![Photographs of Edmund Milne standing next to Aboriginal Arborglyphs [carved trees], Gamboola, near Molong](/archive/images/exhibitions/2011/carved_trees/wiradjuri_country/sm/3.2a.jpg)
![Photographs of Edmund Milne standing next to Aboriginal Arborglyphs [carved trees], Gamboola, near Molong](/archive/images/exhibitions/2011/carved_trees/wiradjuri_country/sm/3.2b.jpg)
Wiradjuri Country
The Wiradjuri people of central NSW carved complex designs into trees to mark the burial site of a celebrated man whose passing had a devastating effect on the community. The designs may have been associated with the culture heroes admired by the man in life and were thought to provide a pathway for his spirit to return to the sky world. Usually only one tree was carved at each burial site, but as many as five have been recorded. The design always faces the grave, serving as a warning to passers-by of the spiritual significance of the area.
Wiradjuri country is bordered by the Lachlan (Kalari), Macquarie (Wambool) and Murrumbidgee (Murrumbidjeri) rivers in central New South Wales. The name Wiradjuri means ‘people of the three rivers’.