Blanche Cave | |
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Location | Naracoorte Caves National Park Joanna, South Australia[1] |
Coordinates | 37°02′00″S 140°47′50″E / 37.03345°S 140.79714°E[1] |
Length | 250 metres |
Entrances | 3 |
Blanche Cave, previously known as "The Big Cave", "The Old Cave" and "Mosquito Plains Cave", is one of 26 caves to be found in the Naracoorte Caves National Park, a World Heritage listed site. Blanche Cave was the first of the caves to be discovered in the Naracoorte area, having been found by European settlers in 1845, and can be accessed by the public through guided tours of the site. The cave contains a number of features, including, at one time, the mummified remains of an indigenous man – remains that were stolen twice in 1861 and never returned. The location has been the site for a number of events, such as, in the early days, annual New Years parties and, much more recently, it was featured as part of the Olympic torch relay for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Blanche Cave, along with the nearby Victoria Fossil Cave, was added to the South Australian Heritage Register in 1984.