Byamunga's hands / The Devil's Hands - Shoalhaven Aboriginal Rock Art Site

Contents

Introduction
Early photographs
The art work
Chronology
Discussion
Appendix 1 - Shoalhaven rock art sites
Appendix 2 - A Debbil Debbil story
References
Acknowledgements

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1. Introduction

The Devil's Hands - or Byamunga's hands as it is referred to by the local people - is an ancient Australian Aboriginal rock art site featuring stencilled hands, implements and possible anthropomorphic (human or animal) figures, produced with red, white and brownish ochre pigments. It is located on an east-facing sandstone cliff with a slight shelter overhang at Mundamia by the Shoalhaven River near Nowra, south of Sydney, Australia, some seven miles up the winding river from the Nowra Bridge and 3.5 kilometres directly due west, or 15 miles from the Shoalhaven River entrance. The Devil's Hands was one of the first such Aboriginal cultural heritage sites to be talked about and studied in detail by non-Indigenous researchers seeking to understand the breadth and cultural meaning of Indigenous art and artefacts in the Shoalhaven region of south eastern Australia. First brought to notice in 1879 by John Maclean, later editor of the Shoalhaven Telegraph, its national and even international significance was initially addressed in detail by the Reverend D. M'Lennan of Berry on 2 November 1895. Rock art is Australia's, and the world's, oldest surviving art form, with some of the best examples to be found in caves where they have been protected from natural and human elements of destruction (Faulstich 2006).

Europeans settled in the Shoalhaven during the 1810s and likely noticed the prominent artwork shortly thereafter as they sailed up and down the river seeking cedar to cut and land to claim from the Indigenous owners who had occupied the area for tens of thousands of years. A century later steam-powered vessels such as the Merindah, owned by local artist Samuel Elyard, were a regular sight, transporting both tourists and locals up and down the river, and specifically to the site. M'Lennan's newspaper piece placed the so-called Devil's Hands within a national and international context, linking it to Indian Hindu hand art and pointing to local Indigenous mystical connections, ceremony and lore. By 1905 the site had been photographed and illustrated in the Shoalhaven Telegraph. That image subsequently featured on a 1907 postcard promoting the region. Later, during 1909, a second photograph by W.A. Hull appeared in an article published in The Lone Hand illustrated magazine, and it is possible that around this time local professional photographer Samuel Cocks also took two images of the site - one from a distance, and another closer in. A fifth recently appeared on a postcard, and a sixth was taken prior to 1914 by local resident J.A. Cole. During 1911, the famous Australian aviation pioneer Lawrence Hargrave used the Devil's Hands and The Lone Hand image to support his argument for a visit to the east coast of Australia around 1595 by Peruvian-Spaniard explorer Lope de Vega aboard the Santa Isobel.

An important study of cave and rock art of the Shoalhaven River basin and nearby districts - identifying some 44 sites containing a rich array of art work - was subsequently produced by archaeologist Peter Bindon in 1976. He specifically referred therein to cultural stories surrounding the Devil's Hands site, whilst querying their origins and especially the satanic connection imposed by a largely Christian non-Indigenous settler population and its introduction of the word devil. It is of concern to note references during the early 1900s to graffiti at the site, brought about by those of a religious persuasion who balked at the name allocated to it. Such a reference is subject to some ambiguity, as the local Indigenous population has been reticent in regard to discussion of the art work's cultural history and significance. Some of those issues are described and discussed below, though an explanation may be found in the traditional cultural antipathy towards the subject of death and any reference to those who have died (Howitt 1904). The art work's status as of May 2024 is not known to the present writer. It appears little known amongst the wider community and has apparently been caged off to hinder close observation or general access. As such, early photographs of the site have a special significance.

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2. Early photographs

The Devil's Hands site was photographed using the glass plate negative process on a number of occasions during the early 1900s and, due to subsequent deterioration of the exposed artwork, these have assumed importance in any detailed study of the site. Two photographs were used between 1905-09 to illustrate articles on the Devil's Hands and a postcard. The first is known from the aforementioned 1905 newspaper spread promoting the Nowra area, which is also discussed below. The second was taken by W.A. Hull around 1909 and given wide exposure by Lawrence Hargrave. A third photograph off a glass plate negative by local resident C.W. Cole and dated circa 1914 was revealed by Peter Bindon in 1976. Subsequent to that, a new photograph from 1909 was recently offered for sale by a Victorian rare book dealer, and two were located in the University of Wollongong Archives collection. All six are illustrated below. Also included is an image of the site with religious graffiti which was applied by a local farmer prior to April 1909. It is unclear whether this photograph was taken in 1976 or much earlier.

#1 - 20 December 1905 - newspaper photograph and postcard. Source: National Museum of Australia, Canberra. Originally illustrated in the Shoalhaven Telegraph, 20 December 1905.

The Devil's Hand-Prints, Shoalhaven, N.S.W., coloured postcard, postmarked 7 November 1907.

#2 - 10 April 1909 - photographic postcard. Source: Douglas Stewart Rare Books, 2024.

The Devil's Hands, Nowra, 10 April 1909.

#3 - 1 May 1909 - photograph in magazine. Source: Greig , The Lone Hand, 1 May 1909.

The Devil's Hands, Shoalhaven.

#4 - circa 1909 - Aboriginal Markings, Shoalhaven, R.157. SC, Samuel Cox Collection, University of Wollongong Archives, D100/22/01.

#5 - circa 1909 - Samuel Cox Collection, University of Wollongong Archives, D100/22/02.

#6 - circa 1914 - glass plate negative (water damage along bottom edge) by J.A. Cole. Source: Bindon 1976.

J.A. Cole photograph of upper section of Devil's Hands site, circa 1914.

* A 1976 photograph of the site shows graffiti which was in place by April 1909, though is not seen in The Lone Hand photograph published around that time (Bindon 1976). The graffiti proclaims the following:

PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD

HEAVEN OR HELL?

CHRIST DIED FOR THE UNGODLY

Graffiti at the Devil's Hands site, 1976? Source: Bindon 1976.

A superficial study of the graffiti photograph suggests that the site may also have been physically vandalised, as the smooth surface seen on the earlier photographs is no longer visible. As the author has, as of May 2024, not seen the site in person, it is unclear what its state of preservation is. Bindon noted that in 1976 he was only able to identify 15 hand prints. In the earlier photographs double that number are visible.

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3. The art work

A study of the early photographs, along with the detailed 1976 commentary by Peter Bindon (extract reproduced below), reveals the complexity of the original ochre-on-stone art work at the Devil's Hands site. The pen sketch by Bindon, based on his in situ analysis of the site, includes the following elements:

Stencilled Hands (15)
T-shaped implement (1)
Woomera (3)
Unknown (1)

The Devil's Hands, Shoalhaven River. Source: Peter Bindon, Figure 10, 1976.

This sketch does not reveal the complete collection of original art works as would have been seen seventy years previous, or as is revealed by a close study of the original photographs. For example, in the 10 April 1909 photograph, near the bottom centre of the image can be seen a number (2) of what appear to be human (anthropomorphic) figures.

The Devil's Hands, Nowra, 10 April 1909. Lower middle section.

Also, a closer look at the earlier photographs reveals a possible 32 stencilled hands, instead of the 15 identified by Bindon. Also visible in the lower left corner is the cross mentioned by Lawrence Hargrave.

circa 20 hands.

circa 24 hands.

circa 17 hands.

circa 32 hands.

It is interesting to note that the artworks are located on the rock face at a height of about 3-4 metres above the ground. No explanation for this has been found. In the past the ground level was obviously higher, at this level, and that approximately 1-2 metres has subsequently been eroded away due to inundation by the nearby river or heavy rains. In order to produce the stencilled hand and arm images at the top of rock the participant would have had to have been in a position very close to the surface upon which the red and white ochre was applied, and at the same level.

It is obvious that a precise, scientific study of the site with reference to the known earlier photographs and use of infrared and other non-destructive scientific techniques to reveal the images still in place would confirm or rule out the various art works so far listed, and possibly also identify new (ancient) ones. A nearby cave contains similar images (Bindon, 1976:65). These figures have not been commented upon in descriptions of the site. However, Bindon did note issues with studying the lower half of the panel upon which the art was displayed. Also, with the Devil's Hands subject to direct sunlight during the day, as a result this may have been responsible for destruction of some of the images over recent years. Bindon includes a detailed discussion on the subject of the cave and rock art of the Shoalhaven area in his 1976 thesis, including reference to the wider Australian context. Selected relevant text from that thesis is reproduced below.

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4. Chronology

The following is a chronological listing of references to the Devil's Hands site. It also includes copies of text and images from those references. Needless to say, many of these accounts are full of racist and derogatory comments towards the Australian Indigenous civilisation - its culture and peoples, consistent with the prevailing attitudes of the time amongst the non-Indigenous community, though as ever there are exceptions to this.

