Aboriginal Art in West Australia's Murchison region
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (341752)
Rockingham, Australia
October 17, 2020 3:33am CST
While in West Australia’s Murchison region, we headed out to the old mining town of Big Bell then on to Walga Rock. Walga Rock is one of the largest granite monoliths in Australia and is the site of an extensive gallery of aboriginal art which is found under an overhanging ledge.
One of the paintings is of a sailing ship. This drawing has caused a great deal of speculation among the experts and no real conclusions have been reached. Walga Rock is some 325 kms (202 miles) from the coast. The ship is superimposed over some earlier drawings with some unidentified script underneath.
The other drawings, which stretch for perhaps a hundred metres along the rock wall, show common aboriginal symbols, which are meaningful to the Wajarri people of the area. The bottom right photo shows bands of different coloured rock.
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25 responses
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
17 Oct 20
@topffer most fascinatin', so glad ya shared this. i reckon now i've gotta add this to my e'er growin' list 'f thingies to investigate, lol.
3 people like this
@ptrikha_2 (47062)
• India
17 Oct 20
These all makes one feel as if he or she has been transported to another age altogether.
The ancient folks used to do so much on the caves and on the rocks.
These things are a big heritage to all of us.
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@ptrikha_2 (47062)
• India
18 Oct 20
@JudyEv
We have so many Ancient and Medieval structures in India as well. So much to explore. And then there are also places in Egypt, Inca civilization in South America and other places as well.
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@ptrikha_2 (47062)
• India
19 Oct 20
@JudyEv
Still the drawings you have shown above hold a lot of history.
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@xFiacre (13119)
• Ireland
18 Oct 20
@JudyEv If Impey (what an awful time he must have had at school!!!) were my middle name my initials would be FIB. When my wife was named her initials were SIN so her father slipped in a Louise for good measure and she became SILN. Thanks for the Murchison research - he got about.
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@JudyEv (341752)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Oct 20
It is with great satisfaction that I can say that both the Murchison Falls and Murchison River/region have a connection to the Scottish geologist, Sir Roderick Impey Murchison. (aren't you glad your middle name isn't Impey? - presuming it isn't)
Samuel and Florence Baker were the first Europeans to see the falls and named them after Roderick Murchison, who was the President of the Royal Geographical Society.
The Murchison River was named by the explorer George Grey and honours the same gentleman, who was his patron. Murchison's advocacy had been essential in securing official support for Grey's Western Australian expeditions.
Now we've both learnt something.
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@DocAndersen (54402)
• United States
17 Oct 20
artists have always existed, it is in their art that the world is a better place!
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@JudyEv (341752)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Oct 20
@DocAndersen Yes, of course, food and shelter have to come first.
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@DocAndersen (54402)
• United States
18 Oct 20
@JudyEv that is true - but, sadly many can't take care of the first.
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@changjiangzhibin89 (16785)
• China
17 Oct 20
The site of gallery of aboriginal art is worth visiting.Don't know which period of history those works can be traced back to.
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@changjiangzhibin89 (16785)
• China
18 Oct 20
@JudyEv Wow! 10,000 years old !They are prehistoric drawings.
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@JudyEv (341752)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Oct 20
@changjiangzhibin89 Yes, they are indeed.
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@FourWalls (68884)
• United States
17 Oct 20
Do the Aboriginal peoples have interpretive centers discussing the artwork?
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@ptrikha_2 (47062)
• India
18 Oct 20
@JudyEv Yes including the Aborigines is very vital, especially for inclusiveness for their future generations.
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@ptrikha_2 (47062)
• India
19 Oct 20
@JudyEv
Yes the historical wrongs should not be repeated.
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@moffittjc (121659)
• Gainesville, Florida
17 Oct 20
Thanks for sharing Judy. I enjoy reading your posts about the different things you come across in your area. Helps me learn more about Australia. Are there still aboriginal people living in the area?
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@moffittjc (121659)
• Gainesville, Florida
24 Oct 20
@JudyEv Do the Australians get along well with the aborigines?
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@JudyEv (341752)
• Rockingham, Australia
25 Oct 20
@moffittjc Probably mostly about as well as Americans do with Afro-Americans. Many have assimilated very well into Western life but those in the outback are more likely to stick to their traditional ways. In such places, if the aborigines are near a town, drunkenness ofter becomes a huge problem.
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@ptrikha_2 (47062)
• India
18 Oct 20
@JudyEv May be an ancient advanced civilization, may be some aliens- well it is difficult to interpret and decipher.
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@ptrikha_2 (47062)
• India
19 Oct 20
@JudyEv
Yes there could be various possibilities.
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@piyushbhatia1 (11695)
• India
17 Oct 20
Australia would not have been a dry land in the past
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@ptrikha_2 (47062)
• India
18 Oct 20
@piyushbhatia1 Yes many places were separated over Millions of years. Initially it was one continent : Panagea.
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@piyushbhatia1 (11695)
• India
18 Oct 20
@JudyEv Yes. It is still part of Indian Australian tectonic plate
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@snowy22315 (181964)
• United States
18 Oct 20
That should be interesting. There is one in Charlottesville too, which is the only one of it's type in the US. Kluge Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum - Charlottesville
The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia is the only museum in the United States dedicated to the exhibition and study of Indigenous Australian art. We are currently open by reservation only due to COVID19. Admission is free a
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@snowy22315 (181964)
• United States
20 Oct 20
@JudyEv I haven't been there, but I have seen the signs. I might check it out sometime when Covid is over.
@snowy22315 (181964)
• United States
20 Oct 20
@JudyEv This old world has a lot of interesting things to offer.
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@ptrikha_2 (47062)
• India
18 Oct 20
The ship could mean some ancient well developed civilization with ships, but which went into decay after some events like floods, droughts, weather changes or invasions.
Something similar to Harappa-Mohanjedaro civilization that was in areas in India and Pakistan as of now.
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@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
17 Oct 20
oh my! what grand beauty 'n so many stories told 'n those. i 'magine such's most breathtakin' to see'n person. quite stunnin' jest from photos. i gotta ask though, did'ja feel a lil diff'rent bein' there? cultural sites usually 've an aura 'bout 'em.
the sailin' ship would be a tad perplexin', but then 'gain, didn't the peoples used to travel great distances? with modern technology, i'm thinkin' they ought'a be able to 'ndercover the earlier drawings. if'n so more queries to be'd, eh? what messages'd been left o'er a great 'xpanse 'f time. the script sounds very intriguin'.
thanks so much fer sharin' yer journeys with the gorgeous pics. safe travels 'n big hugs ~
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@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
18 Oct 20
@JudyEv aw, yer welcome. i bet there'd be many, 've they dated such? i hear they've fancy gadgets that can help determine such. 'f course, that could open e'en more queries :)
'tis theories'n the aura felt when visitin' such. some say y'ave got'ta 've a 'pure heart', others say if'n there's negative folks 're too much "clutter", 'tis greatly impeded.
nomadic fer survival, followin' critters fer food 'n waters.
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@JudyEv (341752)
• Rockingham, Australia
18 Oct 20
Thanks for the kind words. There are interesting theories about the ship in particular and you're quite right in that the aborigines were nomadic and did travel long distances from time to time.'Aura' is actually a good description for some of these places. I only notice it though if there are very few people around.
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@LindaOHio (181321)
• United States
17 Oct 20
Those are really cool pictures. Do you know how old the drawings are?
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