WURRWURRWUY STONE
ARRANGEMENTS
Wurrwurrwuy was inscribed on the National Heritage List in August 2013 in recognition of the
place’s outstanding heritage value to the nation. Wurrwurrwuy is the 99th place to be included on
the National Heritage List.
Wurrwurrwuy is the Yolngu name for an area in north-east Arnhem Land where a well-preserved series of rare
Aboriginal ‘stone pictures’ lie. They record the history of trepang (sea cucumber) trade between the Yolngu of
Arnhem Land and Macassans from Sulawesi in Indonesia.
The stone pictures were created by a father and son in the 19th century as a way to provide younger men with
an idea of both the Macassan way of life and trepang trading and processing. The stones lie on the land of
Lamomirri clan but on the death of the last Lamomirri man, they were taken into custody of the Gumatj clan.
Extending over an area of about 80 metres by 70 metres, the 47 stone pictures are divided into three groups.
Pictures at the southern end of the place depict mainly Macassan subjects in simple outlines. The northern
group depicts Macassan life in a different pictorial style with stones of varying sizes used to detail the pictures,
while the western group of pictures features both Macassan and Aboriginal subjects. Much of the
understanding of Wurrwurrwuy is drawn from the accounts of traditional owners of the country, as well as a
detailed record of the site made by researcher Campbell Macknight in 1967.
Trepang—Australia’s first export
Dutch East India Company documents show that an intensive trepang catching and processing industry was
established around 1750. This was the first export industry to be established on the Australian continent and
drew Australia into the regional economy. Trepang was fished and processed in the wet season and then
traded into China, where it was considered a delicacy. It is estimated that the trepang trade reached its peak
during the 19th century, with between 30 and 60 praus, or double-hulled canoes, visiting the northern
Australian coast each year
In 1803, during his circumnavigation of Australia, Mathew Flinders met a fleet of Macassan praus anchored in
the waters off the English Company Islands group. Flinders learned from the captain of the fleet that Macassan
praus came to the coast of northern Australia every year on the north-west monsoon winds to collect and dry
trepang.
The Macassan involvement in the trepang industry ended in 1906, when the South Australian Government—
administering the Northern Territory at the time—restricted licenses to locally owned boats. Trepang
processing sites on the Kimberley, Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt coasts, along with pottery, rock art and
the presence of exotic tamarind trees, are evidence of the Macassan trepang industry in northern Australia.
Rare depictions
The stone pictures at Wurrwurrwuy are highly unusual as, unlike most Aboriginal stone arrangements, they
depict historical objects rather than ceremonial or sacred images. The stone pictures include representations
of Macassan praus, canoes, houses, trepang fireplaces and drying houses, sharpening stones for iron knives
and other images relating to the Macassan trepang industry.
In particular, the two pictures of the internal layout of a prau are exceptionally rare. These pictures are an
illustration of the knowledge learned by Aboriginal people during visits to or voyages on the Macassan praus.
Historical records show that Aboriginal people travelled in praus to Sulawesi and more distant ports, including
Singapore.
In 1967, two Aboriginal men, Mungurrawuy Yunupingu and Mawalan Marika, told Campbell Macknight how
the stone pictures represented different parts of a prau, including the crews’ quarters, galley, dining space,
store and water tank. They also gave Macassan names for the parts of the sailboat, such as the rudder,
bowsprit and mast.
Cultural exchanges
As a result of their contact with the Macassans through the trepang industry, Aboriginal people in Arnhem
Land adopted several elements of Macassan culture. Anthropologists have recognised that the interactions
with Macassans in Arnhem Land influenced Aboriginal culture, ceremonies and song cycles. Representations of
Macassan anchors were used in Yolngu ceremonial sand pictures and Macassans and their voyages are
important in some ceremonies and song cycles, which may reference Muslim prayers.
Detailed oral history associated with Wurrwurrwuy shows that the Yolngu adopted Macassan words into their
vocabulary, such as words for different parts of praus and their rigging. Oral history also provides accounts of
Aboriginal people working for Macassans on trepang sites. This contact between Macassans and Aboriginal
people also led to changes in Aboriginal economies with an increased relationship to the sea and the
introduction of steel and iron. For example, Macassan-era middens show a greater number of dugong and
turtle remains than earlier middens and the Yolngu lipalipa, or dugout canoe and steel headed fishing spears
were based on Macassan technology.
The Wurrwurrwuy stone pictures tell us the story of contact between the Yolngu and Macassan peoples in the
1700s to 1800s. They also tell us much about Aboriginal ingenuity, cultural heritage and tradition and are of
outstanding national heritage value to the nation.