Surveys of the Flinders Ranges, 1905 to about 1913

Herbert Basedow with horses and a wagon on the plains east of Lyndhurst, South Australia 1907. He stands at the front of a horse-drawn wagon, facing the camera. The wagon faces to the right of the image, as do the two horses harnessed to it. Basedow wears trousers, shoes, a long-sleeved shirt and a hat. He rests his right hand upon some expedition equipment on the buggy. The gound around him and the wagon is covered in patchy grass and rocks. A flat, featureless plain extends away behind Basedow all the way to the horizon. The sky takes up about the top third of the image. - click to view larger image — Herbert Basedow on the plains east of Lyndhurst

Herbert Basedow carried out six field trips to the Flinders Ranges region of South Australia between 1905 and about 1913.

His initial visits were primarily geological investigations on behalf of the South Australian Mines Department. Later trips may have been to continue his investigations of Aboriginal rock engravings that he had seen in the region.

Rock engravings, Balparana, South Australia 1905. A set of Aboriginal rock engravings can be seen on a rock face that is relatively smooth. The engravings are grouped to the right side of the image. Some of them appear to be Aboriginal customary representations of animal tracks. The rock face has some weathering marks that run obliquely across it from upper right to lower left. Other parts of the rock face are cracked and show evidence of layers having fallen from the main formation. - click to view larger image — Rock engravings

Rock engravings, Deception Creek, Flinders Ranges, South Australia 1905 to about 1913. Several Aboriginal customary engravings can be seen on a fractured rock face. The engravings possibly represent spirit figures and animals. Three large vertical fractures and three oblique fractures are visible on the rock face. There are other rock faces above and below the engravings. The point of view of the photograph suggests that it was taken from below the engravings, looking up at the rock face. Deep fissures and overhangs create shadows on all of the rock faces in the photograph. - click to view larger image — Rock engravings

Rock engravings, Deception Creek, Flinders Ranges, South Australia 1905 to about 1913. A small set of engravings is visible on a smooth section of a rock face. The Aboriginal customary designs are difficult to see on the rock face; one of them appears to be a representation of an animal. The engravings have been made by stiple marks, which are multiple dots creating each separate design. A large fissure in the rock face at the right appears to separate one small engraving from the others. - click to view larger image — Rock engravings

Red Gorge, South Australia 1905 to about 1913. A view across a plain to a range of hills in the distance. In the foreground is tall grass and a single tree to the left. The ground beyond appears to slope gently down to the plain, upon which scattered trees sit in amongst grass clumps. In the distance are three peaks in the range of hills. At the left is a partially visible table-top hill; in the middle is a domed hill and to the right is another domed hill. Each hilltop is separated by flanks that curve down from on hilltop and up to the next. The curves are constant, giving the range the appearance of waves on water. Another tabletop hill is just visible at the far right, behind the range with the three hilltops. Small shadows under the trees on the plain suggest that the sun is almost directly overhead. - click to view larger image — Red Gorge

Basedow was convinced the engravings were of some antiquity. However, as with all scientists and researchers of his time, he was hampered by the lack of direct dating techniques.

In 1914 he published an article describing the Flinders Ranges engravings. This was the first time these 'relics of the unique type of aboriginal art', as he called them, had been brought to the attention of the scientific world.

Map outlining the expedition through the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. The sylised map shows the land mass in an ochre yellow colour and sea areas in dark brown. Four inland lakes are indicated on the map by blue shapes. There is no information in regard to other surface features such as contours and transport. Locations such as Adelaide, Port Augusta, Marree, Leigh Creek and the Flinders Ranges are indicated on the map. The eastern South Australian border is visible at the far right of the map. The intersection of the South Australian, New South Wales and Victorian borders is just visible in the bottom right corner of the map. A small white map of Australia is in the upper left hand corner, showing the expedition area as a small vertical rectangle.

Map outlining expeditions through the Flinders Ranges region in South Australia between 1905 and about 1913

Surveys of the Flinders Ranges, 1905 to about 1913

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