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Cultural heritage

Protecting and Preserving Bim (Rock Art)

The stone country of the Warddeken Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) in West Arnhem Land holds an extraordinary and significant body of kunwarddebim (rock art of the stone country) painted by the ancestors of today’s Nawarddeken people over thousands of years.There are estimated to be more than 30,000 rock art sites across the IPA, painted in a style unique to the region and using materials sourced from the land. Today, the Nawarddeken people remain the original archaeologists of this art and the archivists of the living knowledge connected to it.

March 9th, 2023
Warddeken IPA
Warddeken Land Management Limited

This remarkable body of cultural heritage is facing threats that are both intangible (loss of knowledge) and physical (damage from feral animals, wildfire and vegetation). Under the direction of senior Traditional Owners, Warddeken rangers are working to locate, record, preserve and maintain bim for the future.

This involves surveying and documenting galleries across the IPA’s 14,000 square kilometres and reducing the threats to their survival. Some of the management strategies include the reduction of fuel buildups that can worsen wildfires, and the installation and maintenance of fencing that prevents pigs, buffalo and cattle from rubbing the paintings from the walls.

'These paintings are the stories of Nawarddeken told over thousands of years. Some were painted by people like us and others were placed there by spirits. Rock art is our cultural heritage and we are the ones with a responsibility to care for these places.’
— Donna Nadjamerrek

Late Wet Season

Rangers sit down and consult Elders to determine which areas to survey in the coming dry season

Early Dry Season

Bim surveys are undertaken using a custom-designed bilingual methodology, recording data in multiple forms and languages

Late Dry Seson

Bim surveys continue and maintenance and conservation activities are prioritised. Activities include fencing out feral animals and creating fire breaks

If you are interested in contributing to protecting these invaluable galleries and the cultural heritage of Bininj people, please contact us at mail@kkt.org.au

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