1879

In 1879 John MacLean, editor of the Shoalhaven Telegraph, visited the Devil's Hands site. As a result, he submitted a description of them to The Sydney Mail. It elicited a number of responses. That description has not been located. However, a question to the Queries section of the newspaper - allocated number 111 - and subsequent responses of relevance, have been identified. One of those responses refers to the evil spirit called the Debbil-Debbil, which is obviously a derivation of the English word devil.

* Queries, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 1 June 1879.

[111.] 1. Have any idols been found in the possession of the aborigines of New South Wales, especially those of the eastern coast districts ? 2. Or does their history, previous to the occupation of the continent by Europeans, by drawings or carvings of any description, show whether they possessed the imitative faculty to any degree. — J. M., [John Maclean] Nowra. ?

* Replies to Queries: Native Idols, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 21 June 1879.

[111.] Native Idols : I have been looking for a reply to this so far in vain. In a late number of The Colonist newspaper, I saw a notice of a paper read in London by Sir Charles Nicholson, on the 'Rock Carvings in Port Jackson,' supposed from their situation to be of ancient date, and including representations of men, animals, &c, the Dugong being specially mentioned as a good likeness. Now I have seen no mention of these carvings in any description of, or guide-book to Sydney. Are you aware in what part of the harbour they lie? I was under the impression, till I saw this, that no trace of the imitative faculty had been left by the aborigines here. I may say it is doubtful whether the carvings are not due to immigrants at an early date from the Malay Archipelago. In the above named paper, a 'Colonist ' suggests that notice of these carvings should be published through Queensland, in order that settlers there might search for other carvings. Are there no local publications on the subject ? — William Paterson.

* Replies to Queries: Aboriginal Paintings, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 28 June 1879.

[111]. Aboriginal Paintings.— The following information may be of use to J.M., Nowra : — Various figures, the work of aboriginals evidently, have been found in Australia. Captain (now Sir George) Gray discovered some in South Australia, as described in his work. Some have been found in New South Wales. One of the figures, representing a sperm whale, was formerly to be seen on the North Shore of Port Jackson, on the point nearly opposite Dawes Battery; but the rock on which it was cut has been quarried for building purposes. Others, however, are yet to be seen in various places. On an elevated ridge, at the back of Narrabeen Lagoon, about half-way between Sydney Harbour and the Hawkesbury River, several of these sculptures are still to be found. In places where no suitable rocks were available, similar figures have been discovered cut on trees. To effect this, a part of the bark of a large tree was first removed, and the figures then cut in the solid wood. The objects represented on trees were more numerous and complicated than those on rocks, and were believed by many to be a sort of hieroglyphics or picture-writing. Whatever their object may nave been — whether we see in them glimpses of the first dawnings of art, reproductions of the rudest efforts of untutored man to embody ideas in wood and stone, or traces of what were the earliest buddings of idolatry and superstition — will perhaps never be determined.— C. Thompson.

* Replies to Queries: Native Idolatry, The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 5 July 1879.

[111.] Native Idolatry. — In the Royal Geographical Journal, vol. XII., there are plates of copies, made by Captain Wickham, R.N., of native Australian drawings found upon the Depeech Islands. These islands are, at low water, connected with mainland by means of sandbanks, by which the sable artists were enabled to reach their rocky substitute for the canvas or panel of civilization. The rocks (upon which were the drawings mentioned above) were found to be of a very smooth nature, this being the reason, no doubt, for their being selected as the sketch-block of the natives. Within the outline of the drawing, the red outer coating of the rock was removed, and the internal hue of the rock, green, was disclosed. Of these drawings, one is the representation of a native armed with a spear and wommera, or throwing-stick ; it is supposed that this drawing was intended to present a warrior relating his adventures and exploits, in accordance with the native custom, through the medium of a song ; another somewhat ruder drawing is that of a corroboree or dance. Plate No. 65 is a good delineation of a crab, and equally well done is one (No. 67) of a kangaroo. No. 1 is a picture of a bird resembling a goose, and No. 61 a crude representation of a dingo or native dog. Prints of hands upon rocks are some what common throughout Australia; but these are not sculptured, unless the operation of Nature in this respect can be so called. The hand of the operating aboriginal being placed upon the rock, the passages between the fingers are filled up with a kind of clay, which is also laid round the outline of the hand ; the latter is then removed ; then by the action of the weather the unprotected portion of the rock being worn away before that covered by the clay, a print of the hand remains. — Idols : I can find no record of idols being found among the Australian aboriginals, who recognize a god, known to the different tribes under several names, the English equivalent of which is ' Great Master ' Or ' Good Spirit.' The deity is, by some traditions, described as being in figure like a black, painted with pipeclay, and carrying a fire stick. They fear the evil spirit— who, as they suppose, counteracts the doings of the deity — more than their Great Master. The wives of the evil spirit of some tribes (Koin) are dreaded more than their husbands ; their names are Sippakallain, Mailkun, and Bimpon; one might fancy these as representing an Austral Clotho, Atropos, and Lachesis. In several native traditions the moon is said to have been originally a man (Pontobung), and the sun a woman. The Debbil-Debbils of two other localities rejoice under the names of Kiunyo and Boojel-Carney respectively. Another evil spirit (Parang) is believed to have his dwelling in the thick scrub or brushwood. As may be imagined, these evil spirits are pictured in the native fancy as beings of a by no means attractive form. — F. Lanfre

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1895

* Reverend D. M'Lennan, The Archaeological Import of the Painted Hands on the Shoalhaven River, Shoalhaven Telegraph, 2 November 1895. Text:

The Archaeological Import of the Painted Hands on the Shoalhaven River.

By Rev. D. McLennan, Berry.

Ethnologists generally classify the Aboriginals of this continent as typical of the lowest forms of humanity. This sweeping generalisation is contrary to fact. On the contrary, the Blacks of Australia have developed remarkable artistic tastes throughout all their tribes. Nor had all traces of religion vanished from them as some archaeologists are disposed to imagine. The preservation of the artistic instinct will be found associated very closely with their religious beliefs. Indeed, the one conduced greatly, to the conservation of the other indicating that in the conservation of the other, indicating that in the savage nature there was a closer alliance between the artistic and religious instinct. It is questionable if the Romans on their arrival in Britain - found the survivals of art so general as did the early explorers and settlers of Australia, And it is very questionable if the carvings and paintings of the ancient Druids excelled or equalled those of our aboriginals. Therefore the blacks may very justly protest against being ranged by ethnologists as among the lowest tribes in the scale of civilisation and humanity.

The evidences of aboriginal artistic handiwork may be seen along the eastern coast of Australia as well as facing our rivers, and indeed on the faces of lofty cliffs and peaks. Everywhere in mountain, bush, cave, as well as in the neighbourhood of rivers and the ocean, may be found paintings and carvings of antiquity. When we recall that these primitive artists and sculptors had neither canvas nor studio nor indeed easels of any kind much less finely shaded paints we marvel at the excellence and permanence of some of their rude paintings. Their paints consisted of clays of different colours; for pencils and brushes pieces of quartz had to be employed, while the face of the rock was their only canvass on which to impress their figures. Nevertheless those early painters and carvers have transmitted to us an antiquarian lore in those curious drawings. It was the favourite study of the ancient tribes thus to immortalise themselves as they roamed through the bush or camped on the banks of the Shoalhaven river. It is singular that by means of these mementos of antiquity we can now decipher not only the nomenclature of their ancient religion but the ancestral life of our aboriginals. For it must not be supposed that the blacks of Australia are indigenous plants of Australian soil. On the contrary the proper reading of the symbolic pictures will make it evident that their original ancestral home was the cradle of the human species in tho remote parts of Asia. The first settlers, and early explorers of Australia looked with astonishment on some of the paintings and carvings of the rocks and trees and caves, but it never did occur to them to think they had any significance. They viewed them with the same kind of curiosity and interest as young men and maidens from Nowra look on the hands imprinted on the rocks facing their beautiful river.

Some inquisitive minds suspected that possibly something mystic was wrapped under the rude symbols and endeavoured to obtain information from the natives. They were extremely reticent, and as unwilling as a Freemason to divulge the significance of their mystic craft. Great, however, is the potency of whisky, and under its fatal spree the aboriginal betrayed his sacred trust and revealed the meaning of these singular impressions on the rocks. Gradually the full significance of the hands and fishes, etc., became known. And curiously enough the ancestral art disclosed the fact that like the Egyptians, Indians, etc., our blacks expressed certain religious ideas in art by means of religious symbolism. And just as the Nile was sacred to the ancient Egyptians and the Ganges to the Indians, so was the Shoalhaven to the aboriginals. And just as the fish was sacred in those rivers we have good grounds for believing the same was the case here in our own river. Therefore to understand the symbolical meaning of the hands and fishes, etc., on the rocks and caves is to virtually unveil the ancestry and religion of the aboriginal nations of Australia.

