So I went out to Broken Hill for this years’ rural womens festival and met some interesting girls and took in the unforgettable landscapes and the Menindee lake system. We also got a guided tour of the hand stencils & rock engravings in the Mutawintji National Park. Some of the engravings were of the wildlife but others were more symbolic using tracks or different curved shapes signifying shelter or campsites and seem to tell a story. When I got home I looked at the dot paintings we bought at Napperby station ( near Alice Springs ) in 1989 and the symbols for fire and headdress were similar. The paintings also tell a story in combination with stylised navigational aids and moral lessons, which made me wonder how universal these symbols were and could they be carved into the trees ? Allan Tighe reckons the curved lines on the ‘ serpent trees ‘ are for snakes, the arrows obviously directional but what do the upside down exclamation marks mean ? This big jigsaw puzzle of tribal lands and songlines and trade routes that got shook up around 200 years ago neads to be put back together again. Feel free to offer opinions or theories or scar tree photos XXXX jane
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Hi Jane,
Have been reading your Blog, shown it to Holly just now because I was telling her about the scar trees and thought that I might be able to get some schools in the area to organise an excursion if your interested. Looking forward to reading more.