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Kaurna Cultural Artefacts

Only a few traditional Kaurna cultural artefacts remain and most of these are now held in museums. These web pages include images of paintings of some artefacts and their use.

Kaurna cultural artefacts have been found in several places in the City of Charles Sturt. Some of the places are:

  • in 1882 in the sandhills near the site of the original Fulham School on Tapleys Hill Road; and
  • in 1896 where the Henley South Tennis Club Courts now stand, on the corner of Lexington Road and Burford Street, Henley South. This place is near to where one of the old river branches ended (see Karrawirraparri/Witongga).

One artefact found in a deep sandpit at Findon in 1934 is a kidney shaped stone scraper. It was used in the staged preparation of yurinda possum skin, kangaroo or wallaby for making cloaks. This preparation began during the seasonal time of Wadlaworngatti (Autumn/April), the time of building shelters amongst the wadlawornga falling trees before the cold south west winds would begin to blow. The people were very resourceful and each implement or tool made would have more than one use. Depending on the material used to make it (stone/wood/fibre) and the purpose of the tool, it became part of the person and a lifelong companion. You would know which tribal clan created the tool by the design of the markings. This scraper has kuri emu and possibly budni mallee fowl tracks etched onto it. These etchings show totem and Country.

The Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery at the South Australian Museum is now the best place to see Kaurna artefacts.