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Aboriginal "Paint Box"
Leased for Red Ochre
A cave used as a 'paint box' by generations
of Murchison aborigines has been leased for
I commercial exploitation of red ochre reserves.
Known as Wilgie Mia (Paint Cave) , it is 40
miles north-west of Cue. It is one of the old
est known pigment deposits and probably the
oldest mine in. Western
Australia.
For centuries natives
have used its bright red
pigment to paint their
bodies for corroborees
and for barter with other
natives, who prized it
highly for personal orna
mentation.
a They mined it from soft
ochre seams running through
a haematite lode in the. cave.
Wilgie Mia . is in the cen
tre of a lease of an acre
granted to Messrs. Zadow
i and Cassidy.
The lease provides for re
moval of ochre from the
floor of the cave, but a con
dition is that the caves
features and values must
be preserved.
The cave, is on a native
reserve. Natives must have
free access to it.
It bears much evidence ol
native culture. This, it is
felt, must be preserved, par
ticularly as it has been dam
aged in the past by thought
less people.
Ochres and oxides of var
ions colours are widely dis
tributed throughout West
ern Australia. They have
been known and used for
many years. The red and
yellow ochres are. among
the most important minerals
in the State from paint
manufacturers' point of
view.
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