Ancient Koonalda Cave art destroyed by vandals

For the local Aboriginal Mirning people, the Nullarbor Plain art—details carved into the chalk limestone walls of the Koonalda Cave—holds unique significance.

Since 2014, the Koonalda Cave has been recognized as a National Heritage site.

The Ice Age finger paintings on the limestone walls of Koonalda Cave, which date back approximately 30,000 years, are among the most important prehistoric works in Australia.

They are found in the nearly treeless desert region of the Nullarbor Plain in southern Australia. However, in what has been dubbed a "massive, tragic loss," the traditional owners of the cave recently learned that the antiquated artwork had been severely destroyed.

The surface of the cave is quite soft, as archaeologist Keryn Walshe, who specializes in ancient Aboriginal sites, told The Guardian. The artwork beneath the graffiti cannot be removed without ruining it.

Walshe claimed that the artwork was "very significant" to the Mirning people and "unique in Australia," and that it was for these reasons that it was listed as a national historic monument in 2014.

The vandals had to dig under a steel fence that had been installed in the 1980s to stop these kinds of instances from occurring in order to get entry to the cave. To the dismay of specialists and the Mirning people, Walshe claimed that the fence eventually became "inadequate."

Koonalda Cave is of tremendous importance to the Mirning People, and its tens of thousands of years of history indicate some of the earliest evidence of Aboriginal occupation in that region of the country, according to a spokesperson for the South Australian state government who talked to CNN.

According to reports, the state of South Australia has been collaborating with traditional owners "over recent months" to create "a comprehensive plan" to safeguard the location, which includes setting up surveillance cameras.

The representative claimed that "the current fencing and general difficulties in reaching the caves deter the vast majority of visitors from trespassing." To properly preserve the cave, live site monitoring via closed-circuit cameras is being explored.

Bunna Lawrie, a Mirning elder, disagreed with that claim, claiming he was unaware of the vandalism until it was reported by regional media. This is despite the fact that Clare Buswell, the head of the Australian Speleological Federation's Conservation Commission, first brought the vandalism to light in July 2022.

Buswell stated at the time that "the failure to construct an effective gate, or to utilize modern security systems, such as wildlife monitoring cameras that work 24/7, has, in many ways, permitted this damage to occur."

The lack of adequate security at the sacred location, which is only accessible to a few number of male Mirning elders, has also been a source of concern for the Mirning people in the past. In order to protect the integrity of its spiritual importance and its artwork, the sacred site is closed to the general public.

Buswell expressed the dissatisfaction of the Mirning residents and urged the state authorities to tighten security at the property before more harm is done.

Aside from the spiritual significance the location bears for the Mirning people, the Nullarbor Plain art offers historical and scientific relevance for Australian researchers who previously believed the country's indigenous population dated back only 8,000 years.

The discovery made a sensation and forever challenged the then-accepted views about where, when, and how Aboriginal people lived on the Australian continent.

The most recent devastation of this site has left all of the elders saddened, startled, and hurt.

Under South Australia's Aboriginal heritage legislation, anyone found to have destroyed an Aboriginal site or object faces a fine of A$10,000 ($6,700; £5,500) or up to six months in jail.