2026/07 Kimberley Part 3

July 2026

Kimberley Part 3

Kimberley rock art

Monday, 20 July

We checked out of Mitchell Falls Wilderness Lodge and started descending the Mitchell Plateau. The rock art in the Kimberley region is arguably among the world's oldest, with evidence suggesting the earliest occupation dates back 50,000 to 60,000 years. These paintings fall into 2 broad types: the more recent Wandjina paintings, characterised by large human-like figures, colourfully painted with bold reds, whites, and yellows; and the early Bradshaw paintings, characterised by a range of smaller human figures surviving in reddish, brownish, and purplish pigments.

Australia's oldest known Aboriginal rock paintings

Rock Tables

Walking towards the Wandjina and Bradshaw (Gwion Gwion) rock art

Joseph Bradshaw, an English pastoralist, found the original rock art sites in 1891 on the Roe River in the north-west Kimberley. They became known as the Bradshaws, but the figures are now more commonly known by their local Aboriginal name, Gwion Gwion, or Gwion, derived from an Aboriginal Kimberley belief that explains their origins. The Bradshaws are significant to world history because instead of depicting animals, they use humans as the primary subject, which is very rare in Paleolithic art. This mysterious form of rock art could legitimately be called one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Leigh under a rainbow showing us a rock painting

Wandjina paintings

Local Aboriginal people regard Wandjina paintings as self-images, originally painted by the legendary Wandjina when they arrived as rain gods or rain spirits.

Bradshaw paintings

Bradshaw painting are regarded by local Aboriginal people as the works of mythical spirits and ancestors. In the north, one version regards the small red figures as works of the djimi, bush spirit who painted the images themselves. In another version, the old red paintings are self-portraits of the giro giro, tiny people who lived there in the past.

Tasselled Figures of Bent Knee Figure Period

Cranes ?

Whatever ?

Bulky and pointed ?

Aagula, an annoying little bee-like creature that drives you mad if it goes into your ear

Mythological Paddle Headdress Figure from Wandjina Period

Marvelling at the painting and the natural beauty of the rocks

Tasselled figures are characterised by their tassels hanging from their arms and waist. Accessories are armbands, conical headdresses, and boomerangs. This style is among the earliest, most detailed and largest. It has been dated to about 22,000 years old, based on a fossilised wasp nest.