Kakadu sites defaced by vandals
VANDALS have defaced sacred Aboriginal sites, including rock art at Kakadu National Park.
Parks Australia rangers discovered two sacred sites had been defaced at Maguk, also known as Barramundi Gorge, this week. Vandals etched their names into sandstone less than a metre away from ancient rock art and carved their name into a tree in the carpark.
According to an inside source, the tag was “Wilson Family 2018” and park staff are going back through permits to find a Wilson family who recently visited Kakadu.
A spokeswoman from Parks Australia said it was disappointing that people could demonstrate such a lack of respect for the special site.
“Kakadu is not only a significant dual-World Heritage site, it’s the traditional owners homeland,” she said.
“There are considerable fines for anyone caught defacing cultural heritage sites and this pristine natural environment.
“The values of the park have been developed over 65,000 years, we’d like to ensure those values remain for generations to come.
“As the matter is currently being investigated we will not be making any further comment at this time.”
Kakadu National Park has one of the world’s greatest concentrations of rock art sites.
Some paintings are up to 20,000 years old.