LIMESTONE CAVES OF NSW

  6. WELLINGTON CAVES While not the first limestone caves to be discovered in NSW, they were the first to become well known, largely because of the many fossils which were found in their muddy filling. The first reference to caves near Wellington that I have found is this painting by Augustus Earle, made in 1826 and labelled "Mosman's Cave". It definitely shows the entrance to today's "Cathedral Cave". In May 1830 George Rankin of Bathurst entered the cave. There is a fascinating report in the " Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser ", Tuesday May 22nd 1830. You can download yourself from Trove or perhaps read it here. Sorry about the font size! There is more to the newspaper report which you will need to locate yourself. More excavations for fossils were carried out through the 19th century and later. Fossils From the Caves           A few examples of the tens of thousands of fossils found in the caves. These are in no way related to the f...

  ROSEBROOK CAVES                             The Rosebrook Caves have been formed in an extensive belt of limestone (the Bunyan Limestone) a few km north-west of Cooma in southern NSW. The caves described below are located in the northern part of the outcrop. Some of karst features in the limestone appear to be quite ancient. Fossils are relatively rare. The first mention of Rosebrook Caves that I have found was in the DailyTelegraph (Sydney) Tuesday 26th January 1892. " CAVES DISCOVERED NEAR COOMA , Monday.  Last week a few persons descended a hole on Rosebrook Station, six miles from Cooma, From Carne & Jones. The cave is under the M of "Woolumla" which has been known for years,in the hope of finding a cave. After descending about 60ft. they came to a chamber 30ft. high by 20ft. wide by 40ft. long. The cave was surrounded by splendid formations of stalagmites and stalactites, many of which were accid...

  ASHFORD CA VES From the Ashford Tourism website The Ashford limestone caves are located about 20km north-west of the town of Ashford, between Inverell and the Queensland border. What was once a crown reserve (set apart in 1915) is now part of the  Kwiambal National Park (pronounced Kiamble), best known for the spectacular  MacIntyre Falls , near which is a delightful camping area at Lemon Tree Flat. Picnic and toilet facilities are also provided at the caves. These caves are not in the same league as the well-known show caves at Jenolan, Wombeyan and Yarrangobilly, in fact there are very few speleothems  (decorations) to be found. What you will find is bats, guano (bat droppings) and a sense  of adventure as you explore the unknown (to you) cave system. If you would like to read a fascinating account of “ An Excursion to the Severn River and the Wallangra Caves ” dating from 1892 ( here ) you will appreciate that some things have not changed, but others have c...