Professor Henry Drummond has carried his revolutionising theory so far back as to find in our glands and saline tendency in perspiration, indications of a very remote ancestry, and claims for us an alliance with the denizens of the deep. This can hardly have the merit of originality, because our native artists anticipated the evolutionary doctrine of our gifted philosopher. We find them painting the shark with man evolving from its body as if to indicate plainly enough that scientists evolved from a very savage state. Nevertheless this fish is on of our ancestral gods. Then there are drawings of the schnapper and other kinds of fish, and the tribes at the coast were named after those fish. In example, they had the schnapper tribe, the eel tribe, etc. Then the inland tribes were designated kangaroo or wallaby tribe or the emu tribe. The tribes therefore, regarded these symbolic animals as sacred after which they were named. Hence the emu tribe would not eat the sacred flesh of that bird, nor the eel tribe touch that sacred fish though the others were at liberty to do so.

Those tribal peculiarities at once raise the question of the origin of aboriginal artists of Australia. Ethnologists differ in opinions as to their original home. Some are of the opinion that their carvings and drawings are the work of self tutorship, and claim for them original artistic tastes. Others are inclined to think the blacks arrived on this continent destitute of artistic proclivities, and that they graduated in Australia. Against this theory is the obvious fact that the struggle for existence here from the first was not conducive to the development of art, nor indeed, to culture of any kind. Nevertheless the fact remains that we have today in the face of every natural disadvantage those decorative paintings and sculptures which not only are unrivalled by other savage nations of tho Pacific (always excepting the New Zealand Maoris) but to-day awaken astonishment in the minds of archaeologists.

According to some authorities there have been three emigrations into this continent and each has left distinct impressions. Probably the earliest adventurers to our Australian shores were small people resembling the Pigmies of Central Africa with their dwarfed forms, woolly heads, and flat noses, and peculiarly gentle dispositions. Then came quite another type, possessed of a strong physique and larger frame. Then wild African savages made the life of the original settlers intolerable for they were a cannibal tribe of blacks. Finally, and after a long interval a new tribe appeared on our shores physiognomy. They came from India and brought over the dingo with them. It was from these Indians the older tribes learnt the fair arts, religious rites, and tribal customs which have survived from age to age. They likewise introduced the laws of marriage. Since the striking points of a resemblance between the religious notions of our aboriginals and those of certain Indian tribes. And it is a curious fact that all the figures of fishes and men painted upon the rocks are carved in positions facing the rising sun.

Is this only a coincidence? Is it not so also in India where the aboriginal are found worshiping the rising sun? It is our knowledge of Indian and Asiatic mythology that enables us to understand the mystic symbols of our native art. And the identity is more striking in the ancient than in more recent drawings. And just as our modern theosophists must undergo a course of instruction comprising six courses, so had the ancient Australian artists before they could be fully initiated into the mystic symbols of their wisdom religion.

The ancient schools of art in Australia were sometimes found by the side of the Shoalhaven River or by the seaside or in the sombre and weird primeval forest. The initiation ceremony was very impressive. When a young man was to pass his first degree he was conveyed to the depths of the forest which was sacred. Here he was seated upon a rock or trunk of a tree where he was kept for several days and nights. His head was bowed down and thus he kept bent. He was commanded neither to break his fast nor change his position during this time. And to answer obedience the young neophyte was placed under strict surveillance. At the time appointed the Elders removed him to a place of great sacredness. As the sun was setting they proceeded to initiate him further into the symbolic import of the paintings on the rocks. Only now did the initiated comprehend the hidden and mysterious meaning of the pictures representing animals, etc., that before were probably looked upon as grotesque absurdities. What could be more absurd to the young mind than a picture of a fish pursuing a kangaroo, or a wallaby ? Now the mystic meaning becomes perfectly intelligible. The tribes were represented by their symbols, and were known as the Duck tribe, Snake tribe, etc. If then the Duck tribe were at war with the Kangaroo tribe a record of it was preserved in those archives in the form of a picture representing the duck pursuing the kangaroo. All this goes to prove the Asiatic origin of the mystic symbols.

Now what is the import of the impression of human hands on the rocks facing the Shoalhaven River? They are the same as those of George's River. These hands are painted with a reddish liquid and retain the impress very distinctly. Generally they face the east and welcome the rays of the morning sun. The landscape all around is beautiful, and these hands present a striking contrast. Nevertheless, they are designed to immortalise the departed chiefs of the district around the spot where these symbols appear. We should revere these records of antiquity for they are our only records painted on these rocks.

These historic records may be very rude and crude, but they merit careful study. And what is this import? They unbosom the history of ancient Australia in a very significant manner. They reminds us of mighty hunters and warriors who have left not only their footprints but hand prints on the sands of time. And those records defy the elements to obliterate them, nor have the tools of time destroyed them There thy remain silent but eloquent records of departed greatness and worth. And who can tell but that when the New Zealander is seen sketching the ruins of St. Paul's, London, with the antiquarian interest that our works of art today may not appear as rude to posterity as those pictorial representations are today to us.

These aboriginal probably knew something of the science of palmistry, those who could read the hands on the rocks ought to be able to decipher the character of the individuals represented by the hands. Hence the importance of these rock paintings on the Shoalhaven River. They are painted in a variety of ways according to the lessons designed to be taught by them. It is generally found that they point upwards but differ in size and form. They are painted in regular order for the one in the centre occupies a peculiar position as if it were that of a chief. Those on either side are more faint and less conspicuous. The palm of the left hand has evidently been placed against the rock and the fingers extended, and a kind of reddish paint used to make the outline of the hand. These hands, curiously enough, point to the east as if raised to welcome the solar rays. And again we have evidence of Asiatic origin.

There can be no doubt but that the river and surrounding district were full of sacred associations which these records were designed to perpetrate. The Shoalhaven River and its sacred banks must have been the shrine of the aboriginal theosophists and spiritualists and wizards of the black art. This is coincident from the fact that the impression from the left hand, according to Indian mythology, is devoted to a wizard. And the fact of so many hands appearing in this form would imply that the vicinity of Nowra was their happy hunting ground. If these hands were representations of successive dynasties we find they record a considerable period of Australian history. How full of thrilling interest must those prehistoric days of Australian life have been when the natives roamed all along the banks of our lovely river.

If those hands represent wizards we can readily understand the importance attached to them. If the natives wanted rain it was the function of their chiefs to intercede with the gods. If they desired to avert terrible diseases the people had recourse to these priests who exercised a kind of superhuman power over the minds of the untutored savages of Australia. They were supposed to possess power over nature and life, and death was at their behest. It was natural, then, that the ancient artists of Australia should perpetrate men who thus swayed their destinies, just as we today in another form transmit memorials of our Australian statesmen to coming generations. These hands were supposed to have healing and saving power. Hence the sick and dying would try and visit this ancient shrine on the banks of the Shoalhaven River. But while the palm of the hand (left) indicated the wizard, that of the black hand denoted the chief Elder who had the power to proclaim war, and the white hand, the power of causing the cessation of hostilities. It was the symbol of peace, good will. Then there was the closed hand to indicate the crest of those to whom the traditions of the race were communicated and who fixed the high court of appeal in all in matters pertaining to law and ritual. Thus there was something more than palmistry in these artistic drawings on the banks of our river. The palm of the hand meant one thing, the back another, the open and closed hands also different things. The hand among the Hindoos of India is the symbol of the destroyer. The pictorial history of art as seen on one rock reveals the origin of the artists who have left us this ethnological record of the past.

From this imperfect sketch it will be seen how full of historic associations were the fairy regions adjoining Nowra, along the banks of the Shoalhaven River. Thus, then, we may, like the immortal dramatist, find sermons in stones, books in the running brooks, and good in everything.

[Comment: It is interesting to observe that in an article in the Clarence and Richmond Examiner, Grafton, of 13 April 1895, it is noted under a section headed Religious, that: .... strong drink is, as indeed it is, the most potent of all instruments in the Devil's hands for the enslavement and bestialisation of human souls. It could be suggested that in the above instance, the Rev. M'Lennan was the satanic element, rather than the rock art, reflecting the inherent hypocracy present. (MO 6.5.2024)]

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1900

* The Devil's Hand, Wallcliffe, Margaret River Caves, The Western Mail, Perth, 10 March 1900. The Devil's Hand is a geological feature in Western Australia. It is a group of 4-5 stalagmites which rise from the cave floor and form a hand-like structure against the cave wall. The reason for the satanic connection is not known. It is now commonly known as the Devil's Lair, and the only Aboriginal association is archaeological, with evidence of habitation going back some 40,000 years - one of the oldest such sites in Australia. Selected text:

....A circular chamber, richly bedecked in gleaming white stalactites, with mammoth bunches of grapes, fleecy wefts apparently as soft as lambswool, but solid as marble, and up springing from the floor of the chamber, as if greedy to clutch the fruit, yet frozen in making the grasp, is a monstrous hand several feet long.

