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Ubirr, once referred to as Obiri Rock, so-named by C. P. Mountford, is a rock formation within the East Alligator region of Kakadu National Park in the
Panorama from Ubirr
Image:Ubirr_Kakadu_National_Park_Australia.jpg, Ubirr
Image:Aboriginal_Art_Australia(6).jpg
Image:Aboriginal_Art_Australia.jpg
Aboriginal Art
Learn more about Aboriginal culture in Kakadu
by Renaud
Map of Kakadu National Park including art sites {{coord, 12, 24, 34.06, S, 132, 57, 33.36, E, region:AU-NT_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title Landforms of the Northern Territory Rock formations of the Northern Territory Kakadu National Park Rock art in Australia
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
of Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, and is known for its rock art
In archaeology, rock arts are human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type al ...
. It consists of a group of rock outcrops on the edge of the Nadab floodplain where there are several natural shelters that have a collection of Aboriginal rock paintings, some of which are many thousands of years old. The art depicts certain creation ancestors as well as animals from the area such as barramundi, catfish
Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...
, mullet, goannas, long-necked turtles, pig-nosed turtles, rock ringtail possums, and wallabies.
From the top of Ubirr rock there is a panoramic view of the floodplains and escarpments.
Ubirr is approximately 40 km from Jabiru
The jabiru ( or ; ''Jabiru mycteria'') is a large stork found in the Americas from Mexico to Argentina, except west of the Andes. It sometimes wanders into the United States, usually in Texas, but has also been reported in Mississippi, Oklahoma ...
along a sealed road. The road is low-lying, so access can be restricted during periods of heavy rain. A short walk from the car park takes visitors past the main art sites to the foot of Ubirr Rock.
The rock faces at Ubirr have been continuously painted and repainted since 40,000 BC. Most paintings there were created about 2000 years ago. Some have been repainted right up to modern times. There are three main galleries of art accessible to visitors. National Park rangers, many of them Indigenous, give talks at all of these sites.
Main gallery
The main gallery is perhaps the most photographed, and contains many examples of "X-ray art". Also in the main gallery can be seen paintings of white men with their hands on hips, and, high up, Mimi spirits, who are so thin that they can slip in and out of cracks in the rock. It is a puzzle how the artists managed to reach these bits of rock to paint the Mimi spirits. The local explanation is that the Mimi spirits painted the pictures themselves, and brought the rock down to ground level to do so. At the northern end of the main gallery can be seen a painting of athylacine
The thylacine (; binomial name ''Thylacinus cynocephalus''), also commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger or Tasmanian wolf, was a carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmani ...
, or Tasmanian tiger, which has been extinct in the area for about 2000 years, and attests to the antiquity of the paintings.
Rainbow Serpent Gallery
This is the most sacred site at Ubirr, and is traditionally a women-only site, although this rule is relaxed for non-indigenous tourists. This is the spot visited by the Rainbow Serpent or "Garranga'rreli", during her path across the top end of Australia, during the Dreaming. As she crossed the land, she "sang" the rocks, plants, animals, and people into existence. This path, orsongline
A songline, also called dreaming track, is one of the paths across the land (or sometimes the sky) within the animist belief systems of the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal cultures of Australia. They mark the route followed by localised "crea ...
, is still a sacred path to the indigenous people who live in northern Australia.
Panorama from Ubirr
Gallery
See also
* Kakadu National Park * Flora of Kakadu National Park * Protected areas of the Northern Territory * '' Terminalia ferdinandiana'' (Kakadu plum) *Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
Footnotes
External links
Aboriginal Art
Learn more about Aboriginal culture in Kakadu
by Renaud
Map of Kakadu National Park including art sites {{coord, 12, 24, 34.06, S, 132, 57, 33.36, E, region:AU-NT_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title Landforms of the Northern Territory Rock formations of the Northern Territory Kakadu National Park Rock art in Australia