Abrakurrie Cave

Useful Information

Location:	48 km northwest of Eucla. Nullarbor plains. In the middle of the Great Australian Bight, about 500 km west of Ceduna, 700 km east of Kalgoorlie.
Open:	no restrictions [2006]
Fee:	free [2006]
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	none, bring torches
Dimension:
Guided tours:	no
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:	Edward A. Lane, Aola M. Richards (1966): Hand Paintings In Caves (With Special Reference to Aboriginal Hand Stencils From Caves on the Nullarbor Plain, Southern Australia), Helictite 4(2):33-50
Address:	Abrakurrie Cave
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1957	pictograms discovered.

Description

Abrakurrie Cave is mentioned to contain the longest (?) cave chamber on the southern hemisphere. A rather strange superlative, as there is no chamber at all. The cave is a single huge passage with an S shape, and what they talk of is the far end of the S. Some talk of a 335 by 45 m big chamber, others tell the cave is 365 m long. On the other hand, it is not listed by the Geology and Geography Section of the National Speleological Society. However you may interprete this, what remains is a beautiful huge cavern, a single passage with no technical difficulty.

It is possible to enter the cave at one end, and walk on almost level ground to the far end and back. Nevertheless, good light and shoes and clothes suitable for a bushwalk are required. The floor is about 70 m below ground, and this level is reached from the collapse doline at the entrance on a mild slope.

The cave is noted for hand stencils and imprints by prehistoric indegnious people. They are praised for having the deepest penetration of aboriginal art yet recorded inside caves in Australia. We did not understand this, but we guess it means that the visitors were impressed. Again a doubtful superlative, however, the cave is of medium interest for pictograms.