T R A V E L F E A T U R E - A ust r a l i a
LEIGH WILKINS
THE ANCIENT ART OF BEING
WATCHED!
T
here’s something here. Some-
thing is watching us, not sinister,
not menacing … just something.
Across the dusty track is a vast
expanse of water. Reeds abundant
with birdlife. Crocodiles lay in wait,
out of sight. There’s none of the large
reptiles where we sit, in a cave high
on a rocky outcrop. Something still
watches us …
I can’t shake the feeling, there’s
certainly a presence, something
keeping a close eye on what we are
doing. Are we intruding? Perhaps
not welcome. Do we really need to be
here?
The black seems to peel back as
eyes adjust to the inky darkness. I
hear myself gasp as the walls reveal a
gallery of some sort, the most exqui-
site art; reds, browns, yellows and
whites. So many different styles de-
picting animals, legends, people and
something that seems so out of place
I hear myself gasp again.
Amongst all the clearly indigenous
TRAVERSE 33
artworks sits something so out of
place it seems to be fake. The style is
clearly indigenous, yet the image is
not.
The boldest white ochre depicts a
sailing ship. It’s out of place and for
many years was a complete mystery.
The local binij (people) of the West
Arnhem Land spoke of the time the
people in the ‘big boat’ came from
the north, yet no-one would defini-
tively say when it occurred. Legend
and modern archaeological studies
suggested it was from sometime in
Australia’s ‘ancient’ European past.
Debate raged, was it British? No,
the sails aren’t square rigged. Was it
Dutch? No, for similar reasons. The
Portuguese suggested it was a Caravel
and predated any known exploration
of Australia by the Dutch and British.
Portuguese history suggests that
they never came as far south as Aus-
tralia yet had been known to frequent
Timor as far back as the early 16th
century. It’s possible that the Erre