Mystery: How did these Aborigines know Masonic Signs?

Extract from: JOURNAL OF MR STUART’S FOURTH EXPEDITION—FIXING THE CENTRE OF THE CONTINENT. FROM MARCH TO SEPTEMBER, 1860.

Friday, 22nd June, Under the West Low Range. Started at sunrise for the ponds, and at 1.30 arrived; the horses being very much exhausted. I am glad I did not remain another night without water; three of them are completely done up, and it has been with difficulty that we have got them here. Wind south-west.

Saturday, 23rd June, Kekwick Ponds. Resting horses. About 1 o’clock we were visited by two natives, who presented us with four opossums and a number of small birds and parrots. They were much frightened at first, but after a short time became very bold, and, coming to our camp, wanted to steal everything they could lay their fingers on. I caught one concealing the rasp that is used in shoeing the horses under the netting he had round his waist, and was obliged to take it from him by force. The canteens they seemed determined to have, and it was with difficulty we could get them from them. They wished to pry into everything, until I lost all patience and ordered them off. In about half an hour two other young men approached the camp. Thinking they might be in want of water, and afraid to come to it on account of the horses, I sent Ben with a tin dishful, which they drank. They were very young men, and too much frightened to come any nearer. About an hour before sundown, one of the first that had come, returned, bringing with him three others, two of whom were young, tall, powerful, well made, and good-looking, and as fine specimens of the native as I have yet seen. On their heads they had a neatly-fitting hat or helmet close to the brow, and rising straight up to a rounded peak, three or four inches above the head and gradually becoming narrower towards the back part. The outside was net-work; the inside was composed of feathers very tightly bound together with cord until it was as hard as a piece of wood; it may be used as a protection from the sun, or as armour for the battle-field. One of them had a great many scars upon him, and seemed to be a leading man. Only two had helmets on, the others had pieces of netting bound round their foreheads. One was an old man, and seemed to be the father of these two fine young men. He was very talkative, but I could make nothing of him. I have endeavoured, by signs, to get information from him as to where the next water is, but we cannot understand each other. After some time, and having conferred with his two sons, he turned round, and surprised me by giving me one of the Masonic signs. I looked at him steadily; he repeated it, and so did his two sons. I then returned it, which seemed to please them much, the old man patting me on the shoulder and stroking down my beard. They then took their departure, making friendly signs until they were out of sight. We enjoyed a good supper from the opossums, which we have not had for many a day. The men are complaining of weakness from the want of sufficient nourishment. I find the quantity of rations is not enough; five pounds of flour per week is too little for many weeks together. It may do very well for a month or so, but when it comes to the length of time we have been out, we all feel it very much; and the dried meat that I brought with me being very young, it has not half the strength in it that old meat has.

(Source: ebooks.adelaide.edu.au...

Born in Dysart, Fife, Scotland, John McDouall Stuart (7 September 1815 – 5 June 1866) was the most accomplished and most famous of all Australia's inland explorers.
Stuart was the youngest of nine children. His father was a retired army captain serving as a customs officer. Stuart's parents died when he was in his early teens and he came under the care of relatives. He graduated from the Scottish Naval and Military Academy as a civil engineer before emigrating to Australia in 1838, at the age of 23.
Stuart led the second expedition to traverse the Australian mainland from south to north, and the first to do so from a starting point in South Australia, achieving this despite poor backing from the Government of South Australia. His experience and the care he showed for his team ensured he never lost a man, despite the harshness of the country he encountered. The explorations of Stuart eventually resulted in the Adelaide-Darwin telegraph being built and the main route from Port Augusta to Darwin being established, which is now known as the Stuart Highway in his honour.

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Notes:
From what I have read of the rest of the journal, Stuart's party would likely have been the first white men these aborgines had ever seen.

Duncan



MODERATOR-EDIT: External-Quote-Tags added (required when quoting external sources)

[edit on 25-6-2008 by Skyfloating]

What - no interest in the mystery of how some Australian aborigines knew about Masonic hand signals before white man ever stepped on Australian soil?

