Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
mariners from Sulawesi who regularly visited the north coast for at least three centuries
until their visits were banned by South Australian (as the region was then known as the
Northern Territory of South Australia) government regulations in 1906.
The paintings contained in the Arnhem Land rock-art sites constitute one of the
world's most significant and fascinating rock-art collections. They provide a wonderful
record of changing environments and lifestyles over millennia.
In some places they are concentrated in large galleries, with paintings from more re-
cent eras sometimes superimposed over older paintings. Some sites are kept secret - not
only to protect them from damage, but also because they are private or sacred to the Ab-
original owners. Some are believed to be inhabited by malevolent spirit beings some-
times known as Namorrodo, who must not be approached by those who are ignorant of
the indigenous customs of the region. However, two of the finest sites have been opened
up to visitors, with access roads, walkways and explanatory signs. These are Ubirr and
Nourlangie in Kakadu National Park, although a terrible irony is that the original custodi-
ans no longer paint at these sites, though descendants ensure cultural maintenance and
management to the sites as part of their ongoing cultural obligations through work at the
park.
The rock paintings show how the main styles succeeded each other over time. The
earliest hand-prints were followed by a 'naturalistic/ figurative' style, with large outlines
of people or animals filled in with colour. Some of the animals depicted, such as the
thylacine (Tasmanian tiger), have long been extinct on mainland Australia.
After the naturalistic style came the 'dynamic', in which motion was often depicted (a
dotted line, for example, to show a spear's path through the air). In this era the first an-
cestral beings appeared, with human bodies and animal heads.
The next style mainly showed simple human silhouettes, and was followed by the curi-
ous 'yam figures', in which people and animals were drawn in the shape of yams. Other
painting styles, including the 'X-ray' style, which displays the internal organs and bone
structure of animals, also appeared around this time.
By about 1000 years ago many of the salt marshes had turned into freshwater swamps
and billabongs. The birds and plants that provided new food sources in this landscape ap-
peared in the art of this time.
From around 400 years ago, indigenous artists also depicted the human newcomers to
the region - Macassan traders and, more recently, Europeans and other nonindigenous
people - and the things they brought, or their modes of transport such as ships and
horses, and species such as cattle and buffalo, which severely impacted upon the environ-
ment.