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1901

* 19 February 1901: Letter from John MacLean of Nowra, proprietor of the Shoalhaven Telegraph, to John Brown of Brownsville, regarding Aboriginal caves and rock art in the Shoalhaven district. Source: Shoalhaven Museum, item 5027a.

Nowra, February 19th 1901

Dear Sir,

Acknowledging yours of yesterday respecting the markings and carvings on the rocks in parts of this district, I beg to state that I looked at these in 1879 and wrote a short account of what I saw in the "Sydney Mail", I think, and some other weekly. A clergyman, whose name I forget, then residing at Manly took up the subject, and described like markings as occurring in caves in the sandstone at that place, and elsewhere in the Hawkesbury shales and sandstones where weatherings had afforded like caves.

The most noticeable of these markings or stains occur in an egg-shaped cave, about six feet in diameter, in the sandstone cliff on the right bank of Nowra Creek, between Jervis Bay and St Anne Streets. These are apparently the obverse of the human hand represented by a colour, distinct from that of the rest of the rock, tracing the outline as well as the general figure of the open hand in various upward directions. My city correspondent and myself, viewing like markings in different locations, were agreed in the supposition that these stains were made by the hand of an aboriginal, being wet or greasy, and having ashes from the cave or camp fire adhering, clapped it fairly on to the moist and moldy surface of the rock, the alkali of the ashes readily effecting a stain upon the alluminous acids abundant on all these sandstones especially where caves occur, and thus producing a deep and indelible image of the hand.

The other marks looked at by me at the same time, occur upon a naked sandstone rock platform at the apex of "Brown's Mountain", a range 1750 feet altitude in the Parish of Cambewarra, and an outlying buttress of the peak called "Good Dog". The actual spot is partly on portions Nos. 298 & 299 Parish of Cambewarra, and forms a mossy oasis, shrub-encircled and sheltered a spot as might well have formed the place of conclave and counsel between the tribes of the low lands and those in Kangaroo Valley, separated by this strong physical barrier. There the markings were apparently designed to represent fishes, and Kangaroo, or his more diminutive prototype, the wallaby. When I expressed some disappointment as to the alleged distinctness and variety of these to my guide, who had previously described them to me, he declared the markings had suffered much since persons had kicked off the moss. The attrition of weather had done much to efface outlines hammered into the granular surface by a crude hand and a crude appliance.

Perhaps I might suggest caution in entering caves if I related to you my experience upon entering the orifice of "The Devil's Cave" as it is locally called. to view "The Devil's Hands". The day was Sunday, at the hour when church bells invite the devout to public worship. The severity of the Presbyterian "Sabbath" held still incipient sway over my intentions as to any form of amusement. So when I sallied forth it was somewhat inward protest; but any curiosity was paramount. reaching the cave opening by a bit of climbing, I thrust my head and shoulders into the markings, pretty well filling the orifice, and striking a match to light my candle. Thereupon from within, unseen and unchallenged, I received a stunning blow on the head which sent me dazed and sprawling down the incline, my hat spinning after me. My sabbath misgivings were now mixed up with the possibility of a "practical" joke sugar-coated with a fable of the "Devil's Cave". When I turned inquiringly to my companion, a few yards in rear, who pointed to a large rock wallaby retreating along the cliffs. My intrusion upon its slumber had caused it to spring at the streak of opening, over my head, and aiming a bit low had attained its purpose most effectively.

I was told that further around in the like rocks, over the left bank of Nowra Creek, there are similar stains. But these I have not visited.

Assuring you of my best wishes for the success of your investigations, and regretting that I can furnish so little assistance.

Yours faithfully John MacLean

P.S. Pray excuse this form of "writing" which I assume will be more inviting and less difficult to decipher than my hand writing would be.

John Brown Esq., "Brownsville", Dapto

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1905

* The Devil's Hands, Shoalhaven River [photograph], Shoalhaven Telegraph, 20 December 1905. Earliest known photograph of the site. Later used for a postcard in 1907.

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1907

* The Devil's Hand-Prints, Shoalhaven, N.S.W. [coloured postcard], 7 November 1907. Location: Collection of the National Museum of Australia, Canberra. Copy of the 1905 photograph featuring two men with hats.

The Devil's Hand-Prints, Shoalhaven, N.S.W., coloured postcard, 1907. Source: National Museum of Australia.

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1909

* Mr. Walter A. Hull sends Lawrence Hargrave a photograph of the Devil's Hands rock art.

* The Devil's Hand, Nowra, 10 April 1909 - Photograph on postcard. Description: Sepia-tone gelatin silver print photograph, printed on postcard stock, 137 x 86 mm; manuscript caption in image lower left 'The Devil's Hands, Nowra'; mailed from Nowra to Parramatta on 10 April 1909 by a Shoalhaven tourist who writes: 'Good walk across scenery worth seeing'; in excellent condition.

Rare early photograph of a painted rock shelter at Mundamia in the Shoalhaven River basin, which is covered with hand stencils. In the early twentieth century these were erroneously interpreted by inventor and aviation pioneer Lawrence Hargrave as pictographic evidence in support of his ludicrous theory that the Spanish navigator Lope de Vega had visited the area in 1595, discovered gold, and then proceeded to use the local Aboriginal population as slave labour to extract the precious ore. We have not been able to trace another example of this particular photograph of the rock shelter in Australian institutional collections. (Douglas Stewart 2024).

* Hermit, Up the Shoalhaven, Shoalhaven Telegraph, 10 April 1909. Account of an excursion up the river west of the Nowra Bridge aboard the Merindah. Comments on the graffiti, possibly put there by a Mr M;Matron. Extract from the text:

Across the water is Halcrow's Island, a thin strip of land with the river just across it. Mr. M'Matron's nice brick house is visible on the height, its outward appearance being marred by the lower part being colored white with a scriptural quotation painted over it in large black letters. Just across are the rocks on which the 'Devil's Hand' and numerous clap-trap quotations from Holy Writ are mingled together, recalling to mind an ancient and apt quotation that 'The Devil may quote Scripture!' This hand is a wonderful impersonation of a large human one. Why it is connected with his Satanic majesty it is difficult to say. What could have possessed the fanatical disfigurers of Nature with whitewash to have so marred this beauty spot is a mystery to persons not in the confidence of General Booth or the sect supposed to have originated in fair and beauteous Plymouth!

* A.W. Greig, Aboriginal art: with an account of the mysterious rock pictures of the Glenelg District [W.A.], The Lone Hand, 5, 1 May 1909, 42-48. The illustration was later used by Lawrence Hargrave as plate 24 in his 1911/1914 pamphlet on Lope de Vega.

The Devil's Hands, Shoalhaven. Source: Greig , The Lone Hand, 1909.

* Lawrence Hargrave, Lope de Vega, Journal of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 43, 1909, 39-54, 412-425. Posits that Lope de Vega, captain of the Santa Isabel, visited Australia and the Shoalhaven around 1595.

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1910

* 20 August 1910 - Walter Hull writes to Lawrence Hargrave regarding the Devil's Hands site.

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1911

* Lawrence Hargrave, Lope de Vega: in continuation of previous publications contained in the Journal of the Royal Society of New South Wales, Vols XLIII, XLIV, 1909, 1910, Sydney, 1911. Extract from text:

Mr. Walter A. Hull has sent me [a photograph] (Fig. 6) which has been published in “Lone Hand.” The proprietors permit its reproduction here. Its shows a number of silhouette “hands” on an iron-stone rock face on the Shoalhaven River. These have been there to the memory of the oldest inhabitant. No Aboriginal will go near them. I reason out that boat shaped marks refer to water journeys, footsteps to land journeys, and “hands” refer to manual labour.... Mr. Walter A. Hull says:— “These ‘hands’ are found only in the Shoalhaven District; in addition to those I photographed, there are a number of isolated ‘hands’ - 1, 2 or 3, not more - in various secluded caves in the district. You will understand these ‘hands’ are not carved, but are painted with some pigment that has withstood the weather (Fig. 6) for some hundreds years or more. I rather fancy that the Australian blacks used carving only to portray their ideas. I should say that in some pre-historic time a canoe load of one of the South Sea or South American people was blown out of their course and made land at the Shoalhaven Heads. They would come from some race that used picture drawings, and that the ‘hands’ are a sign language. As you will observe, they nearly all differ in the arrangement of the fingers, and also as the best token to my mind is that you will note a cross boomerang X shown. This weapon is unknown to the Australian blacks, but is used by some South Sea natives, Bougainville Islanders I think. The local (Shoalhaven) Black’s explanation is rather good. He said that the Devil was washed down the river in a flood and got caught in the cave and tried to climb up the side of the cave to escape the rising waters and his hands being (of course) red hot left the marks on the rock that we now see.”

