Abrakurrie Cave
LocationNullarbor Plain, Western Australia
Coordinates31°39′26″S 128°29′23″E / 31.6572°S 128.4898°E / -31.6572; 128.4898
Depth-70m
Length300+m
Discoverybef. 1930s
GeologyKarst
Difficultyeasy

Abrakurrie Cave is a wild cave on the Nullarbor Plain in Western Australia. It is located about 48 kilometres (30 mi) north west of Eucla[1] and is reported to have the largest single cave chamber in the southern hemisphere,[2] and that stencils in the cave are the deepest penetration of Aboriginal art of any cave system in Australia.[3]

Visits to the cave occurred as early as the 1880s.[4]

The cave was explored by an expedition led by Captain J. M. Thompson in 1935. The explorers described a cave that was 1,200 feet (366 m) in length, 160 feet (49 m) wide and 150 feet (46 m) deep.[5] After progressing a further 250 feet (76 m) the group found the passage forked into two passages one of which continued a further 1,500 feet (457 m) leading to a huge cavern.[5]

Photographs of the cave were published after the 1935 expedition.[6][7]

It was a well documented cave by the 1960s.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Abrakurrie Cave". 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  2. ^ "South Australia: Whales & Wildcaves". Diverse Travel Australia. Archived from the original on 17 July 2005. Retrieved 4 January 2006.
  3. ^ "Abstracts of Papers, Reviews and Abstracts published in Volume 1 (1962) to Volume 9 (1971) of Helictite – Journal of Australasian Speleological Research". Helictite – Journal of Australasian Speleological Research. Archived from the original on 21 July 2005. Retrieved 4 January 2006.
  4. ^ "A TRIP TO THE CAVES ON THE NULLABOR PLAINS". Western Mail. Perth: National Library of Australia. 23 November 1889. p. 36. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Caves and Lakes". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 20 November 1935. p. 12. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  6. ^ "A Camera Beyond Perth". Western Mail. Perth: National Library of Australia. 1 December 1938. p. 71. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  7. ^ "Exploring the Nullarbor Caves:". The Chronicle. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 12 December 1935. p. 33. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  8. ^ Hill, A. L. (1963), Checklist of caves and related features, retrieved 7 June 2014 which includes Abrakurrie Cave (SE WA Nullarbor SH52-14),Koonalda Cave (Far West SA Nullarbor SH52-15) , Knowles Cave (Far West SA Nullarbor SH52-16), Murrawijinie Caves (Far West Nullarbor SA SH52-16) and mentions 154 mapped and 39 unmapped caves by that time

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