Maps, History and Sketches
Bradshaws and the Kimberley

This silhouette image of a boat is taken from a Bradshaw Painting found in 1996, the only such image discovered to date. The boat shows features of a high bow and stern, and a keel or rudder.

King George River		Mertens Gorge near Mitchell River

The coastline of Kimberley varies between mangrove swamps to sandstone cliffs, that sometimes reach a height of over 300 feet in places, like at the mouth of the King George River. The tides are the largest in the world, over 30 feet, and are both treacherous, and unpredictable. In 1939 Sir George Grey led the first expedition to Kimberley. He reported that the terrain was the most difficult to traverse that he had ever encountered. He included sketches of Wandjina paintings in his report, which stated that, in his opinion, the land was unsuitable for Europeans.

	In 1891 Captain Joseph Bradshaw and his brother rode west from Central North Australia in search of new grazing land for their cattle. The terrain became so rough somewhere north of the Prince Regent River, in the heart of Kimberley, that he and his brother had to abandon their attempt to reach the Indian Ocean. On the 16th of April Joseph sketched in his journal what have become known as the Bradshaw Paintings. To the left one of Joseph Bradshaw's original sketches of ancient rock paintings on his Prince Regent River Expedition

The History of the Bradshaw Paintings and exploration of the Kimberley, is one of the documentary films featured in iLectures series one.