18th century Winter Solstice Masquerade Party.

New England Colonial Living History Group 1680-1760.

Our 18th Century Winter Solstice Masquerade Party will now be held on the 6th of July.  This is an annual social & is traditionally held outside in the gardens of Linstock House in Wychwood Forest not far from Guyra & Armidale NSW.  Dress warm for outside, but if it gets too cold we will be moving inside.

This event is hosted by our family for club members & friends only. Membership is FREE. Food & drinks will be provided, but please feel free to bring your own if you wish. This event will start about 5 pm.

Dress to be 18th century or earlier, or the best you can manage. A blanket can hide modern clothing if you are really stuck. 

The Firearms amendment ( Ammunition Control) Bill 2012.

Dear Sir, I am contacting you to ask you to vote against The Firearms amendment ( Ammunition Control) Bill 2012. This will impact on legitimate gun owners in the country. This may also have further implications. By the wording of this bill it implies that registration is ownership. Does this mean that if anything happens to me that my family will no longer have control of our firearms?
This sort of legislation will have no effect on criminals, this is just another move to get votes & we legitimate gun owners are the ones to pay the price. You are surely smart enough to see that this sort of legislation will not stop gun crime. What is needed it heavier penalties for crimes committed, not more & more legislation that makes it harder & harder for legitimate gun owners.
Very sincerely, Keith H. Burgess.

northerntablelands@parliament.nsw.gov.au

This legislation if it goes through will mean that my wife, a licensed gun owner, will no longer be able to purchase ammunition without paying a $30.00 fee for a permit to purchase! This legislation implies that my wife no longer ownes her own gun, because I was the one to register it!!! Think about this, they are coming in the back door again! Please write your local member & ask them to vote against this legislation before it is too late, whether you are a gun owner or not.
Regards, Keith.

Here is the link to your local member: http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/members.nsf/V3ListCurrentMembers

You Still Need To Carry Your Shot Pouch.

Even when using a cartridge box, you still need to carry your shot pouch and powder horn. You don't know how long you are going to be out there or what may happen. Always travel fully equiped if you are going any distance.

Sword Fighting Manuals.

http://www.thearma.org/manuals.htm

New England Medieval Arts Society. NEMAS in Armidale NSW.

A little too early for me, but they are an Armidale Living History group and I feel they deserve a plug on this blog. A close friend of mine started this group about the same time as I started my group.

The First Australians.

Best Promotional Video I have seen to date.

17th century and 18th century Survival.

I have no doubt that the following did happen, for it is a true story. But I doubt that all was done in the way it is described. For instance the fire was needed first before any hardening of steel could be done, and this chap would know that he could make fire by simply using the lock on his flintlock gun. The author obviously knows less than the Indian, and is assuming how things were done.


This story, and the story of Alexander Selkirk are believed to be the basis for the well known tale of:

"The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, where-in all the Men perished but Himself. With an Account how he was at last as strangely deliver'd by Pyrates".

Written by Daniel Defoe, we all know it as simply Robinson Crusoe.

This Indian lived here alone above three years and, although he was several times sought after by the Spaniards, who knew he was left on the island, yet they could never find him. He was in the woods hunting for goats when Captain Watling drew off his men, and the ship was under sail before he came back to shore. He had with him his gun and a knife, with a small horn of powder and a few shot; which, being spent, he contrived a way by notching his knife to saw the barrel of his gun into small pieces wherewith he made harpoons, lances, hooks, and a long knife, heating the pieces first in the fire, which he struck with his gunflint, and a piece of the barrel of his gun, which he hardened; having learnt to do that among the English. The hot pieces of iron he would hammer out and bend as he pleased with stones, and saw them with his jagged knife; or grind them to an edge by long labour, and harden them to a good temper as there was occasion. All this may seem strange to those that are not acquainted with the sagacity of the Indians; but it is no more than these Moskito men are accustomed to in their own country, where they make their own fishing and striking-instruments, without either forge or anvil; though they spend a great deal of time about them.






