Wellington Range, Northern Territory

Wellington Range is an escarpment whose western extension forms part of a sandstone plateau, situated in western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. It lies approximately 100 km (62 mi) north-north-east of Jabiru[1] (at least 137 km (85 mi) by road). The nearest settlement accessible by road is Gunbalanya, about 80 km (50 mi) away. (While Warruwi on South Goulburn Island is actually closer, around 40 km north-east, there is no road access from there.)[2][3]

Wellington Range consists of sandstone and basal conglomerates of the Kombolgie subgroup.[1][4] Geologically, the area belongs to the "north-western extension of the Arnhem Shelf in the northern McArthur Basin". There has been limited mineral exploration and there is no mining in the area.[1] The Range lies at the northernmost part of the Arnhem Land Plateau.[5]

The Maung people are the traditional owners of the area.[5]

The area is most known for its major archaeological importance and its Indigenous Australian rock art, particularly in relation to early Makassan contact with Australia, with rock paintings of firearms and ships.[6] Glass beads have also been found in the area, including a collection of headbands and necklaces made from such beads, found between 1925 and 1930 and now held by the British Museum.[7] The rock art is extensive, and one study by archaeologists Paul Tacon, Sally K. May, and Daryl Wesley focuses on the Malarrak complex, a location of particular significance. Recorded in 2008, it includes a depiction of a prau and a knife of the style used by the Makassans, among other paintings.[5] The Djulirri rock art complex is the largest site within the area of Maung speakers, where Ronald Lamilami is the senior traditional owner. There are over 3100 paintings, prints, stencils and beeswax figures at the site, which is the biggest pigment rock art site in Australia. Recording of the art work started in 2008.[8]

  1. ^ a b c Ranford, Cath; Melville, Paul; Bentley, Craig (August 2008). "Wellington Range Project Northern Territory EL 5893 Relinquishment Report" (PDF). Report No.: WR08-02. Cameco Australia Pty Lt. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Wellington Range to Jabiru". Google Maps. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Map of Wellington Range, NT". bonzle.com. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Stratigraphic Unit Details: Kombolgie Subgroup". Australian Stratigraphic Units Database. Australian Government. Geoscience Australia. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Taçon, Paul S. C.; May, Sally K. (2013). "8. Rock art evidence for Macassan–Aboriginal contact in northwestern Arnhem Land1". In Clark, Marshall A.; May, Sally K. (eds.). Macassan History and Heritage: Journeys, Encounters and Influences. ANU E Press. ISBN 978-1-922144-96-6. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  6. ^ Wesley, Daryl; Jones, Tristen; Whitau, Rose (2017). "3. People and fish: Late Holocene rock art at Wulk Lagoon, Arnhem Land from The Archaeology of Rock Art in Western Arnhem Land, Australia". In David, Bruno; Taçon, Paul S.C.; Delannoy, Jean-Jacques; Geneste, Jean-Michel (eds.). The Archaeology of Rock Art in Western Arnhem Land, Australia. Vol. 47. ANU Press. pp. 51–68. ISBN 9781760461614. JSTOR j.ctt1zgb356.6. Retrieved 5 October 2020 – via JSTOR.
  7. ^ Wesley, Daryl; Litster, Mirani (16 October 2014). "'Small, individually nondescript, and easily overlooked': Contact beads from rockshelters in the Wellington Range, north western Arnhem Land". Australian Archaeological Association. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  8. ^ Taçon, Paul S.C.; Langley, Michelle; May, Sally K.; Lamilami, Ronald; et al. (2010). "Ancient bird stencils discovered in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory,Australia" (PDF). Antiquity. 84 (324): 416–427. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00066679. hdl:10072/36700. S2CID 161337348. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.