Many times in the 1940s and ’50s stones fell on Noongar (Aboriginal) camps in Western Australia’s Great Souther and South West regions. They were also seen by white farmers and other residents in locations up to 250 kilometres apart. Now the story has been retold in a television documentary which has been lauded at film festivals abroad and will premiere on ABC TV on Thursday.
SCIENCE or supernatural, some phenomena will always go unexplained. One occurred in a number of South West locations in the 1940s and 1950s, most notably in Mayanup, close to Boyup Brook.
This phenomenon — soon to be the subject of an ABC TV 1 documentary valled Spirit Stones — is one of the stranger occurrences.
“Showers” of stones were reported as falling in various places for hours, days, weeks, sometimes even months, often on Noongar camps.
Spirit Stones investigates these mysterious happenings, where stones were “delivered” in locations up to 250 kilometres apart, and even reported as coming through roofs and canvas tents without making holes.
Investigations at the time could not determine a cause, and the topic was covered widely in Australian newspapers during the 1950s.
The film also explores the memories of those who experienced these very strange events, while challenging the viewer’s need for both logic and proof, increasing our affinity and appreciation of the acceptance of meta-physics in Indigenous cultural life.
Through intimate storytelling, the eye-witnesses reignite their memories of these sometimes scary events.
“It’s not just about the stones. It’s a story to recognise people and culture and a special invitation to come inside the campfire world,” said director Allan Collins. “This is a rare and privileged experience in which elders speak from personal experiences to create feeling.”
According to a report compiled on the film for the ABC, there were four different locations within 300km of each other that experienced the “falling stones” Boddington (1946 unreported in press), Mayanup near Boyup Brook (1955), Pumphrey’s Bridge (1957), and Borden (1962) where sandalwood nuts were involved.
The reports include descriptions of stones ranging in size from a pebble to a stone of about 35 pounds (almost 15.9kg).
The stones and other objects were primarily reported as “falling out of nowhere,” landing in paddocks and even inside buildings.
The frequency varied. Some-times stones would fall several times in one night. In one location the stones fell intermittently for weeks and in another for two years.
In 1957, the Daily News reported “Stones have been gently falling on the Keninup, Boyup Brook property of farmer W. W. M. Hack for nearly two years. The occurrences have been intermittent and generally at the greatest intensity during the winter months.”
According to the report, other objects were also reported as behaving mysteriously, such as brass taps, kitchen utensils, cakes of soap and even vegetables.
All these things were described as being elevated of their own volition and projected around rooms or paddocks. Glowing lights in the bush were also reported near where the stones fell.
People attempted to find explanations — one suggestion was that locals must have thrown the stones, leading to attempts to find the culprits. In 1955 Dorrie Brooks wrote from Boyup Brook: “Quite a number of men didn’t believe a word of it and he and some friends went out there one night with their shot guns. They were going to bring in whoever it was, so they blazed away at the close trees and shrubs. Nobody came out and nobody was killed or wounded. The police soon put a stop to that.”
In many of the articles written about the stones, reference was made to the activity under the earth’s surface as being responsible. Some farmers began studying geology, examining the rock formations around Pumphrey’s Bridge and Boyup Brook. Others looked for supernatural causes. Poltergeists and ghosts were suggested as possible culprits.
Mayanup’s Helen Hack, on whose farm the event happened, wrote a book called Mystery of the Mayanup Poltergeist (Hesperian Press, 2000). That book describes the beginning of the events as follows: “The drama began on the night of May 17, 1955, when stones rained down on the Smith’s humble shack. A low, mournful whistle could be heard piercing the night air, and the Hacks’ dogs were driven half mad by the commotion, breaking their chains and running off into the night.
“What happened next defied all laws of science. Stones materialszed out of nowhere to plonk on the rooftop, clatter on the dining room table and appear on the inside of hurricane lamps. The stones were strangely warm to the touch, but they weren’t the only objects to be used by the strange force. Old bottles, potatoes, soap, knives, bones and even a child’s doll were tossed around inside and outside the home.”
During investigations, the idea that poltergeist activity was associated with individuals also became prevalent. According to the ABC, certain people were perceived to be the focus for the falling stones, including 14-year-old local Audrey Krakouer, and a young Harvey Dickson.
The general public became involved. A Catholic priest said that it was the spirit of unbaptised children. Carlyle Ferguson, an authority on psychic matters said the stones were the work of playful spirits. Val Argyil of West Perth said it used young people, especially girls, as a medium.
It was accepted knowledge in Aboriginal communities that spirits can leave the body of a person when close to death.
In 1955, when the illness of a local Mayanup man Alf Eades was thought to be a possible cause for the strange occurrences, people began to look for solutions.
Ron Hack, the Mayanup farmer, felt inclined to travel 90 miles to Mount Barker to bring “native witchdoctor” Sammy Miller back to his home.
Sammy had told Mr. Hack that the ghost responsible for the ‘falling stones’ was the spirit of Alf Eades. Sammy also said that the spirit would remain present until Mr. Eades either recovered or died.
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