ROCK ART DAMAGED BY FIRE IN QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA:

Australia's Baloon Cave rock art site viewing platform before the fire. Internet photo: public domain.

A popular Australian rock art tourist destination, Baloon Cave in Carnarvon Gorge, Queensland, Australia, was destroyed by fire in late 2018. An article by Paul Taçon for the Bradshaw Foundation's Rock Art Network outlines how efforts to protect this rock art destination actually led to its destruction.

"Aboriginal Australians maintain powerful connections to rock art sites and argue that these heritage places are a part of living culture. Moreover, most indigenous Australians desire to share their heritage with the wider world and over 100 rock art sites are open for guided or unescorted visitation. But infrastructure and resources vary widely and rarely do sites have conservation and/or management plans." (Taçon 2019)

Baloon Cave before and after the fire. Internet photo: public domain.

One site that allows public visitation is Baloon Cave, "located in Carnarvon Gorge, central Queensland, Australia. It was one of the four rock art sites open to the public for visitation in Carnarvon Gorge and the closest to the visitor area and ranger station. It is known for its sets of stenciled hands and a series of hafted stone axe stencils. Initially access to Baloon Cave was via a stone and soil walking track, with low handrails separating visitors from the art panels. However, some vandalism occurred with lines and letters scratched over and into stencils.

To facilitate better access and to better protect the rock art a large viewing platform and walkway was installed at Baloon Cave in 2014. REPLAS Enduroplank recycled plastic products were used with composite fibre structural components. On the REPLAS website the Enduroplank is promoted as a low maintenance endurable material suitable for Baloon Cave." (Taçon 2019)

Baloon Cave rock art panel before the fire. Internet photo: public domain.

"ABC Australia reports that ancient rock art at eastern Australia's Carnarvon National Park was destroyed in 2018 when a walkway made of recycled plastic exploded during a brushfire. 'Unfortunately, that's sort of like solidified petroleum, and if you have a hot fire underneath it, it melts and then it just explodes into a ball of flame and that's exactly what happened,' said Paul Taçon of Griffith University. Pieces of rock sloughed off Baloon Cave's walls, along with the artwork which included ancient handprints and more recent  images. Dale Harding, a member of the Baloon Cave working group, called the lost artwork a link between generations of Bidjara, Ghungalu, and Garingbal people." (Wikipedia)

This product is apparently touted as fire retardant but experience is proving otherwise. Brushfires reportedly also ignited Enduroplank structures at two other locations in addition to Baloon Cave.

Baloon Cave rock art panel after the fire. Internet photo: public domain.

The rock art at Baloon Cave was seriously impacted.

"Damage to the main panel consists of exfoliation to the left, right and above right, cracking at the upper right, and a coating of soot over most of the stencilled hands and all of the hafted axe stencils. As one approaches the panel, it first appears it is completely blackened but closer inspection and photography with the light at the right angle reveals the stencils underneath." (Taçon 2019)

"Damage to the rare hafted stone axe stencils is pronounced as not only have they been blackened but also where two of them are located the rock has both cracked and exfoliated. The cracked portion at the left looks as if it could easily collapse. It may be possible to remove the soot and to consolidate the panel but this needs further investigation and assessment. Some soot has washed away in recent heavy rain. There is a risk that the rock above the major new crack could sheer off and fall to the ground, taking portions of the stencils with it." (Taçon 2019)

Although he acknowledged that non-flammable construction would possibly be more expensive "Taçon suggested that only steel, or concrete and steel, but used to construct walkways at Australia's cultural heritage sites." (Wikipedia)

This should be a lesson to us all concerned with the protection of rock art.

NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.

REFERENCES:

https://www.archaeology.org/news?page=1

Taçon, Paul

2019 The Aftermath of Fire Damage to Important Rock Art at the Baloon Cave Tourist Destination, Carnarvon Gorge, Queensland, Australia, 24 November 2019, Rock Art Network, www.bradshawfoundation.com.