At the age of about four, the mother takes one of these wings and beats the child all over the shoulders and under the arms with it.

Again making the clicking noise, she croons: 'Goobean gillaygoo, Oogowahdee goobolaygoo, Wahl goonundoo, Ghurranbul daygoo.' Which charm means: 'A swimmer be, Flood to swim against, No water, Strong to stop you.' And so was a child made a good swimmer.
The wirreenuns would see that the septum of a child's nose was pierced at the right time, and their tribal marks cut on them.

The nose was pierced at midwinter when ice was about, with which to numb the place to be pierced; ice was held to the septum, then prod through it went a bone needle.
An old gin who worked about the station had a pierced nose, and often wore a mouyerh, or bone, through it.

A white laundress wore earrings.
She said one day to the old gin: 'Why you have hole made in your nose and put that bone there?
No good that.

White women don't do that.' The black woman looked the laundress up and down, and finally anchored her eyes on the earrings.
'Why you make hole in your ears?
No good that.