Aboriginal Rock Art On the Canning Stock Route Requires Recognition and Protection

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Spectacular Aboriginal painting and engraving sites located within gorges of the Calvert Ranges, along the central part of the Canning Stock Route, have raised new prospects for understanding both the nature and deep antiquity of Aboriginal peoples' occupation of the Western Desert. In a feature story in the Weekend Australian (January 11-12) Nicolas Rothwell reports on the art. He notes the phenomenal detail that has gone into the production of the complex figurative art motifs (including engravings of large human-like figures with head dresses and ornaments) and the depiction of ''archaic faces'' as found from the Burrup Peninsula on the Pilbara coast through to the Cleland Hills of central Australia. More recent vivid and sometimes ornate paintings, depicting a range of everyday and less public themes, are also discussed. This sandstone range is situated in a sea of sand dunes within the Little Sandy Desert, south of Lake Disappointment, and has probably acted as a meeting place for Aboriginal people for tens of thousands of years.

A systematic program of study of Aboriginal occupation and art sites within the Calvert Ranges has been underway in collaboration with traditional Martu custodians since 1995. This work has been carried out by Drs Peter Veth, Mike Smith, Jo McDonald and Sue O'Connor from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, National Museum of Australia, Jo McDonald Cultural Heritage Management and the Australian National University, respectively. Martu have strong associations to this area and have actively supported the radiocarbon dating of occupation deposits within shelters and the detailed recording of the art. Research results have been published in the journal Australian Archaeology and have been presented to major scientific forums in both Australia and the United States. This work was used in the successful Native Title determination covering these traditional Western Desert lands.

The Calvert Range sites are registered with the WA Department of Indigenous Affairs and are protected under state and federal Aboriginal heritage laws. The sites are under the traditional authority of Martu elders and community lying within lands recently granted in the Martu Native Title determination (the largest Native Title claim in Australia).

Visitor traffic to the Ranges has increased dramatically given its proximity to the Canning Stock Route. The presence of the art has been noted on an easily available tourist map and tag-along tours have been visiting the site for several years. The Australian Archaeological Association Incorporated considers there is a need to protect and document these sites and acknowledges the association of Martu custodians to these places and their right to speak for them. Given the significance of the Calvert Ranges to both Martu and their unique ability to inform on desert society over numerous millennia, the Association calls for increased attention to both the documentation and appropriate protection of these important cultural sites.