* 22 September 1911 - Extract of letter from Lawrence Hargrave to Walter Hull, National Library of Australia, Lawrence Hargraves Papers, NLA MS 352-6:

… Boat-shaped marks refer to water journeys, footsteps refer to land journeys and ‘hands’ refer to manual labour. What labour? The search for gold, and it is certain that if Lope de Vega got any gold from near Sydney it was from the Shoalhaven River. The hands or fingers are a record of the number of quills of gold obtained. The Peruvian-Spaniards did not go there by water, they had had enough of the sea and were only interested in the land. The land journey was easy, a few cabbage palms or dry logs would ferry all that it was necessary to keep dry. 14 days would suffice to get there. The blacks got it hot for the memory to last to our time; and continued opposition would decorate the outskirts of the gold working camps with black fellows seated on pointed stakes.

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* Sea Superstitions, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 25 May 1912. Extract from text:

The Devil's Hand is, perhaps, one of the weirdest of the ancient sea myths. This strange apparition was said to appear out of the east in the direction of the setting sun and had the form of an enormous black hand. The sight of it always meant trouble for the unlucky witnesses, and, according to old records, when the hand was seen off the Cornish coast in 1597 it was followed by a terrible storm.

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1914

* Jack "J.A." Cole Glass Plate Negative Collection. Prior to 1914 Cole was a bush walker who took photographs of numerous Aboriginal art sites in the Shoalhaven. He was also an informant to C.C. Towle during his visit in 1941. Cole's images were also used and illustrated in Peter Bindon's 1976 report. They include a single image of the Devil's Hands art work.

J.A. Cole photograph of upper section of Devil's Hands site, circa 1914.

* Lawrence Hargrave completes revision of his Lope de Vega pamphlet from 1911. He states the following regarding the Devil's Hands:

On an ironstone rock face on the Shoalhaven River (plate 24) are many "hands". These have been there to the memory of the oldest inhabitant, no aboriginal will go near them. Gold is still washed in this river, and possibly these hands or fingers refer to the days worked here washing gold, or to the number of "quills" of gold obtained. Mr W.A. Hull who took the photograph says: "These ‘hands’ are found only in the Shoalhaven District. In addition to those I photographed, there are a number of isolated ‘hands’ 1, 2 or 3, not more in various secluded caves in the district. You will understand these ‘hands’ are not carved, but are painted with some pigment that has withstood the weather for some hundreds years. You will observe they nearly all differ in the arrangement of the fingers'. A cross is also seen in the photograph.'

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1916

* MJC, The Beautiful Shoalhaven River - The Devil's Hands and Other Things, Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder, 15 March 1916. Extract from text:

The Devil's Hand. Yes, there it is, upright in a huge wall of rock. Hand, fingers and all deeply impressed into the stone, the whole figure being large enough to discern at a chain's distance. The wall of rock is covered with "goody-goody" inscriptions. Over the hand is one which reads, quoted from memory only: "Prepare for eternity; which dost thou choose, heaven or hell?" All are painted in large white letters, and from what I could gather, the only real result to date has been for every tourist who has visited the place to wish the responsible Wowser to hell for his damnable interference with this otherwise intensely interesting spot. Our skipper guide grew quite informative and explained that this devil's hand was apparently possessed of some magic or miraculous power as to indicating one's present conditional destiny. For example: On the approach of a saintly individual, the hand disappears, on that of a moderately good person it partly disappears or, put correctly, in accordance with the relatively good state of the soul at the time, doth the hand decline in its prominence. On the other hand, in accordance with the wickedness of the soul at the time, doth it increase its prominence - even to the extent of seeing the electric sparks flying from the finger tips.

Undoubtful of the veracity of the innocent looking guide, I leaped out of the boat, in the firm belief that the hand would quickly disappear at my approach; but, Ghewhiz! as I got within touch of it, sure enough I could see the flames issuing from between the fingers. Hearing a scream calling me to come away, I looked round and found both Niece and Niecie had followed up close behind. Then I felt relieved, for I knew the cause of the distinctive flames. Niece said she could bear the clank of the chains, and Niecie saw volumes of smoke issuing from the rock. Certainly it was trying on my temper to be so abruptly deprived of my intended investigation, but I should have known the history of woman's curiosity from the biblical days of Eve down to current-day 4 o'clock gossip. Any how, I did not feel game to say much, for obvious reasons. However, I mean to make a future investigation of this magical spot. It is just on the cards that a trip to the Naval Works at Jervis Bay is one of the tours at the close of the next Country Press Conference, and, if spared, I will take another run up the river, taking with me only such company as of a well-known saintly character, say two publicans and three stock and station agents. This would constitute a company of six with character of eminence further removed from the taint of suspicion than ever even Caesar's wife was commanded to be.

* Is Nowra Decadent?, The Shoalhaven Telegraph, 5 April 1916. A story by a Condobolin commentator on the boring nature of the town of Nowra noted:

With the "Devil's Hand" so near, it is perhaps better than our western [New South Wales] custom.

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1918

* The Devil's Hands, The Shoalhaven Telegraph, 10 April 1918. Extract from text:

Sunday morning in Elyard's Motor Launch 'Merindah,' we were taken some seven miles up the Shoalhaven River, and shown 'The Devil's Hands.' On the face of the rock in a cave, the imprint of two hands is plainly depicted, and it is said these go deep into the rock. To remove the uncanny effect necessitated breaking seals. Turning round we headed back and proceeded to Crookhaven Heads.

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1921

* A Few of the sights - Wonderful mountain outlook - A trip along the river, The Daily Telegraph, Sydney, 16 December 1921. Text:

The scenic beauties and attractions in the neighborhood of Nowra, and within easy reach of the prosperous town, must commend themselves to intending tourists. The majestic Shoalhaven offers illimitable opportunities for pleasure and enjoyment. Motor launches ply up and down the river, the trip in either direction unfolding glorious glimpses of the most charming and picturesque scenery to gladden the eye of the artist or the amateur photographer.... A launch trip up Broughton Creek to Berry and back is a never-to-be-forgotten pleasure. The Nowra Bridge is seen to consist of six spans, the length being 400ft., and from any point makes a striking snapshot. Bomaderry Creek abounds with picturesque nooks, and a striking picture up the river unfolds itself from the pavilion grandstand on the Nowra showground. The suspension bridge across Spain's Creek, at the bottom of the showground, is a favorite trysting place, and the Big Hole nearby affords good facilities for bathers. On the opposite side of the river is the Grotto, a mysterious cave, much frequented by local people and visitors. Further up is either a natural phenomenon or the existing evidence of ancient aboriginal carvings, known as the Devil's Hands - an impression on the huge rocks, representing large hands. There is no satisfactory explanation of it all - nothing but conjecture. Long Reach presents a striking stretch of the river; and Saltwater Creek, Bamarang, Wogamia, and Burrier (the head of navigation) are noted beauty spots. Rugged sandstone walls alternate with rich alluvial flats and picturesque homesteads on both sides of the river.

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1924

* [The Devil's Hands], South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus, 24 October 1924. Extract from text:

Bowls. Thirteen members of the Wollongong Club visited Nowra Saturday last by motor cars ..... A party remained in Nowra overnight .... The next morning they proceeded, per motor launch, some 15 miles up the Shoalhaven River. The delightful scenery they much enjoyed. They also had the pleasure of viewing the imprints of the Devil's Hand and fish on the rock's face. After lunch they returned via Jamberoo.

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1941

* C.C. Towle visits the Shoalhaven. C.f. Cole 1914 and Bindon 1976.

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1959

* D. Fraser, The rediscovery of a unique figure from Torres Straits, Man, 59, 1959, 61-64.

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1967

* Edgar Beale, Don and Devil on the Shoalhaven, Illawarra Historical Society Bulletin, February 1967. Text:

Don and Devil on the Shoalhaven: The visit to Sydney of the Peruvian training ship "Independoncia", tracing the course taken by Mendana from Peru to the Solomons in 1567 relates to the theory that Spanish voyagers from Peru reached the east coast of Australia during the sixteenth century. One of its exponents was Lawrence Hargrave, who maintained that the ship “Santa Ysobel", commanded by Lope de Vega, entered Sydney Harbour about 1595. Carvings on the rocks below his home at Point Piper had, he claimed, been made by Lope De Vega's crew. One piece of evidence adduced by Hargrave is of particular interest to lllawarra historians. A certain Mr Walter Hull sent him a photograph showing "a number of silhouette ‘hands' on an ironstone rock face on the Shoalhaven River; these have been there to the memory of the oldest inhabitant, no Aborigine will go near them." Hargrave's idea was that "boat-shaped marks refer to water journeys and footsteps to land journeys, and 'hands' refer to . . . the search for gold . . . If Lope de Vega got any gold near Sydney it was from the Shoalhaven River, and the 'hands' or ﬁngers are a record of the number of 'quills' of gold obtained." According to Mr. Hull, there were a number of other "isolated hands, 1, 2 or 3, not more, in various secluded caves in the district. You will understand these 'hands' are not carved, but are painted with some pigment that has withstood the weather for some hundreds of years . . . The local (Shoalhaven) Black's explanation is rather good. He said that the Devil was washed down the river in a ﬂood and got caught in the cave and tried to climb up the side of the cliff to escape the rising waters and his hands being (of course) red hot left the marks on the rock that we now see".

