Mystery fall of small stones scares natives.
Perth, Monday
Stones flung into a 30-square-yard area of a native camp at Pumphrey, 92 miles from Perth, and the mystic dream of an old aborigine, have posed a deep mystery for 64-year-old farmer, Mr Alan Donaldson, and his family. For three consecutive nights and to-day a hail of stones varying in size from small pebbles to three inch circumference have rained down in the area. Some of the stones were brought to Perth to-day and examined by the Deputy Government Mineralogist, Mr J.N.A. Grace, and the Director of Government Chemical Laboratories, Mr J. C. Hood.
This morning a one-legged 69-year-old aborigine claimed that during the night he had been told in his dreams to get away from the camp.
The mystery began to unfold about 8.30 p.m. on Friday when one of the aborigines came to Mr Donaldson’s homestead about 200 yards away and claimed stones were falling from the sky. Mr Donaldson and his two sons, Brian, 26, and Ian, 20, immediately visited the camp. They were amazed to hear objects falling on the ground. They drove a truck up to the spot and shone its headlights on the scene, and saw rocks falling through the beams. The stones continued to rain down on Saturday and Sunday nights.
Today was the first occasion on which the stones have fallen during the daytime. A newspaper reporter and a photographer stood in amazement as rocks lobbed around their feet, narrowly missing their heads. The natives admitted they were frightened and a search by them for footprints proved fruitless.
Mr Donaldson said there was a big fire near his 2,400-acre farm on Friday night. Huge willywillys accompanied the blaze and he thought these could perhaps have lifted stones into the air.
The Canberra Times, 19th March 1957.
Falling stones mystery still unsolved.
Perth, Tuesday.
The mystery of the falling stones continued on the Donaldson farm at Pumphrey, near Perth, to-day. A newspaper reporter sent to investigate the phenomena said the stones came from all directions and landed with a soft “plop” as if they had flown through the air instead of being thrown.
The stones are said to be following 23-year-old native, Cyril Penny, of Borden, who recently had a dream warning him to get out of the area.
Natives pleaded with the owner of the property, Mr Alan Donaldson, today to take them away to Pumphrey’s Bridge, 10 miles away, but the hail of stones followed them. Shortly after they arrived there the stones again started to fall. After further pleadings, they were brought back to the Donaldson farm, but stones then commenced to land on the farmhouse roof and the surrounding area. Frightened natives asked Mr Donaldson to take Penny away. They said “We will pay freight to take this fella away.”
Penny had been on the farm only a week when the stones started to fly. Many natives, some of whom speak and write English, maintain Penny has a “jinx” on him.
Three white men last night crouched inside a native tent to investigate and later swore they saw gravel pebbles falling inside the tent without holing it. The witnesses are Brian Donaldson, 26, and Ian Donaldson, and Tom Hardie from a neighbouring farm. The Donaldsons said later they had investigated every possible theory, but were unable to offer any explanation for the strange phenomena.
Penny, the apparent target of the stones, said “I don’t know what it is all about. It has never happened to me before.”
The Canberra Times, 20th March 1957.
Aboriginal quits stone drop mystery area.
Perth, Wednesday.
Suspected “jinx” native Cyril Penny, the centre of the Pumphrey stone mystery, left the Donaldson farm to-day. “Please, boss, take me away. I am to blame for this trouble,” he said to farmer Alan Donaldson at 10 a.m. today. Ten minutes before three more stones had plopped softly on to dry ground near the native camp at the rear of the homestead. He was driven away in a truck by Mr Donaldson’s 26-year-old son Brian. Now all on the farm are waiting and watching for stones from the air and wondering whether they will stop as mysteriously as they started.
Penny will be dropped at Narrogin, where he intends to catch a train to Katanning and work his way over to his home town of Borden.
Just after other natives shifted camp last night, the stone phenomenon was witnessed by dozens of independent white witnesses from up to 50 miles away. More than 100 people have descended on the mystery farm agog to see the fabulous stones at first-hand. Most came to laugh, but went away serious-faced with souvenir gravel and rocks in their pockets.
There is nothing unusual about the composition of the rocks, according to the Deputy Government Mineralogist, Mr J.N.A. Grace. He said they were a laterite type of stone composed mainly of iron oxide, aluminium oxide and quartz and were quite common in the area.
The Southern Districts officer of the Native Affairs Branch, Mr C.R.W. Webster, said to-day he was no longer sceptical about the falling stones. Mr Webster visited the camp yesterday and heard two fall within a few feet of him. He said he had been in India for many years and had heard of similar happenings there.
The stones vary in size from small pebbles to rocks of 3in. circumference.
The Canberra Times, 21st March 1957.