Whale Cave, Illawarra, Australia

Australian Aborigines / Indigenous / First Nations archive

Whale Cave's charcoal and ochre drawings of a whale and emus are believed to be at least 6,000 years old. Source: ABC Illawarra: Tim Fernandez.

1. A sacred site

The Whale Cave is a significant and sacred Australian Aboriginal rock art and story site located within the Illawarra Escarpment near Wollongong, on the coast of New South Wales approximately 50 miles south of Sydney. According to a Google search AI response during August 2026 the following information is publically available on the site:

  • Key Features
    • Ancient Rock Art: The cave contains over 200 charcoal and ochre drawings estimated to be at least 6,000 years old.
    • Rare X-Ray Style: It features a depiction of a whale painted in a rare "X-ray" style - making it the only known site on the New South Wales South Coast with this artistic technique, which is more commonly found in the Northern Territory.
    • Other Figures: Alongside the whale, the walls feature drawings of local animals like a goanna and an emu.
    • Cultural Significance: For the local Dharawal nation and Indigenous community, the cave is a living spiritual site connected to Dreamtime stories of whale migration, rather than just a historical relic.
  • Location and Access
    • Restricted Area: The cave sits within a protected water catchment area over the escarpment near Dombarton and is not publicly accessible. [Additional: The land is owned by mining giant BHP, which mines coal in the area and who further restrict access.]
    • Conservation Concerns: Local First Nations leaders and the Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council have raised concerns regarding historical damage from past coal mining subsidence and ongoing lack of community access to protect the fragile site.

A number of public reports on the site have appeared over time, with the most recent being an episode of the Yesterday Stories video short series by cinematographer and documentarian Sandra Pries, with comments by local Indigenous people Carol Speechley and Peter Button.

Inside the Illawarra's Whale Cave - A story by Carol Speechley

During 2020 local Aboriginal representatives were granted access to the private land containing the cave. A comprehensive ABC News report noted of the site and the visit:

Whale Cave features more than 200 ochre and charcoal drawings estimated to be at least 6,000 years old Indigenous leaders have not been able to access significant sites for decades, and in some cases not at all. The Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council says the NSW Planning system that allows the destruction needs to be changed.

The land is owned by mining giant BHP Billiton and its subsidiary Illawarra Coal. As the land is also part of the Illawarra Catchment Area, managed by the State government authority Sydney Water, during 2006 that organisation installed protective steel mesh over the entrance to prevent public access to the site, along with wooden props internally to stop further collapse of the roof. The latter provided only a short term solution, with falls continuing over subsequent years.

A large metal fence has been installed to protect Whale Cave, but it is also stopping the community connecting with its history. Source: ABC Illawarra: Kelly Fuller.

Timber props are the only things preventing the sandstone cave from collapsing. Source: ABC Illawarra: Tim Fernandez.

The ABC News story featured a number of images of the interior of the cave and comments by members of the Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council (ILALC) Jade Kennedy and Paul Knight.

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2. References

ClickView, Whale Cave - Video and resources, ClickView, duration: 3.28 minutes. [Educational resource access point to Sandra Pries documentary]

Freer, Guy, P. Knight, A. Seyderhelm, E. Brown, E. Yap, A. Mackay, Paul Di Pietro, and T. Williams, Whale Cave VR - a site-specific immersive environment developed in partnership with the Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council [Creative Work], School of the Arts, English and Media, University of Wollongong, 1 April 2022.

Fuller, Kelly, Indigenous leaders appalled after being granted access to Illawarra's Whale Cave after decades, ABC News, Wollongong, 2 October 2020.

Further Mining Damage to Aboriginal cultural sites revealed in New South Wales [audio], Australia Wide, ABC News Radio, 2 October 2020, duration: 30 minutes.

Mt. Kembla's Dharawal History, Kembla Jottings, 15 March 2019.

Parliament of Australia, Paul Knight of the Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council testimony before the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia - Destruction of 46,000-year-old caves at the Juukan Gorge, Senate, Parliament of Australia, 9 March 2021.

Pries, Sandra (director), Inside the Illawarra's Whale Cave, Yesterday Stories, Facebook, 17 September 2020, duration: 3.28 minutes. Story by Carol Speechley.

-----, King Hooka, Yesterday Stories, Facebook, 6 June 2026, duration: 4.09 minutes.

Reeves, J and Regal, R., The Unexpected Outcomes of 25 years of Subsidence Monitoring of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Sites in the Southern Coalfield of NSW, in Mine Subsidence Technological Society 10th Triennial Conference Proceedings - Mine Subsidence: Adaptive Innovation for Managing Challenges,, 2017.

Sefton, Carol, Overview of the monitoring of sandstone overhangs for the effects of mining subsidence in
the Illawarra Coal Measures, Unpublished report for Collieries Division, BHP Coal, 2000.

Swart, Genevieve, Adventures in Dharawal: SUP and True Stories Festival with Dr. Jodie Edwards, The Illawarra Flame, 17 November 2023.

Taylor, Jackie, Advice on Modification Report - State Significant Development - Wongawilli Coal - MOD 2 - North West Mains Development (MPO9_0161-Mod-2), Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Regulation - South Section, New South Wales Government, 24 February 2021.

Yesterday Stories: The Whale Cave, x-ray art and our Indigenous history, Illawarra Mercury, 6 October 2023.

Whale Cave photographs, Dapto History in Photos, Facebook, 6 January 2022.

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Australian Aborigines / Indigenous / First Nations archive

Last updated: 25 August 2026

Michael Organ, Australia

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