Its protected caverns and their art are now vandalized with graffiti, devastating the Indigenous mining community as authorities hunt for the culprits.
A government spokesman said in a statement to CNN, “Earlier this year, it was discovered that the cave had been illegally accessed, destroying some of the delicate finger grooves and scarring the sides of the cave.
Fluting is the groove that human fingers drew across the walls of soft limestone caves during the Ice Age.
“The destruction of Coonalda Caves is shocking and heartbreaking. Coonalda Caves is of great importance to the mining people, and its tens of thousands of years of history represent the earliest evidence of Aboriginal occupation in that part of the country. It shows some of the ,” said the spokesperson. He said.
“If these vandals are caught, they will have to go all out with the law.”
The vandalism was not deterred by the cave’s fences, so the South Australian government is now considering installing security cameras and has consulted the conventional owners “in the last few months” on how to better secure the site. has been done, the spokesperson added.
But Bunna Lowry, a senior mining elder and Koonalda custodian, said he hadn’t heard of the vandalism until local media reported it this week.
“We are the traditional custodians of Koonalda and respect this and ask our mining elders to consult us,” he said in a statement.
The incident has irritated the Mirning People, who say their earlier and repeated requests for higher security have been ignored.
As a sacred site, it is closed to the public and only accessible to a few male elders within the community, the group said in a statement. Aside from the cave’s spiritual significance, the restriction is also to protect the delicate art, some of which is carved into the floor of the cave.
Despite legal protections, the group said it still receives requests to grant public access to Koonalda.
“We have been against the opening of the sacred site because it violates the protocols that have protected Koonalda for so long. We have asked for help to provide, and this help has not materialized,” the statement said.
“Instead, recent years have seen damage such as cave entrances collapsing following access work that we were not consulted and approved for.”
As a place that represents Manning’s connection to his ancestors and his homeland, Koonalda “is more than just a priceless work of art, it’s deeply rooted in our blood and identity,” he added.
Importance of caves
For decades, Australian scientists believed that Australia’s indigenous peoples had been on earth for only about 8,000 years.
Conarda Caves was the site of Australia’s first discovery of indigenous rock art dating back to 22,000 years, transforming the scientific community’s understanding of Australia’s history.
“This discovery caused a sensation and forever changed then-accepted notions of where, when and how Aborigines lived on the Australian continent,” said the then Environment Minister in 2014. , Greg Hunt, said when Coonalda was designated a National Heritage List site.
According to the country’s Ministry of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water, the dating of the cave paintings was assessed from archaeological remains and finger prints and confirmed using radiocarbon techniques.
Apart from finger fluting, the cave also had a second type of rock art, where lines were cut into sections of harder limestone using sharp tools. According to the government site, the wall features a pattern of his V-cut horizontal and vertical lines.
The cave and its art have been overseen and protected by mining elders for generations, a mining statement said.
“All of our elders are devastated, shocked and hurt by the recent desecration of this site,” Laurie said. “We mourn a sacred place. Koonalda is like our ancestors, who left their souls in the wall of stories, the wall of songlines.”