What Masonic symbol was it?

Maybe that might be some gesture that has a more universal meaning? For example the "horns" gesture is used by many people that do not even know what a Mason is. Or, could that symbol predate Masonry?

So do you know what gesture they used?

very interesting.. ty s&f

Hold on a second here....how do we know that it wasnt just an aboriginal sign for something?

It makes more sense to me as the explorer had no idea what they were saying in the first place

Because the Aborigines and the Masons are the same. Though whether if Aborigines are actually Masons in disguise or if Masons are actually Aborigines in disguise is unknown and still hotly debated by the leading scholars of the field.

Originally posted by italkyoulisten
Because the Aborigines and the Masons are the same. Though whether if Aborigines are actually Masons in disguise or if Masons are actually Aborigines in disguise is unknown and still hotly debated by the leading scholars of the field.

Lol, thats the first I have heard of it. I dont know if you're an aussie, but have you ever met an aborigine?

So I am guessing the ones that hang around the outside of my workplace and the long lines of them at centrelink to cash their paychecks every second week are part of some masonic conspiracy? What about the ones that still live on aboriginal land following their local laws? Are they included?

Oh and I better steer clear of the ones I play footy with too eh, just in case they are part of some global domination plan.

Originally posted by OzWeatherman

Originally posted by italkyoulisten
Because the Aborigines and the Masons are the same. Though whether if Aborigines are actually Masons in disguise or if Masons are actually Aborigines in disguise is unknown and still hotly debated by the leading scholars of the field.

Lol, thats the first I have heard of it. I dont know if you're an aussie, but have you ever met an aborigine?

So I am guessing the ones that hang around the outside of my workplace and the long lines of them at centrelink to cash their paychecks every second week are part of some masonic conspiracy? What about the ones that still live on aboriginal land following their local laws? Are they included?

Oh and I better steer clear of the ones I play footy with too eh, just in case they are part of some global domination plan.

I dunno why, but I expected way more intelligent discussion than this load of dribble.

Duncan

Originally posted by yankeerose
What Masonic symbol was it?

Maybe that might be some gesture that has a more universal meaning? For example the "horns" gesture is used by many people that do not even know what a Mason is. Or, could that symbol predate Masonry?

So do you know what gesture they used?

very interesting.. ty s&f

Umm, hello? Are you reading what is posted? Does it say what symbol is mentioned?
Why are you asking me what symbol it was?

Maybe I have wasted all our time by posting this factoid that remains a mystery in the minds of many researchers to this day.

I suspect that the attention span of many precludes any ability to read further diary entries for more information - not that you will find any else I would have posted them for you.

Disappointed in the absymal quality of discussion - OzWeatherman - you especially disappoint me.

Duncan

He gave the signs it said, which are gestures you make with your hands. The explorer returned the signs, meaning he gave a hand gesture in response to the gesture of the aborigines.

unlike a "horn" gesture, masonic signs are a bit more complex, so the chance of just being a coincidence are pretty low. I'm not sure what to think, although I find it extremely interesting. I actually find it a bit hard to believe, it reminds me of that movie "The Man Who Would Be King."

I could speculate all day long, but my first guess is that the thieves were not masons.

[edit on 25-6-2008 by scientist]

Stuart was a freemason, and being from the 'officer' class of the British establishment, I suspect he was thoroughly astonished himself, at seeing secret and specific signals being made at him - several times no less.

There is still controversy over when to date the arrival of the Australian aborigines to this continent. Several aboriginal 'elders' I have interviewed over the years, insist their heritage extends back the equivalent of 80,000 of our years.

Assuming Stuart made accurate journal and diary entries, and the event is a fact, then few logical explanations emerge to explain it.

Other explanations then:

- if we trace the origins of freemasonry up and back in time, some say we arrive back to the time of King Solomon - if so, I guess it is possible that some of them may have gone exploring overseas ...

- maybe there existed an advanced civilisation before the last ice-age; with a global reach; and maybe these 'masonic signals' and other related knowledge were retained in fragments in different areas and/or native cultures in other parts of the globe after some sudden global catastrophe which destroyed said global culture.

