Laura, Queensland Aboriginal Rock Art

I've been interested in aboriginal art and culture since my first visit to Australia in 1988. And I've really enjoyed seeing aboriginal rock art as I've traveled around Australia including Kakadu, Arnhem Land, Uluru, Carnarvon Gorge, and the Kimberley. I read about the significant rock art sites in Laura, Queensland (pop. 133) in my Lonely Planet guide book. Here's more detail from a Google search:

This area is renowned for its ancient Aboriginal rock art, specifically within the Quinkan Country region. These galleries, including the famous Split Rock Art Gallery, are considered among the most significant in the world and are listed by UNESCO as a top 10 site. The art, featuring Quinkan spirit figures, is believed to be between 15,000 and 40,000 years old, with some dating back even further.

Key Features of the Laura Rock Art:

• Quinkan Art:

  The rock art galleries feature Quinkan spirit figures, which are central to the region's cultural and spiritual beliefs.

• Age and Significance:

  The rock art is estimated to be between 15,000 and 40,000 years old, with some dating back further. The site is recognized by UNESCO as a top 10 site.

• Diverse Subjects:

  The art depicts a range of subjects, including human figures, handprints, plants, animals, and spirit figures, reflecting aspects of Aboriginal daily life and spirituality.

• Split Rock Art Gallery:

  This is the most famous of the galleries, located 14km from Laura, and is known for its layers of paintings and superimposed figures.

• Cultural Importance:

  The rock art is a vital part of Aboriginal culture, representing ancestral spirits, laws, socialisation, spirituality, and the connection to the land.

Most of the other aboriginal rock art I've seen has been self-guided and I was really ready to have a guided experience with a local aboriginal to help interpret the art and what I was seeing. I stumbled across Jarramalli Rock Art tours through a Google search and immediately reached out to Johnny expressing interest in his two day and night camping / rock art tour. Fortunately, he had availability for the two days I was going to be in Laura, Queensland! He had a group of about 10 others who were doing the "tag-a-long" tour where they drove their own 4WD and had all of their own food, etc. and I was able to sign on to the tour by joining him in his 4WD and using his camping huts, and having him provide the meals. Sweet as!

And Johnny is just a lovely guy! Johnny Murison is a traditional owner from the Kuku-yalanji people, and he takes his guests through the distinctive savannah grassland landscape to visit, amongst other galleries, the 20,000 year old rock art site known as the "Magnificent Gallery."
It is an ancient gallery that is outstanding for its variety, quantity, and quality of rock art and is home to over 450 pieces of art. This gallery is on private land and visitors must be guided to the site in order to visit it. Johnny guides his guests through the gallery and interprets the art there, and brings the stories to life.

I arrived in Laura the day before the tour started and had been feeling pretty crappy for about two weeks, ever since I came off the three day liveaboard boat experience on the Great Barrier Reef. They kept the boat freezing cold to keep people from getting motion sickness and the constant back-an-forth from freezing cold out into the water and back did my sinuses in and I wound up with a full blown sinus infection. I went to the health clinic in Laura and saw a nurse who agreed with my assessment and placed me on antibiotics. So I was a little low energy starting this experience but it definitely didn't disappoint!

The tour started the next morning meeting out in front of the local pub at 9am; the owner of the Laura General Store was kind and let me park Vinnie behind the store in an open field and leave my bike in their breezeway behind the store. He also showed me a bower bird nest and explained how the bower bird uses the nest to attract a mate. My first time to hear of the bower bird and their nest building behaviors! And the more shiny objects the better!

Johnny gathered us up and we headed off to his bush camp about a 45 minute drive from Laura with me in his 4WD with him and the rest of the crew following in their separate 4WDs. Once we reached camp, we had morning tea, got better acquainted, and then saddled up to drive out to the first rock art site called the Magnificent Gallery. Johnny and I traveled in a 4WD buggy that was all kinds of fun while the rest of the group followed in their 4WDs. It soon became apparent that 4 of the 5 tag-a-long drivers were novices at driving 4WD and struggled with the advanced 4WD track we were going down. Johnny was infinitely patient guiding and coaching them along and about halfway there we stopped for a yarn and welcome to country and to learn more about the area.

As we continued the journey, Johnny suggested another couple in a 4WD that wasn't high clearance join us in his dune buggy which they quickly said "yes" to and then we were on to the gallery which was absolutely magnificent! I found this website where another individual went out on one of Johnny's tours and he describes the rock art in quite a bit of detail so if you want to dive deeper than I'm going, check out his website: https://www.donsmaps.com/laurarockart.html.

