If you visit Australia, then you should absolutely visit its aboriginal rock art. You’ll see an array of different paintings that are hundreds of years old. They include images of an array of different items, including crocodiles, birds, ships, and sailboats. Quite frankly, you simply cannot miss these amazing sights. One of the best places to view them is Stanley Island, located off Cape York Peninsula. Amazingly, few visitors trek there now. However, that differs from the thousands of visitors who went there in the early part of the 1980s. The park is about three quarters of a century old.
Getting to the cave artwork requires one to trek into the bush. While the location is remote, it is definitely worth the trouble getting there. Inside the cave, you can see hundreds of different paintings on the outside of the rock. They include a wide array of items, such as birds, turtles, canoes, and ships. The more time you spend in the cave, the more images you’ll be able to spot. In fact, it will seem as if new images have mysteriously appeared there. The cave is huge, and is almost large enough to house one of the ships painted on the walls. It seems to give a glimpse into years past.
Who were the creators of these amazing paintings? It was the aboriginal Yiithuwarra, also known as the “saltwater people.” They lived on the Flinders Islands for over 2,900 years, until approximately seven decades ago. Experts are uncertain about how many people lived there. However, at one juncture dozens of settlements were located on the small islands. It may seem impossible that the artists were able to paint with such detail. That includes the ships on the walls. For example, the only image of a European ship that can be easily identified dates back to 1899. However, the majority of the images were likely produced before that.
Historical records show that some European ships landed in the region, and then took people with them. In fact, before the first ship from Europe sailed past the region in 1606, many fit young men were forced to board Indonesian sailboats. Their job was to fish for sea cucumbers located in the rough waters in the region. By the late 1980s, few native people still resided in Yindaylin. However, reportedly the last image painted on the walls was a type of endangered sea cow that was critical to the aboriginal culture. The last aboriginal man from the island painted the sea cow about 60 years ago. Other items painted include a kangaroo, a boomerang, and a footprint.
When visiting and seeing the wall art, one cannot help but be awed and saddened. Yes, it is exciting to see the aboriginal art that was made during another era. However, the artists are gone, and the seascape they captured in paintings was starting to disappear. To make matters worse, only a few of the 100,000 sites containing aboriginal rock art have been documented. Also, their protection has not been consistent.