Beswick Creek Cave six decades later: change and continuity in the rock art of Doria Gudaluk

Abstract

Canberra Barunga 0 k m 2000 N The rock art of Doria Gudaluk (Beswick Creek Cave) in the Northern Territory of Australia has previously provided a valuable lesson in the difficulties of definitive interpretation without local knowledge. Now, newly recorded motifs at the site-some only visible with digital enhancement-highlight the dangers of relating stylistic changes to the replacement of different cultures. When considered in the context of local history, developments in the rock art of Doria Gudaluk during the second half of the twentieth century can be understood as the result of new cultural collaborations between incoming groups and older, local communities.

Hidden Sites, Hidden Images, Hidden Meanings: Does the Location and Visibility of Motifsand Sites Correlate to Restricted or Open Access?

“…The site of Doria Gudaluk (also known as Beswick Creek Cave) is an iconic rock art site in Australia (Elkin 1952;Macintosh 1952 and1977;Gunn and Whear 2007). It contains around 160 motifs, comprising 153 figurative paintings and seven concentrations of engraved lines, circular holes and areas with abraded surfaces (Smith et al 2016). The site could be considered as hidden from a landscape perspective considering the physical location and its overhanging structure.…”

“…During the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, in particular, light-skinned Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families and brought up in institutions, in what is known as the Stolen Generation. During this period, Doria Gudaluk was used as a place to hide children from policemen or patrol officers who were mounted on horses (Smith 2004;Smith et al 2016). What this particular site and accounts exemplify is that the concept of hidden is complex and mutable and it will depend more on the knowledge of the natural and cultural landscape one has, than on the physical features of the place.…”

“…Moreover, until the 1980s, Doria Gudaluk was used as both a ceremonial site and a place that could be visited by local Jawoyn families, especially during the wet season (Smith et al 2016). This is another interesting point for rock art researchers since the same site combines both public and private domains, rather than these domains being mutually excluding and opposed.…”

“…1992). At such times, it was closed to general visitation (Macintosh 1952;Smith et al 2016). Thus, the same site was both open and restricted at different times of the year and in different contexts.…”

“…The geometric art ... both conceals and accumulates meaning. (Morphy 1991:191-193) While Morphy's study highlights the multivalency of images in Yongu bark paintings, the basic tenets concerning the protection of knowledge apply across most, if not all, Aboriginal knowledge systems in the Arnhem Land region (see Taçon 1989;Taylor 1996;May 2008:171-194;Smith et al 2016), and probably across Australia. In the Barunga region, both figurative and geometric images can be multivalent.…”