From the Archives, 1982: Back in Fraser Cave, after 14,500 years
From the Archives, 1982: Back in Fraser Cave, after 14,500 years
By Peter Ellingsen
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Back in Fraser Cave, after 14,500 years
After travelling over kilometres of black, still water and scrambling up a hill of knotted, ancient trees, Ros Langford yesterday stood on the edge of the most significant archaeological find in the southern hemisphere.
With one more step she would be the first Aborigine in 14,500 years known to enter Fraser, or Kutikina (âspiritâ) cave on the banks of the Franklin River.
The entrance to Fraser Cave, 1982.
âHarry Butlerâs got nothing on me,â she said, a little self-consciously, before negotiating the muddy opening of the place scientists believe is too precious to flood. There were several minutes of silence as Ms Langford and three other members of the Tasmania Aboriginal Centre wandered about in what is a nearly inaccessible and almost perfectly preserved stone age home.