Johnny does a great job of interpreting the rock art for you as well as giving you time to just sit with the rock art and gaze at it in wonder and imagining who painted the images and how very long ago that was...We were at the art site for at least an hour...It's a short hike (less than 1km) to the rock art site from Johnny's "shelter with a view" where you can take in the view of the landscape and where we also had lunch. And the big white image that looks like a kangaroo is actually called a wallaroo which is like a kangaroo and this is the first time I've heard of a wallaroo! The rock art galleries were used for storytelling and to pass on important information to others.

Following the rock art gallery visit, we headed back to his bush camp where he built a fire and heated the water for us to take hot showers and made some dinner. The weather was clear so there were about a zillion stars out and we sat around the campfire enjoying the sights and sounds of the bush before I retired to my little camp hut.

The next morning, I woke to the crazy cackling of the blue-winged kookaburra who screeches rather than laughs and assorted other loud bird noises - just try sleeping through that!!!

After breakfast, we headed out to see another rock art site - this one didn't have a name and we were asked not to take pictures at the site. So all the pictures you see in this post are from the Magnificent Art Gallery and then the Split Rock Art Gallery. The hike in and out to this other site was longer and more challenging and one person opted to stay behind. This other gallery was good but not as good as the Magnificent Gallery in my opinion. And I'm surprised to find this website by another individual who did the rock art tour with Johnny who did take pictures of this second gallery and he's calling it the Giant Wallaroo Rock Art Site: https://www.donsmaps.com/laurarockart2.html. So I'm not sure what's going on with this person being on tour with Johnny and taking pictures of the gallery and Johnny asking us not to take pictures of the gallery. Anyway, it was another interesting gallery and I'm glad I got to see it; it's actually helpful to see pictures of it to help me remember what I saw.

We were back at bush camp by midday and had the afternoon to ourselves so I took the opportunity to read and nap and conserve my energy since I was convalescing from the sinus stuff...In the evening, we had another campfire and Johnny played his didgeridoo under the stars - a grand ending to our bush experience!

The next morning, we were dropped off back in Laura around 10am and I reunited with Vinnie and headed off to the Split Rock Art Gallery to check this out on the way out of town. This gallery is listed by UNESCO as a Top 10 site. There is an honesty box and fee of $30AUD per person which felt expensive to me but I did pay it. The walk takes you through three galleries: 1) the Split Rock Art Gallery, 2) the Flying Fox Art Gallery, and 3) the Tall Spirits Art Gallery.

Here's more detail about the site taken from this website: https://whereyourebetween.com/destinations/australia/quinkan-split-rock-art-site/:

The galleries of indigenous art at Quinkan depict a number of subjects and topics that were historically part of Aboriginal daily life, ranging from human figures, hand prints, plants, and animals. Also portrayed in the artworks are Aboriginal spirits called quinkan, which the site is named after. The first and largest of the three rock art sites is Split Rock. A raised boardwalk runs parallel to the artworks with a barrier to prevent them from being touched and damaged.

The artworks painted on Split Rock has the widest variety of subjects, including human figures, a range of animals and fish and stencils of handprints. As well as paintings, there are also a number of geometric engravings on Split Rock that are over 14,000 years old.

The rock art has been drawn using a range of rich, vibrant colours, including orange, red and purple as well as white. The various pieces of rock art are believed to have been painted over different periods of time, which explains why some of the newer artworks are painted over older pieces. Painted on one section of rock are two quinkan, one male and one female. In Aboriginal folklore, quinkan are spirits who have many different appearances and can either be vengeful or kind. The two quinkan depicted at Split Rock are believed to be malevolent spirits called Imjim. The Imjim are feared by Aboriginal people because they are believed to kidnap children at night.

About a minute’s walk further along the trail is the Flying Fox Art Site. This site is named after the many flying foxes that have been painted onto the rocks. As well as flying foxes, there are also paintings of other animals, including catfish and scrub turkeys. Traditionally all of these animals were a vital part of the local Aboriginal diet.

Around 40 metres further along the trail is the final artwork, the Tall Spirits Art Site. On this rock is a painting of another type of quinkan called Timara, painted in red and white and standing at around six feet tall. According to Aboriginal legend, Timara are a kind spirit with long arms and legs. Timara are believed to protect children from the evil Imjim. They are also said to provide all of the food in the bush for Aboriginal people to eat. Timara is a nocturnal spirit who hides in the gaps and cracks in the rocks during the day.

I spent about an hour at the site before heading out - what a fabulous couple of days deep diving into aboriginal rock art!