The Pilliga Nature Reserve is one of
the hidden gems of the Australian bush.
550 kilometres northwest of Sydney,
the reserve contains a treasure trove of
Indigenous cultural sites spread out across
its 200,000 acres of untouched bush land.
For Australia's Indigenous peoples
these sandstone caves are a
cherished ancient site filled with
rock carvings and signs of life
dating back tens of thousands of years.
On the walk into the caves you can see
some of Australia's beautiful native plants
like these blooming golden
wattles and purple sarsaparilla.
For the Indigenous Gamilaraay people
the sandstone caves are a site of
great spiritual significance.
Before the arrival of European settlers
in the late 18th century
it was a busy meeting point for different
aboriginal nations to come together
and share their cultures.
Gamilaraay man Brett Ashby has been
conducting tours of the caves for decades
and says the caves were once used for
all aspects of traditional life.
So you can sleep here
you can have the fires going,
you're free from reptiles and mosquitoes
and flies and things like that.
But it is a gathering place
it's on the edge of country here.
It's where a lot of people would come
and visit to conduct business and trade,
work on future ceremonies,
weddings a whole heap of business.
Ancient artwork left behind by aboriginal
people in this region often come in the
form of rock carvings of animals
or the tracks they leave behind.
It's estimated these stone carvings date back
tens of thousands of years
and despite some damage being done to the
site since it was first opened to the public
decades ago, Brett and the local Gamilaraay
community continue to protect
the site from further destruction.
These grinding grooves
found throughout the site were traditionally
used to sharpen tools and weapons
shaping the sandstone from repeated use.
This site here was traditionally used by
younger men to conduct trade
and other matters, while this site
further down was reserved for the older men
and here you can see some broader
grinding grooves used for
larger tools and weapons,
which sit alongside the ancient artwork.
But there are also a number of
secret areas leading out from the caves
exclusive to men or women
where traditional ceremonies still take place
and oral histories can be passed down.
And Brett's hopeful the younger generation
will continue to be part of sharing
that story in the years to come.
I'd love to get more of the younger kids
in community involved in the delivery
of the message of here so
I'm hopeful that you know in
10-12 years time we've got a
new generation coming through
to keep this rolling and to to build on it.
So you know I think the way the world is
and the way for aboriginal people and communities
are we have to really look at social enterprise
and getting things created at the local level.
Because the opportunities are just not there
and they're diminishing more and more.
It's up the community to come together
collectively and and look at ways
in which we can champion that course together.
Walking through the site it's easy to
miss these mysterious deep pockets
carved into the stone.
They used to be holding wells
shaped out of the fragile sandstone by
native Australians to store water
from nearby rivers.
The walls of the wells have since been
damaged and collapsed
but the signs of their use live on
through the walls of the carved rock.
And from the sky you can see the top of
the caves overgrown by thick bush land
obscuring a winding network of tunnels
that run deep into the cliff-side.
For Brett Ashby words can't do justice
to his connection to the land
where his ancestors walked
but he does hope others might come
to understand it more in time.
I am this country, this country is me,
if that makes sense.
I belong to it
the same way it belongs to me.
So my ancestors were custodians here,
you know, I feel like I'm doing
my share as a custodian too.
You need a week out here to
really appreciate the country and some
of the places that you'll get to visit and explore
such as this will really open your eyes
and you don't have to travel thousands
of kilometres or overseas
to get that experience.