Ancient Rock Art in the Australian Kimberley

Here we are this morning on Jar Island. We're in Vancitat Bay and Jar Island being quite a significant stop for us this morning for the famous Bradshaw rock art that is found on this island and actually throughout the Kimberley. There seems to be a story that maybe it was a separate migration than Aboriginal people, a much earlier migration than the other migrations through Australia. It is believed that this rock art is somewhere around about 17 and a half thousand years old. So how do we date this rock art? Can everyone see these mud wasp nests just here? So what they did was they went to a particular Bradshaw figure with a wasp nest over the top. So they could actually tell when that mud wasp brought up that grain of sand, subjected it to a different fraction of light through those sand prisms and the date that they got was the wasp nest was 17 and a half thousand years old. The art here is pretty amazing. The detail in some of the drawings, it's as if they've painted with very fine brushes. But it's quite intriguing because a lot of it is on the ceiling above. It's not easy lying on your back doing a painting. Michelangelo did it and I'm not sure I'd be wanting to be doing it. But I think they've chosen a really nice place. It's a bit like building an art gallery when today our art galleries are beautiful and they've still, I mean these sandstone outcrops are just gorgeous. I can picture a family in this occupational shelter living, telling story and those stories are reflected in the rock art that we see today. I think what really brings out the passion with me regarding the rock art is the mystery behind it. No one is ever really going to know who created, when it was created, and I think it's that mystery that really brings that sort of passion in me to know who it was and where it's from or maybe actually, it's nice that we are never going to know where it's from.