Australia: History: Figure 1. Section and ground plot of two caverns at Wellington Valley. (Reproduced with permission from a copy held in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.) Australia: History: Figure 2. Hellyer’s 1827 plan of Rocky Cape North Cave. (Reproduced with permission of the Roberts family and the University of Tasmania Library)

doi:10.4324/9780203483855-62

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Australia: History: Figure 1. Section and ground plot of two caverns at Wellington Valley. (Reproduced with permission from a copy held in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.) Australia: History: Figure 2. Hellyer’s 1827 plan of Rocky Cape North Cave. (Reproduced with permission of the Roberts family and the University of Tasmania Library)

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ABSTRACT

In South Australia the Narracoorte Caves (formerly Mosquito Plains Caves), on the traditional lands of the Boandik people, were first entered by Europeans in 1845 when Benjamin Sanders recovered some of his sheep from what became known as Blanche Cave, where they had been driven by the Aborigines. A reserve was placed over the cave in the late 1870s, but the first ranger was not appointed until 1885. William Reddan was in charge of the cave from 1886 and discovered others; he resigned in 1916 (Lewis, 1977).