Other wild Indians who have not the use of iron, which the Moskito men have from the English, make hatchets of a very hard stone, with which they will cut down trees (the cotton-tree especially, which is a soft tender wood) to build their houses or make canoes; and, though in working their canoes hollow, they cannot dig them so neat and thin, yet they will make them fit for their service. This their digging or hatchet-work they help out by fire; whether for the felling of trees or for the making the inside of their canoe hollow. These contrivances are used particularly by the savage Indians of Bluefield's River, described in the 3rd chapter, whose canoes and stone hatchets I have seen. These stone hatchets are about 10 inches long, 4 broad, and three inches thick in the middle. They are ground away flat and sharp at both ends: right in the midst and clear round it they make a notch, so wide and deep that a man might place his finger along it and, taking a stick or withe about 4 foot long, they bind it round the hatchet head, in that notch, and so, twisting it hard, use it as a handle or helve; the head being held by it very fast. Nor are other wild Indians less ingenious. Those of Patagonia particularly head their arrows with flint, cut or ground; which I have seen and admired. But to return to our Moskito man on the isle of Juan Fernandez. With such instruments as he made in that manner, he got such provision as the island afforded; either goats or fish. He told us that at first he was forced to eat seal, which is very ordinary meat, before he had made hooks: but afterwards he never killed any seals but to make lines, cutting their skins into thongs. He had a little house or hut half a mile from the sea, which was lined with goat's skin; his couch or barbecue of sticks lying along about two foot distant from the ground, was spread with the same, and was all his bedding. He had no clothes left, having worn out those he brought from Watling's ship, but only a skin about his waist. He saw our ship the day before we came to an anchor, and did believe we were English, and therefore killed three goats in the morning before we came to an anchor, and dressed them with cabbage, to treat us when we came ashore. He came then to the seaside to congratulate our safe arrival.




http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks05/0500461h.html

18th Century Colonial Living History, You Gotta Love It!

Native Wild Foods.

Food Place Seasons Collection Implements Persons involved Preparation Cooking method



Game


Kangaroo Mallee,


river plains All year Tracked,


Hunted


Stalked Spear


Woomera- club


Boomerang Males 1-6 Gutted


Joey's Skinned,


Sinews removed Singed, Cooked in coal / Under ground, Cut and shared


Emu Mallee All year Tracked


Stalked


Using Emu's instinctive curiosity Nets,


Spear,


Woomera,


Club,


Boomerang Males 1-6 Feathers removed


gutted Cooked in coals / Under ground


cut /shared


Possums Scrub, Bush All year Caught in hollow trees Club


digging stick Males Gutted,


skinned Cooked in coals


Wombat Burrows in higher ground Spring to autumn Trapped, netted Nets, clubs Males Gutted, Singed Hole covered with ashes


Reptiles


Food Place Seasons Collection Implements Persons involved Preparation Cooking method


Snakes Sandhills


Scrub


Bush


Waterways Summer Tracked


Dug out Digging stick Male


Female Not applicable Coked in ashes


Lizards Sandhills


Scrub


Bush Summer Tracked


dug out Digging stick Male


Female


Children Not applicable Cooked in ashes


Frogs Waterways


Swamps Warm weather Gathered


Caught Digging stick


Bag Female


Children Not applicable Cooked in coals


Insects


Food Place Seasons Collection Implements Persons involved Preparation Cooking method


Witchetty Grubs Red Gum tree Spring


Summer Dug out of trees Barbed stick or grass Male


Female


Children Not Applicable Cooked in ashes


Birds


Ducks


Swans Waterways


Swamps All year except breeding time Stalked


hunted into nets Large nets


Boomerangs


Clubs Males Packed in mud/ clay Cooked in coals


Galahs


Pigeons


other smal birds Bush, scrub All season except breeding time Caught by nets nets Males


Youths Plucked and gutted Cooked in underground oven


Mallee fowls


Turkey Mallee scrub All year except breeding time Stalked Nets and stick Males Plucked and gutted


(feathers kept) Cooked in underground oven


Eggs


Including turtle Trees, in / on ground


reed nest not applicable Gathered Bags Females


Children not applicable Eaten raw or boiled


Sugars


Food Place Seasons Collection Implements Persons involved Preparation Cooking method


(Exudates) Lerp Gum leaves


Trees Late summer Picked


Gathered Bark dishes Females


Children Not applicable Eaten raw


Manna Leaves/Grass Late summer Picked


Gathered Bark dishes No further infomation No further infomation No further infomation


Nectar Flowers All year Sucked


gathered Bark dishes Everyone Squeezed into water No further information


Honey Ants Mulga scrub, land and plains After rain in dry areas Dug and gathered Digging sticks and bark dish Females


Children Honey sac removed Sucked Sac


Sugar and exudates


Honey Hollow trees Spring to summer Smoked out bees, climbed trees, chopped hole pulled out of hive or grass sponge Stone axe


Bark dish Males No further information Eaten raw


(with Bunup)


Aboriginal bread


Tree exudates Trunks


Branches Summer Picked off,


Scraped Sharp sticks Everyone No further information No further information


Fungi


Food Place Seasons Collection Implements Persons involved Preparation Cooking method


Black fellows bread


(Tubar) Underground Autumn Dug up Digging stick


Bark dish Females No further information Eaten raw


Salt


Salt Dry water courses All year Gathered Bark dish Females No further information Used with food


when available


Water


Water River / lakes,


Tree roots,


soakes, Tree hollows


Dew on grass All year Drunk/carried


Roots dug out & squeezed


Sucked through hollow.


