnai were considered enemies and did not trade between the tribes. This proved why Gippsland and the upland region of northern Victoria had no traces of the axe. Due to this, the Kulin were known to be more of a superior tribe because their land had the prestigious stone axe near the quarry.
In the 1800, Alfred Howitt interviewed nephew of Billi-Billery, Barak, to find more information about the trading process. Billi-Billery was the last Ngurungaeta, clan leader, who was led to be the last man responsible for the quarry. He was one of the many leaders who were in charge of the quarry and he was considered the middle man in the hierarchy. Billi-billery was the one who lived in the quarry and others made trips to him to request the stone. He initiated the trade with other tribes and negotiated what to trade for the greenstone axe. If he ever he to leave the quarry, Billi-Bilery would leave a member that he trusted in the group to undertake his work. Barak told Howitt that the community also did not depend on just heavy-duty stone tools, so the hatchet was traded for spears, sandstone, and possum skins at intergroup meetings and special events.
In 2010, Adam Brumm built his new research based off of Isabel McByrde research on Mount William. Brumm wanted to focus on why the Mount William axes were special and made speculative analysis of ethno-historical accounts, and synthesize the culture of each tribe. He was to find that these clans and tribes had to work closely interrelated because trading sustained them. Further research showed how the next Ngrungaetas were chosen. Because the clan leaders work closely with the political hierarchy and control of Mount William quarry, they had to follow a guideline put by the current Ngrungaeta. This position is not elected democratically rather the position went to the son or nearest male relative to the clan leader (Brumm 2010). However, even the family leader needed to prove that he is worthy of this position by finding his supporters. Kulins are known for their personal charisma and oratorical skills, the men used these skills to gather their supporters (Brumm 2010).
Another theory that was presented was the “Falling Sky” incident. It was a belief that the sky was supported by props and the gifts of stone axes were needed to maintain those props. Billi-billary, other senior Woiworung clan heads, and song-makers were influential people of each clan and it is led to believe that they convinced other clans and members to exchange to keep the sky intact. Many researchers believed that these incidents and stories have been passed down generations of aboriginals for their own gain. The aboriginals wanted to manipulate the truth to let the people of their clan to stay trading the greenstone axe and that if they did not trade between clans the sky will eventually collapse.
In conclusion, Mount William is one of Australia’s famous quarry because of various reasons. The exceptional size and the prestigious work of the greenstone axes found in the quarry have allowed many archaeologists to gain interest. The quarry showed history of Australia before the arrival of Europeans and how the aboriginals lived in the past. Isabel McByrde’s research built the foundation of Mount William quarry’s history. She was able to conclude that this was a social aspect of trading with different tribes. Brumm’s research went more in depth of each of the clans and the process they went through. He explained how the clan leaders were chosen and theories that kept the axe trading. Overall, another research that should be done to the quarry should be about the currency and economy of trade between each of the clans. Billi-Billery showed us how the trade and the negotiation process went, but lacked to structure of the trade. Was there a certain “price” to trade or did they just trade the axe with whatever they needed at the moment.