The last of an inquisitive trio of humpback whales finally left East Alligator River this week, but a rock art find suggests whales have been part of the Territory's story for thousands of years.
As the last of an inquisitive trio of humpback whales finally made its way down Kakadu's East Alligator River and out to sea this week, the whales' journey so far upstream 17 days earlier was being cited as a first in recorded history.Aboriginal rock art and oral history suggests foreign whale hunters have been visiting the area for hundreds, if not thousands, of yearspaper
Paper author and anthropologist Dr Ian McIntosh says the discovery is of significant historical importance."There it was. This big sailing canoe with outriggers and long harpoons tied to the back of an enormous whale. Mr Burrumarra was of the Warramiri of Elcho Island, and one of the clan's primary totems is the whale.
"They'd be Indonesian people, and in some cases they lived out their lives there and some would marry Aboriginal women.
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