The Wombeyan Caves are caves that have formed in

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

, in the Wombeyan

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 ...

Conservation Reserve,

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 ...

. Wombeyan Caves is a tourist attraction and local holiday area, as well as a reserve for endangered species, such as several species of

wallaby A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized Macropodidae, macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same Taxonomy (biology), taxon ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

, possum, and

wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . All three of the extant species are members of the family Vombatidae. They are adap ...

Location

It is located within the Southern Highlands about north of

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

. Access is by the Wombeyan Caves Road from either

Mittagong Mittagong () is a town located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. The town acts as the gateway to the Southern Highlands when coming from Sydney. Mittagong is situated at an elevation of . The town ...

in the east or from the

Goulburn-Oberon Road Goulburn-Oberon Road is a New South Wales country road linking Goulburn near Hume Highway to Oberon. This name is not widely known to most drivers, as the entire allocation is still best known as by the names of its constituent parts: Taralga R ...

in the west. The caves reserve is located towards the western end of the Wombeyan Caves Road. The part of the Wombeyan Caves Road east of the reserve is very rough and has many curves and narrow stretches as it descends down to

Wollondilly River The Wollondilly River, an Australian perennial river that is part of the HawkesburyNepean catchment, is located in the Southern Tablelands and Southern Highlands regions of New South Wales. The river meanders from its western slopes near Crook ...

and then up very rugged mountains. Some of the views are spectacular.

Indigenous history

Wombeyan Caves are located on the traditional lands of the Burra Burra clan of the

Gandangara The Gundungurra people, also spelt Gundungara, Gandangarra, Gandangara and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Their traditional lands include present day Goulburn, Wollondilly Shire ...

people in the area covered by the Pejar Local Aboriginal Land Council. Archaeologists have not found evidence of Indigenous occupation of the caves, but flakes and cores from Indigenous tool making, dating from 6,000 to 14,000 years ago, have been found across the Wombeyan Karst Conservation Reserve. The name of Wombeyan Caves is likely to come from the

Ngunnawal language Ngunnawal/Ngunawal is an Australian Aboriginal languages, Australian Aboriginal language, the traditional language of the Ngunnawal people, Ngunnawal. Ngunnawal is very closely related to the Gandangara language and the two were most likely hi ...

word for ‘tunnel’, referring to the

Dreamtime The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal mythology, Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Ja ...

story of the tunnel created by a local version of the

rainbow serpent The Rainbow Serpent or Rainbow Snake is a common deity often seen as the creator God, known by numerous names in different Australian Aboriginal languages by the many different Aboriginal peoples. It is a common motif in the art and religion ...

, called Gurangatch. The story was recorded by

Robert Hamilton Mathews Robert Hamilton Mathews (1841–1918) was an Australian surveyor and self-taught anthropologist who studied the Aboriginal cultures of Australia, especially those of Victoria, New South Wales and southern Queensland. He was a member of the R ...

, who wrote: 'On reaching the source of Jock’s Creek, urangatchburrowed under the range, coming up inside of Wam-bee-ang caves, which are called Whambeyan by the white people, being a corruption of the aboriginal name.' A tunnel connecting the creek to the caves may be real or imagined, since no tunnel has been found. The cave name has also been spelt as Whambeyan, Wambian, Whombeyan, Wombeian, Wambiang and Wambeean. Many of the individual caverns within the Wombeyan complex were given Gandangara names by the first government-appointed caretaker of the caves Charles Chalker (1845–1924). These were ‘Wollondilly’, ‘Mulwaree’, ‘Guineacor’, ‘Bullio’, ‘Kooringa’ and ‘Miranda’ caves. The first three are the names of local rivers and Bullio is a nearby locality. ‘Kooringa’ is a word of undocumented origin that could be a local placename. ‘Miranda’ is named after Burra Burra clan leader Murrandah (c.1788–1849).

Facilities

The area was protected as a reserve in 1865. The main site includes several

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

grounds, a

kiosk Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Iran, Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist ...

, a public phone, a kitchen, and other public facilities. A

ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

station is also positioned near the camping site; the rangers serve to collect camping fees from visitors, prevent unsafe human-wildlife association, protect local flora and fauna, and investigate any queries or complaints.

Sites in the area

Caves found in this reserve include the Victoria Arch, one of the most popular due to its proximity to the camping grounds, and Fig Tree Cave, shown in the adjacent picture. Other caves include Junction, Wollondilly, Mulwaree and Kooringa caves. Several NSW

caving Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology i ...

groups run regular trips to Wombeyan Caves, these are official caving groups that obtain permits for various cave related expeditions. Other interesting sites are the creek, the

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

and the various smaller caves found while traversing the extensive

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

in the area.

Fauna

The conservation area is a reserve for endangered species, such as several species of

, possum, and

. While strict rules are in place concerning human-wildlife interaction, local fauna are growing increasingly tame. Several species of birds, mainly

magpie Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is one ...

s and Indian mynahs, often come into direct contact with people, sometimes less than a foot away, and demanding food while campers are eating. Also, the numerous

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

mobs are becoming increasingly trustful, and come within mere metres of campsites with no apparent trepidation. While this is much to the delight of human spectators, concerns are held for the long-term well-being of the local wildlife.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Sydney Speleological Society
(One of several caving clubs who visit the Wombeyan Caves reserve) Show caves in Australia Protected areas of New South Wales Limestone caves Caves of New South Wales