Baiame Cave

The site is significantly positioned above the valley floor in close proximity to a permanent water source, and acts as a gallery, enabling the Wonnarua people and visitors from neighbouring Aboriginal nations to view their 'Creator'.

[2] The cave and rock art are exposed to the elements throughout the year, but a sloped floor provides good drainage, keeping it dry and free from moisture.

[2] In 1993, the National Parks and Wildlife Service constructed a wooden and compacted earth stairway leading from the unsealed road within the privately owned property to a viewing platform close to the entrance of Baiame Cave, to provide a safe access route and deter inappropriate access to the site.

[2] For the past 40 years, the private landowners have managed the site through regular inspections, and deterring livestock and inappropriate access.

[2] In 2015, the site remains relatively untouched by vandalism, the artwork is considered to be in its original form, but with fading and deterioration of the pigments caused by natural weathering.

Baiame Cave is linked to the Creation story, country and totem (the Eagle) of the Wonnarua people, and is interconnected with numerous other Aboriginal cultural and heritage sites and landscapes throughout the Hunter Valley and NSW.

[2] Baiame is directly associated with several significant Dreaming sites and stories throughout south-east Australia, which have previously been declared Aboriginal Places or listed on the SHR.

[2] Baiame Cave continues to demonstrate the importance of ancestral beings, creation stories and Dreaming sites throughout Aboriginal communities, providing the Wonnarua people with a place that enables them to maintain traditional practices and customs, share oral histories, creation stories and traditional lore (law).

Just to explain about the drawings around the figure, there's boomerangs there which are called boringan in the Wonnarua language, stone axes which are interpreted as mogos.

Baiame Cave rock art
Baiame Cave rock art