Dug, Stem,


Soaked in grass sponge Bark dishes,


sharp stone


Digging stick


Grass sponge


Hollow reed


Bark stem Males


Females Not applicable Not applicable


Food from water


Fish Rivers


Lakes Anytime but breeding season


during flood (Aug-


Sept-


Oct) Hooked


Netted


Trapped


Speared Lines


bone


hooks


nets


stone


reed or timber-traps


spears Males Making of clay


balls Cased in mud


Clay ball cooking


Food Place Seasons Collection Implements Person involved Preparation Cooking


Crayfish Fresh river


Creeks


lagoons Winter Nets Nets Everyone No further information Hole covered


with ashes


Yabbies


Shrimps Fresh water


Rivers


Creeks


Lagoons Summer Nets


Dug out of


banks Nets,


Dilly bags


Digging stick Everyone No further information Hole covered


with ashes


Turtles Rivers


Lakes October


March Netted Nets Males No further


information Hole covered


with ashes or


cooked in coals toast


Mussels In river bed


(sand) Summer Dug


Dived for Hands and feet


Bag Females No further


information Holes covered


with ashes


Water rats Banks of


water holes


Rivers Winter Netted in


hollow logs Nets


By hand Males Gutted and


skinned Hole covered


with ashes


Food Place Seasons Collection Implements Person involved Preparation Cooking


Water plant


Bulb and


stalk Billabongs Spring to


Autumn Dived


Picked Hands


Dilly bags Females


Children Sometimes


skinned Sometimes eaten raw


Sometimes steamed


Underground food


Yams


Common Reed


(Shoot &


rhizome) Marshes Spring Picked


Dug Digging sticks


Bags


Bark dishes Females No further


information Covered with ashes


or eaten raw


Cumbungi


(shoots) Marshes Spring Picked


dug Digging sticks


Bags


Bark dishes Females Cut off lower part Boiled


eaten raw


Bracken


(roots) Anywhere Autumn Dug Diging sticks No further


information Ground


beaten into paste Cooked in


ashes


Wild onions Dry areas Autumn Dug Digging stick Females No further


information Cooked in


ashes


Eaten raw


Fruit


Food Place Seasons Collection Implements Person involved Preparation Cooking


Quandongs Mallee Spring


summer Picked Bark disk Females


Children Kernel crush


made into paste


oil extracted Flesh eaten


raw or dried


Wild tomatoes


2 Varieties Mallee Summer Picked Bark dish Females


Children A) toxic juice,


squeezed out


B)Non-toxic Cooked in ashes


hole for juice to escape


Eaten raw


Berries


Toxic


non-toxic Mallee


low and tall


bushes Autumn Picked Bark dish Females


Children A) toxic juice


squeezed out


B)Non-toxic Eaten raw if


non-toxic


Seeds


Nardoo Swamps Late summer


Autumn Gathered Bark dish


grinding stone Females Grinding making


into paste Cooked in


ashes


pancake


Food Place Seasons Collection Implements Person involved Preparation Cooking


Grass seeds Mallee


Scrubland Summer Gathered Bark dish


Grinding stone Females Winnowing


Grinding


Making into


paste Cooked in


ashes


Pittosporum Scrub Summer


Autumn Gathered Bark dish


Grinding stone Females Grinding


paste Cooked in


ashes


Wattle


Acacia


toxic


non-toxic Scrub Autumn Gathered Bark dish Females No further


information seeds eaten


raw


Salt bush Scrub Spring


Autumn Gathered Bark dish


grinding stone Females Grinding


make dough Cooked in coals


Can be eaten as vegetables






http://home.vicnet.net.au/~bangercc/bushtuckerlist.html


Kindly provided by the Swan Hill Aboriginal Learning Centre.

Winter in the northern forest By Nick.

