Sunbury earth rings
Encyclopedia
The Sunbury earth rings are prehistoric aboriginal sites located on hills to the west of Jacksons Creek
near Sunbury, Victoria
.
undertook a test excavation on one of the rings to determine their origin. Excavations revealed the remains of two small stone cairns, one in the centre and one on the edge of the circle, and a number of sharp stone plades or knives, which were possibly used in ritual scarification
or circumcision ceremonies.
,and have also been included on the Register of the National Estate.
There are ongoing pressures on the sites from development. As a result of housing development along Reservoir Road, one ring is now encircled by the back fences of adjoining houses, while another is subject to residential subdivision plans which will also see it surrounded by roads. A past proposal even considered incorporating one of the rings in the middle of a traffic round-about. The Canterbury Hills housing estate has submitted plans for residential development around the Riddells Road ring. In October 2009, the Sunbury Maribyrnong Valley Green Wedge Defenders made a Submission to the Parliamentary, Legislative Council regarding their inquiry into the Impact of the State Government’s decision to change the Urban Growth Boundary, citing the Aboriginal ring as a significant element of the threatened Bundanoon woodlands and grasslands, which was being encroached upon by housing.
Jacksons Creek (Victoria)
Jacksons Creek is a watercourse in the Yarra-Maribyrnong catchment area, north of Melbourne in Victoria, which arises from the confluence of a number of smaller streams draining the southern slopes of the Mount Macedon range being part of the Great Dividing Range.Jacksons Creek flows generally...
near Sunbury, Victoria
Sunbury, Victoria
Sunbury is a regional city, located north-west of Melbourne's central business district, in the state of Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Hume. At the 2006 Census, Sunbury had a population of 31,000...
.
Description and identification
Sometimes referred to as Bora rings, they have been formed by scraping off grass and topsoil, and piling it in a circular ridge around the outside. They measure between 10 and 25m diameter. Three of the rings are in close proximity and two others several kilometres away. All are on gently sloping sites. They are somewhat different to the Bora rings found in New South Wales and south east Queensland, which tend to be located in hidden, flat sites, and in connected pairs. The Sunbury rings first came to public attention, and first were investigated and described in the early 1970s, when archaeologist Dr David FrankelDavid Frankel (archaeologist)
David Frankel is Professor and Honours Coordinator in Archaeology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Historical and European Studies at La Trobe University....
undertook a test excavation on one of the rings to determine their origin. Excavations revealed the remains of two small stone cairns, one in the centre and one on the edge of the circle, and a number of sharp stone plades or knives, which were possibly used in ritual scarification
Scarification
Scarifying involves scratching, etching, burning, or superficially cutting designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a permanent body modification.In the process of body scarification, scars are formed by cutting or branding the skin...
or circumcision ceremonies.
Interpretation
The rings have been interpreted as Aboriginal ceremonial sites, although there are no historical or ethnographic accounts of them being used as such. Members of the Wurundjeri Tribe Council have suggested the rings may be more than 1000 years old, based on the results of archaeological investigations, and that the group of three may have related to separate male and female ceremonies and initiation rituals. However, Elder Auntie Annette Xibberas acknowledged that the aboriginal people of Melbourne "...lost a lot of our knowledge with European colonisation, we only found out about these (rings) about 30 years ago,.”Management and conservtion
Some of the rings have been put under the management of the Wurundjeri Tribe Land Compensation and Cultural Heritage CouncilWurundjeri Tribe Land Compensation and Cultural Heritage Council
The Wurundjeri Tribe Land and Compensation Cultural Heritage Council was established in 1985 by descendants of the Wurundjeri people who are the traditional owners of the country around Melbourne...
,and have also been included on the Register of the National Estate.
There are ongoing pressures on the sites from development. As a result of housing development along Reservoir Road, one ring is now encircled by the back fences of adjoining houses, while another is subject to residential subdivision plans which will also see it surrounded by roads. A past proposal even considered incorporating one of the rings in the middle of a traffic round-about. The Canterbury Hills housing estate has submitted plans for residential development around the Riddells Road ring. In October 2009, the Sunbury Maribyrnong Valley Green Wedge Defenders made a Submission to the Parliamentary, Legislative Council regarding their inquiry into the Impact of the State Government’s decision to change the Urban Growth Boundary, citing the Aboriginal ring as a significant element of the threatened Bundanoon woodlands and grasslands, which was being encroached upon by housing.
Geographical location
- Riddells Road Ring 37.553419°S 144.703165°E
- Hopbush Ave 37.56225°S 144.74129°E
- Correa Way 37.562801°S 144.739434°E
- Wirilda Court 37.564323°S 144.735566°E
- Reservoir Road Ring 37.569519°S 144.697926°E