Whether made by Don or Devil (there was a difference, Kingsley, Tennyson and Newbolt to the contrary notwithstanding), the markings were there some years ago, and presumably they still are. Does anyone familiar with the Shoalhaven district know just where they are? or, failing that, where Mr Walter Hull lived? Any information on either point would be gratefully received by the editor. This is not a quiz question, but a genuine request for information that may throw light on a most curious and interesting byway of lllawarra history or prehistory.

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1976

* Peter Bindon, The devil's hands, a survey of the painted shelters of the Shoalhaven River basin, B.A. Hons. thesis, Department of Prehistory and Anthropology, Australian National University, 1976, 99p. C.f. Cole 1914 and Hargraves 1911. Bindon was most likely accompanied by sites officer Uncle Sonny Sims. The following are relevant extracts from Bindon's thesis.

[page 32 + Figure 10]

Devil's Hands (SR5)

Shelter with a small floor forming a platform five metres above the Shoalhaven River.

Techniques and Comments

Stencils of hands and implements. Imprints which are evident in the old photographs of this site have not been discernible in any of the light conditions prevailing when the site was visited. The lowers paintings are almost two metres from the present floor level. As much of the wrist and lower forearm are evident, it appears as though the stencils were made from a position below the hand.

Peter Bindon, The Devil's Hands, Figure 10, 1976.

[pages 61 to 66]

The Devil's Hands: Ethnographic and other evidence

An Aborigine who had been asked to explain the reasons for some paintings in a shelter known as the 'Devil's Hands' told the following story.

'Once there was a big flood and it rained a terrible lot up the river near Braidwood. Now the Devil, who lived at Braidwood, was washed into the river. He tired again and again to get out of the river but because the river runs through steep-sided gorges he just could not get out. The devil got boiling mad and made the steam rise from the water. Now the first place that he was able to get out of the river was in Humbug Beach where he climbed onto a ledge. The floodwater was still washing at his feet as he scrambled up the cliff. He was so mad that his hands were burning, and as he clambered up the cliff his hands burnt these marks on the rocks.'

Many of the original red ochre imprints have faded away as an inspection of the two comparative photographs shows, but it can be seen that many of the stencils remaining are beyond arms reach, and have been out of reach since the graffiti which are so blatantly clear were painted there. The graffiti are the work of a farmer who considering the name of the site, thought that this place might be appropriate for a religious message.

The 'Devil's Hands' has been the subject of another interesting story. Lawrence Hargrave, noted mainly for his writing on aviation, wrote on the possibilities of Spanish exploration and settlement on the east coast of New South Wales. On 13 January 1914 Hargrave completed a revision of his privately-printed pamphlet, 'Lope de Vega.' Page 10 of the manuscript reads:

On an ironstone rock face on the Shoalhaven River (plate 24) are many "hands". These have been there to the memory of the oldest inhabitant, no aboriginal will go near them. Gold is still washed in this river, and possibly these hands or fingers refer to the days worked here washing gold, or to the number of "quills" of gold obtained. Mr W.A. Hull who took the photograph says: "These ‘hands’ are found only in the Shoalhaven District, in addition to those I photographed, there are a number of isolated ‘hands’ 1, 2 or 3, not more in various secluded caves in the district. You will understand these ‘hands’ are not carved, but are painted with some pigment that has withstood the weather for some hundreds years. You will observe they nearly all differ in the arrangement of the fingers'. A cross is also seen in the photograph.'

Lawrence Hargrave suggests in the pamphlet that the company of the Santa Isabel under Lope de Vega arrived off the New South Wales coast in 1595 and proceed to exploit the resources of the district. The possible fate of the lost Santa Isabel is fully discussed in two papers by Jim Allen and Roger Green (Allen 1976, Allen and Green 1972). The Santa Isabel never reached Australia.

There is no doubt in my mind that Hargrave was completely wrong in attributing the decoration at the Devil's Hands to anyone other that the Aborigines. Nor can we place any credence in the statement by W.A. Hull that the stencilled hands are exclusive to the Shoalhaven district. It is interesting to note though, that the stencilled hands occur with the greatest frequency in the sites closest to Nowra, a town on the estuary of the Shoalhaven River. For Lawrence Hargrave, a drawing of a cross at the site was indisputable evidence that some Christians were involved in the production of the markings. The drawing of the cross is no longer visible. It is my opinion based on evidence from the whole of Australia, that this site has been used for a considerable time and that Aborigines who decorated the shelter had no Christian contact prior to, or even while doing so. The story recounted by the Aborigine at the beginning of this section was told after a substantial amount of Christian missionary contact and possibly loss of knowledge of pride in traditional lore and ceremonial practice. On the other hand, the Aborigine may have wished to disguise the real stories and meanings behind the art of the site. As present there are very few, if any, Aboriginals in the district who could assist with cultural interpretation.

Old postcards and photographs showing parts of the frieze at this site can be found in many old photograph albums in the Shoalhaven Distract. Often they are entitled 'The Mystery' or carry similar titles. The late Mr Jack Cole took numerous photos of interest to students of the history of the area, and among his collection of glass plate negatives was one of the site. I have used this photograph and others of his collection to illustrate the deterioration of the sites I have surveyed.

It is interesting to note that as long ago as 1849, Brough Symth (1876 Vol II:222) visited a shelter where stencilled hands could be seen. He records the following comments:

'On questioning the natives about these marks, they could give no rational account of them. They have very little curiosity about the cave, and pay no respect whatever to it; it does not seem to concern them or to belong to their people. On enquiring what they thought of the marks, one of them amused me with the following absurd story. He stated that his people believed that the moon once dwelt in that cave, but becoming tired of the confinement, he run up the roof of the cave, leaving his imprint at the top as he jumped up into the sky, where he has been wandering about ever since.'

From what we know about Aboriginal myths and legends it would have been wise for Brough Smyth to pursue his line of questioning. Unfortunately he displayed a cultural superiority which clouded his vision. The idea of some person climbing the walls in both these stories is perhaps more than coincidence. Both stories may represent the last vestiges of ancestor figure myths.

Four hundred metres to the south of the Devil's Hands' there is another painted shelter. It contains a stencilled hand, a small anthropomorphic figure and an unidentified linear figure ... A further one hundred metres to the south of the cave can be seen the remains of a ceremonial area. This site was described by Towle in 1942.... If the area around the Devil's Hands was shunned by the Aborigines of the area, as suggested by Hargrave, then we might conclude that this place was known to be of ceremonial significance in recent times.

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1987

* Roberta E. Stead, Towards a classification of Aboriginal stone arrangements: An investigation of methodological problems with a gazetteer of selected sites, Australian National University, Canberra, August 1987, 213p. Relevant extract from text:

Few [stone] arrangements in SNSW (southern New South Wales) are located near an art site. The Mundamia Creek site is unique in being within 250m of a small art shelter and 500m from a larger one, named the Devil's Hands on account of its numerous hand stencils [Bindon 1976:32-31]. It is impossible to draw conclusions about the relevance of the hands to the stone enclosure. It may be hypothesized that they served as some sort of signal, in which case the contemporaneity of the two sites would have to be assumed. However, an Aboriginal story noted by Bindon about the origin of the stencils included no reference to the stones, and local Aborigines interviewed by him in the 1970s did not know of the small art site or the arrangement [Bindon 1976:61-66].

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1991

* Archaeologist Kelvin Officer carries out a major study into conservation of the Aboriginal rock art of the south east region, for the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. It is unknown if the Devil's Hand site is referenced therein in any detail (Officer 1991).

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1995

* The Eastern Gas Pipeline construction passes close to the Devil's Hands site, approximately 30 metres east of the escarpment and shelter. Source: Peter J. Kuskie, Kerrie Navin and Kelvin Officer, An Aboriginal Archaeological and Anthropological Assessment of the Proposed Eastern Gas Pipeline Between Longford, Victoria and Wilton, New South Wales, Report to the Eastern Gas Pipeline Project, 1995.

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2005

* DEC 2005: A retelling of the Devil's Hands story from Bindon 1976:

… the devil once lived up the Shoalhaven River at Braidwood [headwaters of the Shoalhaven], and he got washed down in the floods. That [the Devils Hands rock shelter] was the only place where he could actually grab a hold of the rocks to climb out of the current. And when he climbed, because he was so mad and angry at being washed down he burnt his hand prints in as he climbed up and out of the shelter to safety (DEC 2005:67; Bindon 1976)

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2006

* Report prepared in association with a connection to the Eastern Gas Pipeline which had previous been put in place and passes close to the Devil's Hands site. No reference to the site is specifically included in the report, which identifies 26 sites in the immediate vicinity of the study area to the west, apart from inclusion of the Bindon 1976 thesis in the references. Source: Kerrie Navin and Kelvin Officer, Gas Power Facility and Associated Infrastructure at Bamarang, Nowra, NSW - Environmental Assessment - Appendix J: Aboriginal Cultural Heritage, Report to GHD and Delta Energy, Navin Officer Heritage Consultants Pty Ltd, March 2006, 48p. NB: This report follows on a previous study carried out in 1995 in connection with the construction of the Eastern Gas Pipeline.

