Koonalda Cave (Koonalda Cave)
Koonalda Cave is a cave in the Australian state of South Australia, on the Nullarbor Plain in the locality of Nullarbor. It is notable as an archeological site.
I.D. Lewis described the cave in 1976 as: "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, Indigenous Australian artwork which has been dated as 20,000 years old. It is 99 km west of the Nullarbor roadhouse and 60 mi north east from Eucla within the Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area.
The cave was abandoned 19,000 years ago, and rediscovered by archeologists in 1956.
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 800 ft in circumference and walked down tunnels over 1200 ft in length.
In the 1960s, the cave was excavated by Alexandor Gallus, who found that Aboriginal people had mined flint there.
Koonalda Cave was declared a prohibited area under the South Australian Aboriginal and Historic Relics Preservation Act 1965 on 30 May 1968. 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. It was also listed on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate.
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.
* List of sinkholes of Australia
* Warratyi
I.D. Lewis described the cave in 1976 as: "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, Indigenous Australian artwork which has been dated as 20,000 years old. It is 99 km west of the Nullarbor roadhouse and 60 mi north east from Eucla within the Nullarbor Wilderness Protection Area.
The cave was abandoned 19,000 years ago, and rediscovered by archeologists in 1956.
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 800 ft in circumference and walked down tunnels over 1200 ft in length.
In the 1960s, the cave was excavated by Alexandor Gallus, who found that Aboriginal people had mined flint there.
Koonalda Cave was declared a prohibited area under the South Australian Aboriginal and Historic Relics Preservation Act 1965 on 30 May 1968. 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. It was also listed on the now-defunct Register of the National Estate.
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.
* List of sinkholes of Australia
* Warratyi
Map - Koonalda Cave (Koonalda Cave)
Map
Country - Australia
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The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies established. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUD | Australian dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
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| EN | English language |