The Abercrombie Caves, contained within the

Abercrombie Karst Conservation Reserve Abercrombie may refer to: People * Abercrombie Lawson (1870–1927), botanist and professor * Abercrombie (surname) (list of people with the family name Abercrombie) Places Americas * Abercrombie, North Dakota, United States, city in Richland Co ...

, are a series of limestone arch

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s that are located in the Central West region of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The caves are renowned for their

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

qualities, namely the formation that has been

eroded Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust, and then sediment transport, tra ...

by water action that has developed from a

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

to become a

blind valley A steephead valley, steephead or blind valley is a deep, narrow, flat bottomed valley with an abrupt ending. Such closed valleys may arise in limestone or karst landscapes, where a layer of permeable rock lies above an impermeable substract such ...

. Several good examples of crayback formations exist in both entrances. The reserve is situated south of and north of , near the small village of . The caves are registered as a natural heritage site on the

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...

for its large diversity of karst morphological and sedimentological features. Camping in the reserve is permitted, with sixty campground sites and two cottages. The caves are open seven days a week during school holidays; and closed on Monday and Tuesday during school terms.

Features

The most popular feature of the Abercrombie Caves is ''The Archway'' the largest natural arch in the southern hemisphere. Within ''The Archway'' cave is the gold miners dance platform built in January 1880 by gold miners, replacing a platform built in the 1860s, the 1880s platform is still used for performances to this day including the annual Carols in the Caves performance. Other caves within the reserve are ''King Solomon's Temple'', ''Cathedral Cave'', ''Grove Cave'', and the ''Bushranger's Cave''.

History

It is believed that a tourist party visited the caves in 1834 but the Caves were not 'officially' discovered until 1842 by Surveyor W. R. Davidson. Surveyor Wells discovered the Koh-i-noor, Bushranger, Long Tunnel, and Cathedral caves and the Hall of

Terpsichore In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (; grc-gre, Τερψιχόρη, "delight in dancing") is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word " terpsichorean" which means "of or relating to dance". Appearance ...

(The Dance Hall) in 1843. Explorer

William Wentworth William Charles Wentworth (August 179020 March 1872) was an Australian pastoralist, explorer, newspaper editor, lawyer, politician and author, who became one of the wealthiest and most powerful figures of early colonial New South Wales. Throug ...

and Governor Charles Fitzroy visited Abercrombie Caves in 1844. It is believed that various

bushranger Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up "robbery under ...

s used the caves as a hideout during the 1800s. The earliest known is the Ribbon Gang who used the caves in 1830. Gold was discovered in the area in 1854. A gold exploration community was established at Mount Gray, just above the caves. Miners from many of the surrounding communities would often visit the caves for recreation. The caves were originally known as Burragylong Caverns and during the mining period they became known as Abercrombie caves. Vandalism occurred in the early days when many pieces of white marble were carted away by the visitors as souvenirs and the miners damaged many of the formations by firing rifles at them. Some graffiti name carvings can still be seen inside the caves from the 19th century period.

References

External links

Abercrombie Caves at nationalparks.nsw.gov.au
Nature reserves in New South Wales Show caves in Australia Limestone caves Central West (New South Wales) Protected areas established in 1997 1997 establishments in Australia Caves of New South Wales {{NewSouthWales-protected-area-stub

Features

History

See also

References

External links