Dry Dock (X)
Xantho, a coastal steamer, sank off the WA coast in 1872. With its twin masts, and elongated hull, the same ship is thought to be depicted by Aboriginal hands at Walga Rock, east of Cue.
Imagine a mini-Uluru, and you have a rough idea of Walga Rock. Measuring five kays in circumference, this monolith rises from the mallee like a sunburnt Moby.
Feral goats call it home. And rock wallabies. Climbing to the cairn on top offers you amazing views of endless plains, and the crease of Sanford River, but the rock’s real high point is an art gallery near the northern tip.
Among the spirals and wavy lines is the twin-masted sailing ship, painted in white clay by the Wandijna people. The square portholes and distinctive rigging leads Dr Ian Crawford, a scholar on Wandijna artwork, to believe the ship is the Xantho.
By the way, some 200 arid kilometres lie between the rock and the sea, just to make the ship image ever more extraordinary. [Aboriginal name is Walgahna Rock. 47 kays east of Cue along reasonable unsealed road.]