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30

for a long time over it, until the spear thrower fell down into the fire
and the majic complete. Some one brought this news down to the Bun-
(w)urung and some time after the man died. His friends did not say any-
thing, but waited till a young man of the Echuca tribe came down to the
Western Port district and they then killed him. News of this passed from
one to the other till it reached his tribe, who sent down a mess-
age to the Bun(w)urung saying that they would have to meet them at a place near
Melbourne. This was arranged and the old men said to the men who had killed
the Echuca man, "Now don't you run away, you must go and stand out and
we will see that they do notuse you unfairly." This message
had been given by the Meymet (1), to the Nira-balluk (2), who sent it on by
the Wurrunjeri to the Bunwurung. It was sent in the interim,
so as to give plenty of time for the meeting, which took place on the
Melbourne side of Merri Creek. The people present were the Meymet,
whose headman had not come down with them, The Bunwurung, with their
Headman Benbra, the Mount Macedon men with their Headman Ningulabul, the Werribee
people, with the Headman of the Bunwurung (of the coast Benbow) (crossed out), finally,
there were the Wurunjeri with their Headman Bili-bileri.

All these people except the Meymet and the Bunwurung,
were onlookers, and each lot camped on the side of the meeting ground
nearest to their own country, and all the camps as was usual looked to-
wards the morning sun.

When the meeting took place the women left in the camps
and the men went a little way off. The Bunwurung man
stood out in front of his people armed with a shield. Facing
him were the kindred of the dead Meymet man, some nine or ten in number,
who threw so many spears and boomerangs at him that you could not count
them. At last a reed spear went through his side. Just then a Headman

(1) the Woeworung called the natives by the Murray River about the junction
of the Goulburn Campaspe into the Murray Meymet, as they called the Gippsland natives
Berbira, thus distinguishing both from the Kulin tribes who were their friends.
(2) The Nira-balluk were the tribe about Kilmore. Nira = a deep gully, balik =
people, and south of and probably adjoining the Pinpandoor tribe at Echuca.