ART & SOUL
Not all galleries are indoors
WORDS KERRY VAN DER JAGT
ART & SOUL
Not all galleries are indoors
WORDS KERRY VAN DER JAGT
Reaching the rock art is an adventure of its own.
A chance discovery has revealed thousands of years of history and culture in the form of extensive and striking rock art galleries on traditional Kuku-Yalanji lands in Northern Queensland.
Helicopter tours to the rock art leave from Cairns or Port Douglas.
The medicine man Dimulji greets me with open arms. His body is an ochre-coloured barrel, his legs are tree trunks, his eyes are white pearls pressed into a wizened head. I edge closer, taking in his elongated fingers—six on one hand, seven on the other—each delicate digit radiating like a sunbeam.
'These paintings depict a family of important people,' says Johnny Murison, a proud Kuku-Yalanji man and owner/operator of Jarramali Rock Art Tours on Cape York Peninsula. ‘Dimulji would have been a powerful fella in this camp.'
Thousands of years after the rock gallery was painted, its power still resonates with a timeless intensity that mirrors the pull of the moon. Not a solitary figure, but a procession of ancestral heroes, from the widowed woman Bondelier to the long-legged lawmaker Ngujakura. Baskets of yams and king-sized kangaroos tell of an abundance of food, while women dressed in ceremonial headdress point to a culture with intricate social structures and refined customs.
Indigenous guides bring the art to life.
Ochre is abundant in the surrounding area.
In total, 450 artworks dance across the underside of a 40-metre-long rock shelter, evidence of thousands of years of human endeavour. Each painting is imbued with the spirit of its creator.
‘We call it the Magnificent gallery,’ says Johnny. ‘It’s the only word for it.’
The aptly named Magnificent Gallery.
I’m on Quinkan Country, named after the Quinkan spirits that are depicted in rock art caves across the sandstone escarpments near Laura. While many of these sites (regarded by UNESCO as one of the 10 most significant bodies of rock art in the world) are open to the public, Johnny started Jarramali Rock Art Tours to offer a small number of guests an exclusive experience of the artworks on his traditional land.
Time hasn't dulled the vivid art.
Discovering the gallery was a chance find.
From Laura we bounced and bumped along the Old Maytown to Laura Coach Road before taking a secret turn-off, through dense woodland, to Johnny's camp. Rough, remote, and not found on any map, this is adventure at its most raw.
Hidden from the modern world until 2016, when Johnny and his cousin stumbled upon it while prospecting, the gallery is one of the best preserved rock art sites in the region. The camp is also one of the best positioned, sitting high on an escarpment overlooking the ‘Grand Canyon’ of the north.
More timeless stories are written in the skies.
Like all gifted storytellers, Johnny finds the balance between delivering challenges and providing the space for quiet thoughts. No topic is off limits, from the traumas suffered by the Stolen Generations, to the modern-day issues of land rights and self-determination. ‘It’s on country that we feel the spirits of our Old People, it’s where we go to heal.’
Johnny Murison is the owner/operator of Jarramali Rock Art Tours.
Sharing culture helps foster culture.
‘Sharing our experiences and knowledge provides opportunities for my community,’ Johnny says. ‘It allows us to return to country, provide meaningful employment, and preserves culture for future generations.’
And then there’s pride. ‘It’s about celebrating our survival,’ says Johnny, with a grin as wide as the horizon. ‘Showing the world how strong our culture is, and that we are not simply surviving, but thriving.’
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