For true mastery of this environment we look to the indigenous peoples of the North. In North America those resident in the northern forests (such as Cree, Ojibway, Mi'kmaq, Algonquin) developed and refined their bushcraft, clothing and equipment to deal with cold conditions over many lifetimes of experience. After experimenting with some of their technology I’m astonished at how it performs.







A great example of this is the mukluk. Mukluks are the traditional winter footwear of the indigenous people of the far North of North America. The design is basically a boot - high enough to keep snow out and roomy enough for plenty of insulation. Exact design and materials vary by region and what was available. More about this later but briefly these things outperform any cold weather footwear I’ve tried before. Light, comfortable, dry, warm. Made by my own fair hand they cost a fraction of the price of the fancy gore lined boots I normally wear.

While there’s much to be said for modern stuff it’s good to step back and weigh up the benefits. If you’re just going out for a couple of hours and are 99% sure you’ll be back in a nice warm house before supper to dry everything off this becomes less important - just use anything that works for a few hours. However, to live and work comfortably outdoors for even a few days in cold weather you need kit you can rely on and that can be repaired easily on the trail. Failure of key items in these conditions could spell big trouble.






Of course it’s difficult to pick some of this stuff up in shops - mukluks don’t tend to be up there on the shelf alongside the rubber pac boots. Some are commercially available but in my experience just don’t match up to your own hand made creations! This becomes a great advantage. Most items are pretty easy to make. Once you’ve made them you have the knowledge to make repairs or even replacements in the field. Before you know it these things are meeting all your needs and turning all you thought about outdoor gear on its head.
This article was written by Nick at: http://skillsforwildlives.typepad.com/skills_for_wild_lives/2010/02/winter-in-the-northern-forest.html

18th Century Wilderness Survival, Then And Now. The Flintlock Gun.

The Flintlock Gun.



In my opinion if you are going to choose any kind of firearm for long term wilderness survival, then it should be the flintlock. Even after the percussion lock was invented in the 19th century, those who lived and worked in wilderness areas preferred to keep their flintlock.


You can always find a piece of rock that will work in a flint lock. The whole gun is just lock, stock and barrel. If you carry spare parts they are easy to replace if something should break, and if you have no spare lock parts you can still use the gun as a matchlock.


A .32 cal rifle will easily take any game that a .22 will, and it will do it with only 14 grains of black powder.


A fusil will digest bird shot, swan shot (buckshot) and round ball and will take any game from birds to buffalo. You can also use a combination of any two shot options, such as swan shot and round ball, or bird shot and round ball.


You can adjust the amount of gunpowder you use for each individual shot, and you can retrieve your lead from the game and easily remould it for further use. The lock can also be used for making fire which is a good back-up.

A fusil lock with the hammer forward and the pan open. The cock is on half-cock safety.

A .62 cal fusil. Note the hammer stall/cap tied to the trigger guard. This is an extra safety precaution.

A .32 cal flint mountain rifle.

Ranger, an exciting new persona.

A new member to our group has some interest in a Ranger persona, so I decided to do some research on this charracter. I was pleasantly surprised to find more information than I expected!
The Ranger occupation goes all the way to the late medieval period. There is little doubt in my mind that Tolkien based his Rangers (Strider) on these early English Rangers. Searching for these Forest Rangers brings up other terms such as Verderers and Foresters, and although these people did patrol the forests and protect the game, they were not actually mentioned as Rangers until much later on.
The Ranger's job was to patrol the forests and to look for tresspassers and poachers, but also apparently his job was to protect the forest inhabitants, to discourage robbers etc from raiding woodland dwellings and hamlets. This is exactly what Aragorn did in Lord Of The Rings, and this occupation extends right into the New World and the 18th century.
Rangers were hired to patrol the countryside looking for any enemy and raiding parties of Indians or French and Indians. These were individuals who were expected to warn the settlers and towns people in advance, and to cause as much damage to these enemy as was practically possible.
Later these Rangers were formed into groups or band and aventually became formal units such as Rogers Rangers.
These early Rangers were undoubtably woodsmen, no one else would have the experience to carry out such missions in wilderness areas. So woodsman clothing and equipment would be the basis for this Living History persona, but these charracters were also individuals, there was no uniforms or rules and regulations. Even the early milkitary Rangers were individuals and it is said that it took a good officer to get the best out of his men and maintain some form of discipline.

1675.

New Forest [cos. Haul* and Wilts], John
Dolyng, Ranger of, 6S5. (13th century)

http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/patentrolls/r2v5/index/Richard2vol5page0924.pdf