- others anyone?

There are other reported anomalous traits in language and rituals and racial characteristics of some aboriginal groups in south and central Australia. These include blonde hair and blue eyes; red hair and blue eyes and fairer complexion; a similarity between many ancient hebrew words and some aboriginal words for basic nouns such as moon, water, etc etc.
Unfortunately I do not have more than verbal reports on this anomalous information, from researchers in the field, who so far have yet to write up their reports and try to get peer review.

Duncan

Strangely enough I first read about pre-british masonic contact with the aborigines in the most unlikely of books: "Down Under" by travel writer Bill Bryson. On the very last page of the book Bryson mentions a coin bearing masonic symbols that was given to one of the first British Settlers. Up to now Ive been unable to find other sources for this story.

Some options that come to mind (the first two already pointed out by you):

* People initiated into the hand-body signs of freemasonry arrived in Australia before the "first" settlers.

* The masonic symbolism has other, unknown origins and was used by a people unknown to us.

* A group of masons had fun weaving this myth.

[edit on 25-6-2008 by Skyfloating]

reply to post by Skyfloating


I dont know a hell of alot about pre-European aboriginal Masons but I do know that there we a number of 'European' visitors before Cook or even Van Dieman so you may have something Skyfloating.
My username and avatar aside it is said that the Vikings even visited Australia. Whether ot not there were masons among the Vikings is another matter I have been looking into so it could fit?!?!

As to Masons initiating the rumour, I don't think it would be in thier best interest to create a story like this.


[edit on 25/6/2008 by VIKINGANT]

VIKINGANT: If you could add some sources speculating on pre-cook visitations to Australia, that would be interesting.

[edit on 25-6-2008 by Skyfloating]

reply to post by Skyfloating


Willem Jansz landed in 1606...

Willem Jansz

Hope this helps

Peace

EDIT -- To correct year of landing

[edit on 25-6-2008 by Rilence]

Skyfloating.
I'll be honest. It is too late for me to do a full search right now, but I promise I will find something more substantial but in the mean time this is something to look at.
Pseudoarchaeology says Vikings came to Australia
Like I suggested it is hearsay but all stories come from somewhere.
It is a story I have heard for a number of years now but I would like to find something solid myself. I had heard that they landed in (near) Darwin.

And before I pack it in for the night, here is one more article.
New Map Proves Cook Didn't Discover Australia

Another little piece of history needs to be re-written, with this news that Captain James Cook was rather late in filing a claim to be the man who discovered Australia for the West in 1770. However, there is nothing specifically 'new' about the map mentioned in the headline, and is in fact, quite well known.

According to Australian author Peter Trickett, the evidence for this earlier discovery can be found on a misaligned map, the famed Vallard Atlas, created no later than 1545, one of whose 15 hand-drawn maps appears to indicate that at least one of the cartographers had detailed knowledge of the eastern coastline.

Those are enough leads for me to start reading. Thanks guys

Hi team, yep I can see that I am 11 years late but this subject has intrigued me for a while.
Has anyone found info on why some AUSAB have Dutch hair and beard styling secrets? Or why some apparently pointed at the firearms in Stuart’s Team and in a crude but understandable English say the word ‘Mukat’ or ‘Mukaty’....obviously meaning MUSKET. a reply to: Skyfloating

a reply to: India65

Hi. Sometimes an old thread revival can be refreshing. The Dutch were actually the first europeans to set foot on Australia. It was once called "New Holland" on the maps. They never made an official claim of the territory that I am aware (correct me if I am wrong). They did have contact with Aboriginal people so I guess its possible that some things got passed on to them.

Dutch explorers, in 1606, made the first recorded European sightings and first recorded landfalls of the Australian mainland. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon.[4] He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, and made landfall on 26 February at the Pennefather River near the modern town of Weipa on Cape York.[5] The Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent "New Holland" during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement.[5] William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688 and again in 1699 on a return trip.[6]

en.wikipedia.org...