Adelaide: Vandals at the Coonalda Cave tore down parts of a barbed wire fence before finger-painting Indigenous artwork at the Coonalda Cave, according to South Australia's Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.
"To put it simply, it is shocking. According to him, these caves are some of the earliest signs of Aboriginal occupation of that part of the country," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Wednesday.
The indigenous Miring people who live on the Nullarbor Plain consider the artwork sacred.
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Maher, who also serves as the state's attorney general, warned that anyone found guilty could be prosecuted. If convicted of violating state laws protecting tribal heritage, the offender could face up to six months in prison or pay a $10,000 fine.
Maher said officials were committed to toughening up these punishments, which have been in place since 1988, and they were also looking at adding cameras and other security measures to the site, which is designated as a National Historic Landmark. is listed.
He declared, "This is not some sort of unintentional blunder." "It was deliberately destroyed by someone who tore down the barbed wire and fence. I can't think of a worse act of vandalism.
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Miring community elder Clem Lowry expressed his horror at the devastation to the Adelaide Advertiser and said he had repeatedly asked the state government to better protect the site, but to no avail.
According to the National Heritage Listing of Koonalda Cave, the location has distinctive archaeological deposits and well-preserved fingerprints.
According to the listing, "Coonalda Caves is of outstanding heritage value to the nation for its role in transforming our current understanding of the extraordinary age of Aboriginal art, archeology and occupation in Australia."
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The location has a significant impact on the history of Aboriginal occupation and has special meaning for the Miring people.