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2011

* Denis Gojak, The Devil's Hands at the Shoalhaven, The Secret Visitors Project [blog], 20 March 2011; More Devil Hands make lighter work, The Secret Visitors Project [blog], 6 November 2011.

* Sue Feary and Heather Moorcroft, An Indigenous Cultural Heritage Plan for the Bundanon Trust Properties, August 2011, 88p.

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2015

* Aboriginal Paintings on Ben's Walk, The Finneys Down Under [blog], 4 June 2015. Account of a walk up Nowra Creek by a father and his young son, next the the Showground. A number of Aboriginal rock art works are shown through colour photographs, along with caged off areas. However, these are located east of the Devil's Hands site. It is introduced by the following text:

Liam and I headed out on Ben's Walk (my 4th time already) - in search of paintings by the Yuin aboriginal people (Dharawal-Dhurga language group) that I had read about in my bush walking guide. It required us doing half of Ben's Walk and then venturing off the trail up the stream farther to a caged-off protected area where the symbols of the Rainbow Serpent and Devil's hands are found. These paintings are thousands of years old.

Caged Aboriginal art site, Nowra Creek.

Sinuous, bi-coloured figure on Nowra Creek in clack charcoal and white, red and orange-red ochre. Reference: Bindon 1976, site SR4.

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2018

* Vanessa Edmonds and Ryan Taddeucci, Nowra Bridge Project, Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Assessment Report (PACHACI Stage 3), Report to SMEC, Shoalhaven City Council , August 2018, 140p.

* Leigh Marymor, Australian Rock Art Bibliography, extracted from the Rock Art Studies Bibliographic Database for the Years 1841 to 2008, Part 1, Rock Art Research, 35(2), 2018, 188-248.

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5. Discussion

Much of the text presented above reflects the opinions of the day concerning Indigenous civilisation and its relationship to the art work. The use of terms such as Blacks and Natives are now considered redundant, as are many of the attitudes expressed in those late 1800s and early 1900s reports and newspaper items. Some of the issues arising from the above information include the following:

* The amount of art works present on the site over time.

* The type of art works - what are they and what is their significance? The hands as depicted by Bindon in 1976 are approximately 110-120 mm, which is a similar size to that of the author who is aged 67 years at the time of writing. It had been commented to the author that the size of the hands on the site appeared too large to be by a modern Homo sapien sapien and may in fact have been put in place by a person of large size, as in a giant. This is an issue which can be followed up. The following image from a rock art site in the Royal National Park, northern Illawarra, reveals some of the detailed aspects of hand art which can also be seen in some of the Devil's Hands images and other similar art from across Australia.

Rock art, Royal National Park, New South Wales.

* The age of the art work. This is not known as no scientific techniques such as Carbon-14 dating have been applied, either at the site or within the Shoalhaven region. However, it likely predates the arrival of non-Indigenous people in the region and may date back thousands of years.

* The origin of the term Devil's Hands. The aforementioned 1879 reference to the term Debbil is relevant. It is possible that this word - which appears to be an Aboriginal pronunciation of the Christian word devil though prior to this was an English word for Satan (viz. Sydney Gazette 15 July 1830) and even earlier a French word for doctor or healer - partially explains the adoption of the term Devil's Hands, especially if that site on the Shoalhaven River is connected by the local people to elements of the spiritual, the mystical and there paranormal. Christian bigotry attributed to the Aboriginal people of Australia paganism from their first encounters. As such, any of their spiritual beliefs were cast in a negative light and , in extreme examples, such as seen in the Shoalhaven instance, linked to the devil or satanic practices. Of course, this was a total misreading of Indigenous spirituality and ultimately gave rise, through the missionary movement especially, to a element of cultural genocide which was also supported by government and large elements of the general non-Indigenous population for over first two centuries.

* Official status. This is unknown at the present stage. It is assumed all the 32+ sites listed in the 1976 Bindon thesis have been placed on the National Parks and Wildlife Service register.

* Caging of sites. This has taken place on a number of sites in the Shoalhaven region, in order to prevent them being damaged or subject to graffiti attacks. Unfortunately they also inhibit access and study. It was likely carried out by Shoalhaven City Council in collaboration with the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service (Organ 1994).

* Indigenous relationship with the site and its content. It is obvious from the historic record that the site is not easily spoken about by Aboriginal people. This would point to its relationship to burial practicals or other mystical or spiritual beliefs. Just a non-Indigenous societies treat such matters with both respect and, in some instances fear, the same can be said to apply in regard to Australian Aboriginal civilisation.

* The future of the site? It is hoped by the present author that the history and cultural significance of the site can become more widely known and that the information provided to schools and the wider community can assist in revealing the richness and complexity of the civilisation of the First Nations peoples of Australia.

Escarpment (marked in yellow) west of Mundamia Creek, on the south side of the Shoalhaven River, 18 May 2024.

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6. Appendix 1: Shoalhaven rock art sites

Peter Bindon, in his 1976 thesis on the Devil's Hands, listed the following 44 rock art sites in the Shoalhaven region, illustrating with line drawings the elements then visible to him wherever he was able to personally inspect a site. Bindon's titles are given.

BF1 - Belmore Falls - shelter overlooking a wooded valley. Animals, fish and hands in yellow and red pigment plus charcoal.
BG1 - Budgong - small overhang. Figure and hands in red and white pigment plus charcoal.
BG2 - Budgong- small overhang in cliff line. Figure and hands in red and white pigment plus charcoal.
BG3 - Budgong- small overhang in cliff line. Figure and hands in red and white pigment plus charcoal.
CM1 - Black and White Site - tiny overhang on Cambewarra Mountain. Humans and animals in red and white pigment plus charcoal.
CM2 - Cambewarra Mountain Site - small shelter overlooking Kangaroo Valley. Humans and animals in red and white pigment plus charcoal.
CM3 - No Colour Site - small overhang on Cambewarra Mountain. Humans and animals in red and white pigment plus charcoal.
BC1 - Bomaderry Creek - shelter on the creek. Human and animal charcoal drawings.
SR1 - Smithy Creek - small shelter overlooking a small Shoalhaven River flat. Red ochre and charcoal sketches.
SR2 - Geoff Mottram's Cave - shelter overlooking Shoalhaven River flat. Yellow and red pigment hands and lines / circles.
SR3 - Nowra Creek - large shelter overlooking Nowra Creek. Stencilled white pigment hands and lines.
SR4 - Scout Hall - shelter above Nowra Creek. Orange-red and white pigment plus charcoal of fish, figures and lines.
SR5 - Devil's Hands - shelter with small floor five metres above the Shoalhaven River. Stencils of hands and implements.
SR6 - Mundamia Creek - small shelter near Mundamia Creek and Sandy Creek. White stencilled hand and figure. Bindon also describes a nearby Bora Ground (figure 12).
SR7 - Bamarang - large shelter two kilometres from the Shoalhaven River
BP1 - Currarong 1 - shelter overlooking Abraham's Bosom Creek, Beecroft Penninsula. Red and white pigment of feet, figure and fish.
BP2 - Currarong 2 - shelter overlooking Abraham's Bosom Creek, Beecroft Penninsula. White and red-orange pigment of figure and hands.
BP3 - Currarong - shelter on Abraham's Bosom Creek, Beecroft Penninsula. White hand stencils.
BP4 - Currarong - shelter on Abraham's Bosom Creek, Beecroft Penninsula. White hand stencils.
BP5 - Fish Stencil Cave - shelter near Cat Creek, Beecroft Penninsula. White and red pigment plus charcoal numerous figures of fish, hands and animals.
BP6 - Foot Stencil Shelter - shelter near Cat Creek, Beecroft Penninsula. White hand and foot stencils.
BP7 - Ellis' Cave - shelter overlooking Cat Creek, Beecroft Penninsula. White stencilled hands.
BP8 - Carol's Cave - shelter in large boulder on cliff line, Beecroft Penninsula. Red hand stencils and charcoal figure.
B1 - Bundanoon - small shelter. Red and white hand stencils and drawings.
B2 - Bundanoon - small overhang above Paddy's River, as reported by Thorpe (1909). Charcoal figures and drawings.
W1 - Wandandian - shelter overlooking Gnatilia Creek. Red pigment plus charcoal drawings of humans and fish.
Q1 - Quiera - shelter on Myall Creek, a tributary of Ettrema Creek. White linear figures.
J1 - Jerrawangala (Perch Hole) - shelter above Wandandian Creek. White stencilled boomerang and charcoal drawing of human figure.
NE1 - Nerriga - shallow overhang. Charcoal drawing of human figures.
CN1 - Flat Iron Creek - large shelter on a tributary of Cole's Creek, expanding upon McCarthy (1959). White pigment and charcoal figures of animals and humans and birds.
CN2 - Flat Iron Creek Site - on a tributary of Cole's Creek, expanding upon McCarthy (1959). White pigment and charcoal figures of animals, platypus, goanna, humans, fish and implements.
CN3 - Flat Iron Creek Site - on a tributary of Cole's Creek, expanding upon McCarthy (1959). White and red pigment and charcoal figure of human and lines.
CN4 - Bunnair Creek Shelter - expanding upon McCarthy (1959)
CN5 - Bunnair Creek Shelter - expanding upon McCarthy (1959)
CN6 - Stan's Site - shelter on a tributary of Cole's Creek
CN7 - Thompson Site - shelter on a tributary of Cole's Creek
CN8 - Thompson Site - overhand on Conjola Creek
CN9 - Thompson Site - overhang on Conjola Creek
CN10 - Thompson Site - overhang on Conjola Creek
CN11 - Conjola - shelter on tributary of Bunnair Creek
CN12 - Conjola - shelter on tributary of Bunnair Creek
PH1 - Tony's Cave - shelter on Pigeon House Mountain
PH2 - Waterfall Cave - shelter on Pigeon House Mountain
PH3 - Doug's Cave - shelter on Pigeon House Mountain

