Koonalda Cave
Map showing the location of Koonalda Cave
Map showing the location of Koonalda Cave
Map showing the location of Koonalda Cave
Map showing the location of Koonalda Cave
LocationNullarbor, South Australia
Coordinates31°24′25″S 129°50′10″E / 31.406866°S 129.836129°E / -31.406866; 129.836129[1]
Discovery1935

Koonalda Cave is a cave in the Australian state of South Australia, on the Nullarbor Plain. It is located within the Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area, 99 kilometres (62 mi) west of the Nullarbor roadhouse[1] and 97 kilometres (60 mi) north east from Eucla[2][3] It is notable as an archeological site.[4][5]

I.D. Lewis described the cave in 1976 as:[1]

Large doline 60m in diam. and 25m deep; talus slope to two main large passages connected by a high window; total length of cave 1200m; three lakes at -80m; narrow airspace beyond third lake leads to 45m diam. dome and lake; another 30m sump leads off this...

Thousands of square metres in the cave are covered in parallel finger-marked geometric lines and patterns, Aboriginal Australian artwork which has been dated as 20,000 years old.[4][6]

The cave was abandoned 19,000 years ago, and rediscovered by archeologists in 1956.[6] Analysis of finger markings and archaeological deposits showed that Aboriginal people used the cave 22,000 years ago.[7]

The cave was explored by an expedition led by Captain J. M. Thompson in 1935. The team entered the cave by a ladder and found themselves in a chamber 244 metres (800 ft) in circumference and walked down tunnels over 366 metres (1,200 ft) in length.[2]

In the 1960s, the cave was excavated by Alexandor Gallus, who found that Aboriginal people had mined flint there.[8]

Koonalda Cave was declared a prohibited area under the South Australian Aboriginal and Historic Relics Preservation Act 1965 on 30 May 1968.[9] It was listed on the South Australian Heritage Register on 4 March 1993 and inscribed onto the Australian National Heritage List on 15 October 2014.[10][11] It was also listed on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate.[12]

In December 2022, it was reported that some of the artwork was destroyed by vandals who had illegally gained access to the cave at some time since June, prompting calls from the local Mirning people, who consider the site to be sacred, for the state and federal governments to improve security and legal protection for the cave.[13][14] In March 2023 the Australian Government pledged $400,000 to improve the security of the cave, including the installation of cameras.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Search result for 'Koonalda Cave' with the following datasets selected - 'Suburbs and localities' and 'Gazetteer'". Location SA Map viewer. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Caves and Lakes". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 20 November 1935. p. 12. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  3. ^ "Protected Areas of South Australia September (Map) 2014 Edition" (PDF). Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Koonalda Cave", Encyclopædia Britannica
  5. ^ "Koonalda Cave" Australia Thru Time. Retrieved 2014-3-17.
  6. ^ a b "Koonalda" Archived 9 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Minnesota State University
  7. ^ a b Cominos, Christian (30 March 2023). "Koonalda Cave security to be improved after Indigenous art vandalised". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  8. ^ "Secrets of Koonalda Caves". South Australian Museum. 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  9. ^ DeGaris, R.C. (30 May 1968). "ABORIGINAL AND HISTORIC RELICS PRESERVATION ACT, 1965: NORTH OUT OF HUNDREDS—PROHIBITED AREA DECLARED" (PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 1641. Retrieved 15 August 2019. Site of Koonalda Cave (Latitude 31° 24' 18" South, Longitude 129° 49' 50" East), approximately 4 miles north of the Eyre Highway and situate within pastoral block 297B, north out of hundreds, out of counties.
  10. ^ "National Heritage Places – Koonalda Cave". Department of the Environment (Australia). Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  11. ^ "Koonalda Cave, Nullarbor National Park [also on the National Heritage List ID 106022]". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  12. ^ "Koonalda Cave, Old Eyre Hwy, Cook,(sic) SA, Australia (Place ID 106022)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government.
  13. ^ "Ancient Aboriginal rock art destroyed by vandals in 'tragic loss' at sacred SA site". The Guardian. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  14. ^ Jessie Yeung. "Vandals destroy 22,000-year-old sacred cave art in Australia, horrifying indigenous community". CNN.
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