Feral goats damage ancient Aboriginal rock art on Whitsundays island

Australia Broadcast Center

03-05-2025

Ngaro elder Peter Pryor has seen the devastating impact of feral goats on ancient Aboriginal artwork his people created on a tropical north Queensland island.
The paintings are in a cave at Nara Inlet on Hook Island, about 30 kilometres off Airlie Beach.
Mr Pryor, who takes visitors on tours to the island, said the damage was the result of the feral animals rubbing along the cave walls.
Peter Pryor is concerned about the damage.
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ABC Tropical North: Ollie Wykeham
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"It's not good, it really isn't," Mr Pryor said.
"I'm just glad that there aren't elders still around to be able to see the damage that's happened there."
Mr Pryor said the artworks were "very, very significant" to the Ngaro people.
"[They've] been carbon dated at over 2,700 years old in the caves that we have in Nara Inlet,"
he said.
Aboriginal artwork is painted in caves on Hook Island.
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Supplied: Tourism Whitsundays
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Goats are thought to have been introduced to the Whitsundays by settlers in the 1800s to provide food for shipwrecked sailors.
Animal management programs have been in place on Hook Island with the help of traditional owners since the 1980s.
Authorities have been trapping and shooting feral goats near the rock paintings since 2018.
The most recent week-long operation finished on Friday.
Nara walking trail leads to the cave.
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Supplied: Tourism & Events Queensland
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The Queensland Environment Department said a small but destructive population remained.
Southern Great Barrier Reef principal ranger David Orgill said there had been some success with temporary measures put in place to preserve the cultural grounds.
"We've set up cameras around some of the Aboriginal art sites where we've had to build electric fences to keep the goats from rubbing against them,"
he said.
"We've definitely noticed less impact on the art."
Goats rest in a cave on Hook Island.
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Supplied: Whitsunday Paradise Explorer
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Mr Orgill said aside from the damage to the cultural site, the goats also spread weeds and caused the loss of species on some islands.
He said the ultimate goal was eradication but that could take "a good decade or more" because of the vegetation on Hook Island.
"We've had success at a number of islands such as South Percy Island … [and] St Bees Island off Mackay," he said.
"Hook Island's got a closed forest on it, so it doesn't have as much open grassland area or more open woodland like some of the other islands that we've managed goats on."
Glimpse into Whitsunday history
Archaeologists believe Hook Island was a refuge for the canoe-building Ngaro people as long as 9,000 years ago.
Mr Pryor said the Ngaro community was sad to see cultural sites damaged on the uninhabited island, but welcomed the action being taken.
"We're just happy that something's in place to help protect it and protect the whole island," he said.
The ancient artwork attracts visitors to Hook Island.
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Supplied: Tourism & Events Queensland
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He said the cave paintings offered a glimpse into the lifestyle of his ancestors, particularly their hunting practices.
"Almost all the paintings that are on the wall are done with an ochre which was mixed with whale blood,"
he said.
He said clay painting techniques had been passed on to today's Ngaro people.
"We do our ochre through the Whitsunday region with a white ochre that we use for ceremonial stuff that we do … dances and initiations, and so that white ochre is very important," he said.
Hook Island is a popular spot with boaties and visitors.
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Supplied: Tourism Whitsundays
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