Experience Aboriginal rock art galleries in Northern Queensland

20 May 2024
Original content by Kerry van der Jagt

Looking to discover an exciting First Nations tourism experience? In this article, Kerry follows Johnny Murison, a proud Kuku-Yalanji man, to discover a hidden 20,000-year-old rock gallery nestled within the sandstone cliffs on traditional Kuku-Yalanji lands in Northern Queensland. 

An encounter with tradition

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, our tour guide 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.

In total, 450 artworks dance across the underside of a 40-metre-long rock shelter, evidence of 20,000 years of human endeavor. 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.’

Exploring Quinkan Country

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 on his traditional land.

From Laura we’d bounced and bumped along the Old Maytown to Laura Coach Road before taking a secret detour 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.

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.’

‘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.’