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KEYWORDS: Rock art - Kakadu - Ethnography - Burrungkuy - Anbangbang
Abstract. The Anbangbang Gallery in the Burrungkuy area of Kakadu National Park includes some of the most iconic rock art imagery from Australia. Visited and enjoyed by tens of thousands of visitors every year it stands as a testament to Aboriginal culture and provides a glimpse into the remarkable rock art traditions of this region. Yet, most visitors are surprised to discover that rock art was still being produced at this site in the 1960s. In this paper, we explore the most recent rock art created at the Anbangbang Gallery. Most importantly, we present new evidence from a first-hand account of the paintings being created in 1963/64 and discuss the implications of these new insights for our understanding of the practice, the artists, and the social context of rock art in northern Australia.
Introduction
'This is my father s painting' were the words of Josie Gumbuwa Maralngurra (henceforth, Josie) in 2018 as she looked up at the paintings at the iconic Anbangbang Gallery site in Kakadu National Park (henceforth, Kakadu; Figs 1 and 2), located in western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Australia. It had been decades since she had lived and camped in this area - long before Kakadu National Park was first established in 1979. This paper is a story of one woman's recollections of a moment in time when some of the most iconic rock paintings in the world were made. These paintings, created during the wet season of 1963/64 (December - March), are visually compelling and adorn the cover of books, magazines and travel blogs the world over. The site is visited and the rock art is admired by tens of thousands of people every year. Yet, the story behind these relatively recent paintings is little known with the history of the site taking on its own unique mythology.
First-hand accounts of rock art being created are extraordinarily rare. By the time anthropologists and other researchers began asking questions about rock art in Australia, most of the artists had passed away and others may have simply been unwilling to discuss their work. While rock art is occasionally still created in western Arnhem Land, it is very rare and...