WETHERBY STATION TO LAURA

BIRD OF THE DAY - RED TAILED BLACK COCKATOO

Our morning began with a gentle stroll around Wetherby Homestead to see a few species. We were awaken to Grey Whistler but could not locate it – instead we had to suffice with Lemon breasted Flycather [Flyrobin], Brown backed, Brown, Scarlet, Dusky, Blue faced, Yellow and White throated Honeyeaters, Black shouldered, Whistling  and Black Kites, Forest and Sacred Kingfishers, Black faced, Barred and White bellied Cuckoo-shrikes, Red backed Wrens plus a lagoon with Magpie Geese and Jacana – to name a few…

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Also stopped at a nearby billabong where we had brief views of the confusion species Yellow spotted and Graceful plus a variety of other honeyeaters.

Breakfast finished it was on to Abattoir Swamp. Despite good views of Yellow-faced Honeyeaters and Brown backed nesting plus Northern Fantail and Rufous Whistler the Swamp was a little quiet.
Driving northwards we stopped to tick Australian Bustards at Maryfarms. Perhaps we should not have bothered as we saw many more as we drove northwards.

First bit of ‘country style’ hospitality was received at Mt Carbine Roadhouse where I was roused at or having the nerve to try to explore the gardens adjacent to the roadhouse. Needless to say we won’t stop on our return trip…..

Sarus Cranes, Red tailed Black Cockatoos and Bustards deserved a stop enroute with the latter two species battling for bird of the day. The spectacular Red tailed Black Cockatoos ultimately achieved the honour through their peerless plumage plus their noteworthy numbers.

Before arriving in Laura we stopped at the Quinkan Art Galleries. Famous for its rock art, Quinkan Country contains a large and dramatic body of prehistoric rock paintings. These galleries have been identified as being between 15,000 to 30,000 years old and have been included on the Australian Heritage Estate and listed by UNESCO as being among the top 10 rock art sites in the world. These sites, even the easily accessible ones, deserve more acknowledgement and respect. I think that they are stunning and I look forward to my next visit.

From Wikipedia - Quinkan rock art

Quinkan rock art refers to a large body of locally, nationally and internationally significant Australian Aboriginal rock art of a style characterized by their unique representations of "Quinkans" (an Aboriginal mythological being, often spelt "Quinkin"), found among the sandstone escarpments around the small town of Laura, Queensland (aka Quinkan region or Quinkan country).[1] Quinkan Country was inscribed on the Australian National Heritage List on 10 November 2018.[2]

Location - The Australian Heritage Commission's 1980 entry on the register of the national estate[3] describes the Quinkan rock art as being located across 230 000 hectares of rugged sandstone plateaux and escarpments 4 km south east of Laura and 50 km west of Cooktown.

Selected sites are open for visits by the public, through guided tours with local Aboriginal guides organised by the Quinkan Regional Cultural Centre. Split Rock, approximately 15 km south of Laura, is currently open to self-guided visitors for a small fee. The Quinkan Reserves, owned by Aboriginal Trustees, are closed to public access.

Significance - The Australian Heritage Commission's 1980 national estate entry describes the Quinkan rock art as constituting "..some of the largest bodies of prehistoric art in the world. The paintings are generally large and well preserved, and engravings of great antiquity occur. The Quinkan art is outstanding both in variety, quantity and quality."[3]

The two brothers, George Musgrave and Tommy George dedicated their lives to protecting the rock art and teaching a number of younger Aboriginal Traditional Owners about the history and stories relating to their connection to the land and rock art of the Quinkan region.

Description - Rock art types include painting, stencil and engravings. Painting is generally in a figurative style, with people, animals and their tracks and mythical beings are depicted, usually in one or two colours. Red ochre dominates although white, yellow, black and a rare blue pigment also exist. Engravings of both figurative and abstract styles are found throughout Quinkan country.

Cultural heritage of the Quinkan region also includes story places, campsites and other evidence of Aboriginal people's long occupation history. In the 1870s the Palmer River Goldrush brought a large influx of European and Chinese miners into Quinkan country, with thousands of miners traversing through here between the goldfields and the port of Cooktown. Despite the violent clashes that took place between miners and Aboriginal people, and the subsequent attempts at control of Aboriginal people by government policy, a highly significant connection to country and culture by Aboriginal people remains.

Our next bit of country style hospitality occurred with the dinner at the Quinkan Hotel. When I arrived and explained that we were coming for dinner I was met with an angry man who simply stated that he was too busy and that he was not interested. Patience won out as after a half an hour he calmed and went on to produce extremely satisfactory steak sandwiches. Things were dire for a while though and I was feeling a little under pressure for not having booked. In my defence I considered that being a Saturday night and in the middle of School holidays that there would be a little more trade…… All is well that ends well.