It can be noted from this survey that most of the surviving rock art sites are seen associated with the sedimentary rock (sandstone) cliff lines that are common throughout the region, especially associated with creeks. As such, they are not generally found on the flat land to the east and near the coast. Their often protected nature, due to inaccessibility and foliage has given rise to their preservation. The Devil;s Hands site is one such example.

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7. Appendix 2: 1839 - The tale of Kootooboongoo and the Debbil Debbil

Extract from Donald Cameron, Christmas Forty Years Ago, The Northern Star, Lismore, 20 December 1879. This story reveals aspects of the Debbil Debbil which was a traditional dark spirit in the Aboriginal cultural heritage of south eastern Australia, The full story reveals aspects of the often violent conflict between Indigenous and non-Indigenous society, and the bias and racist attitudes then common:

The Hunter tribe of blacks at that time [1839] was very numerous, the men of a fierce nature, and of a better physique than the inland natives, probably because the rich land supplied plenty of food. The corroborees were quite a grand sight, as many as 600 or 700 blacks assembling, a general Donnybrook fair fight ending the meeting, particularly if there was any rum about..... The chief of the [local] tribe, whose name was popularly One-eyed Jack, but in Kamalroi, Kootooboongoo ..... was a firm believer in the "debbil debbil", a creature with one eye in its head, its form like that of a horse.

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8. References

Aboriginal Paintings on Ben's Walk, The Finneys Down Under [blog], 4 June 2015.

Bicego, Vincent, ReDreaming Dharawal: A transcultural and multi-disciplined approach to the Aboriginal art and landscapes of southern Sydney, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, School of Arts, English and Media, University of Wollongong, 2017.

Bindon, Peter, The devil's hands, a survey of the painted shelters of the Shoalhaven River basin, B.A. Hons. thesis, Department of Prehistory and Anthropology, Australian National University, 1976, 99p.

Douglas Stewart, The Devil's Hands, Nowra [photograph], 10 April 1909, Douglas Stewart Fine Books, accessed 30 April 2024.

Edmonds, Vanessa and Ryan Taddeucci, Nowra Bridge Project, Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Assessment Report (PACHACI Stage 3), Report to SMEC, Shoalhaven City Council , August 2018, 140p.

Faulstich, Paul, Rock Art - Australian Aboriginal, in Bron Taylor and Jeffrey Kaplan (eds.), Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature, Continuum International, New York, 2006.

Feary, Sue and Heather Moorcroft, An Indigenous Cultural Heritage Plan for the Bundanon Trust Properties, August 2011, 88p.

Fraser, D., The rediscovery of a unique figure from Torres Straits, Man, 59, 1959, 61-64.

Gojak, Denis, Hargrave - they searched for gold, The Secret Visitors Project [blog], 10 March 2011.

-----, The Devil's Hands at the Shoalhaven, The Secret Visitors Project [blog], 20 March 2011.

-----, More Devil Hands make lighter work, The Secret Visitors Project [blog], 6 November 2011.

-----, Lawrence Hargrave’s Spanish Sydney, Placenames Australia: the newsletter of the Australian National Placenames Survey, December 2012, 3 & 6-8.

-----, Lawrence Hargrave and Norman Lindsay, The Secret Visitors Project [blog], 29 December 2013.

Greig, A.W., Aboriginal art: with an account of the mysterious rock pictures of the Glenelg District [W.A.], The Lone Hand, 5, 1 May 1909, 42-48.

Hargrave, Lawrence, Lope de Vega, Journal of the Royal Society of New South Wales, 43, 1909, 39-54, 412-425.

-----, Lope de Vega: in continuation of previous publications contained in the Journal of the Royal Society of New South Wales, Vols XLIII, XLIV, 1909, 1910, Sydney, 1911.

Hermit, Up the Shoalhaven, Shoalhaven Telegraph, 10 April 1909.

Howitt, A.W., The Native Tribes of South-East Australia, Macmillan and Co., London, 1904.

Kinsela, W.H., Aboriginal Rock Paintings of the South Coast, The Australian Museum Magazine, XI(4), 1953, 108-112.

Kuskie, P., K. Navin and K. Officer, An Aboriginal Archaeological and Anthropological Assessment of the Proposed Eastern Gas Pipeline Between Longford, Victoria and Wilton, New South Wales, Report to the Eastern Gas Pipeline Project, 1995.

Marymor, Leigh, Australian Rock Art Bibliography, extracted from the Rock Art Studies Bibliographic Database for the Years 1841 to 2008, Part 1, Rock Art Research, 35(2), 2018, 188-248.

McCarthy, F.D., Cave Art of the Conjola District, New South Wales, Records of the Australian Museum, XXIV(13), 191-202.

McDonald, W.G., Lawrence Hargrave of Stanwell Park: a sketch of his life and work, Illawarra Historical Society, Wollongong, second edition, 1974.

M'Lennan, Reverend D., The archaeological import of painting hands on the Shoalhaven River, Shoalhaven Telegraph, 2 November 1895.

MJC, The Beautiful Shoalhaven River - The Devil's Hands and Other Things, Lachlander and Condobolin and Western Districts Recorder, 15 March 1916.

Navin, Kerrie and Kelvin Officer, Gas Power Facility and Associated Infrastructure at Bamarang, Nowra, NSW - Environmental Assessment - Appendix J: Aboriginal Cultural Heritage, Report to GHD and Delta Energy, Navin Officer Heritage Consultants Pty Ltd, March 2006, 48p.

Officer, Kelvin, South East Region Rock Art Conservation Project, Volumes 1 and 2, Report to the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, 1991.

-----, Southeast Region Rock Art Conservation Project: An Evaluation of the Significance, Conservation and Management Requirements of 20 Aboriginal Rock Art Sites (including two major site complexes) within the NPWS NSW Southeast Region, Volumes 1 and 2, Report to the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, 1991.

Organ, Michael, A conspiracy of silence - the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Sites, Aboriginal Law Bulletin, 3 ALB 67, April 1994, 4-7.

Stead, Roberta E., Towards a classification of Aboriginal stone arrangements: An investigation of methodological problems with a gazetteer of selected sites, Australian National University, Canberra, August 1987, 213p.

The Devil's Hands, The Shoalhaven Telegraph, 10 April 1918.

[The Devil's Hands], South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus, 24 October 1924.

The Devil's Hands, Shoalhaven River [photograph], Shoalhaven Telegraph, 20 December 1905.

The Devil's Hands at the Shoalhaven, The Secret Visitors Project [blog], 20 March 2011.

Thorpe, W.W., Aboriginal Drawings in Rock Shelters at Bundanoon, N.S.W., Records of the Australian Museum, 7, 1909, 325-8.

Towle, C.C., An arrangement of stones and some rock drawings near Nowra, Victorian Naturalist, LVIII, March 1942, 172-4.

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9. Acknowledgements

In the compilation of this article, and particularly in their support for the ongoing task of protecting, preserving and promoting the significance of this item of Shoalhaven Indigenous cultural heritage, I would like to thank local community member Mitch Laskar, and academic researcher Dr. Jennifer Saunders. I would also like to thank members of the Shoalhaven Walking Together Group in enabling me to once again connect with this aspect of the ancient history of Australia, particularly Megan Pickett, local Elder Gerry Moore, and Lisa Ogle.

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Last updated: 22 October 2024

Michael Organ, Australia (Home)

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