We read in Grey about the tribes of West Australia. "They appear to live in tribes (= local groups), subject, perhaps, to some individual authority; and each tribe has a sort of capital, or head-quarters, where the women and children remain whilst the men, divided into small parties, hunt and shoot in different directions. The largest number we saw together amounted nearly to 200, women and children included."[438] This directly asserts that the local group lived in one body; for of course the men were bound to return always to the head-quarters. Now if we had to assume that the local group numbered about 200 individuals we could hardly allow the possibility of obtaining food. Especially as in another place Grey says: "Landed property does not belong to a tribe, or to several families, but to a single male; and the limits of his property are so accurately defined that every native knows those of his own land, and can point out the various objects which mark his boundaries." This land is divided by the father amongst his several sons. But Grey does not define what proprietorship means. These two statements are quite inconsistent with each other; if every man of a big local group had to go to hunt on his own grounds (and we know that the food area for an Australian family is not small) they would have to spend their life in making journeys between their hunting-grounds and head-quarters. We must either suppose that Grey's tribes were quite small local groups which lived each on its own territory, and that when he speaks of from 100 to 200 persons assembled he refers only to exceptional meetings, or that the individual ownership of land had no real economic meaning, and that the natives actually lived in these tribes in more numerous bodies (perhaps the coastal tribes at least). This statement is, therefore, not very useful. [438] _Loc. cit._, i. p. 252. Bishop Salvado asserts a subdivision of land among single families (although he calls "family" a small party of related natives, see p. 257) acquired by right of birth.[439] Neighbouring families, small local groups, may enjoy their land in common.[440] Such small parties are quite independent, and governed by the oldest male.[441] They lead, as we may infer from that, normally a solitary, isolated existence. This statement of Bishop Salvado is also in agreement with the generality of our evidence. His "family" is evidently a small local group. (It reminds us of a similar unit amongst the Kurnai, also interrelated, owning a portion of land, governed by the oldest male). He says such small groups have been often incorrectly called tribes by other authors. [439] _Loc. cit._, p. 265. [440] _Loc. cit._, p. 266. [441] _Loc. cit._, p. 267.