Bull Cave is a heritage-listed art site at Darling Avenue, Kentlyn, City of Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia. It is also known as Bull's Cave and The Bull Cave. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 28 August 2017.
History
Aboriginal peoples belonging to the Tharawal, Dharug, and Gandangara nations are the traditional custodians of the area.
Although Bull Cave has been popularly considered to be part of Dharawal country it is situated along the natural boundary between the Hawkesbury sandstone of the Woronora Plateau and the Wianamatta shale of the Cumberland Plain along the Georges River (13). Limited archaeological investigation of the site has revealed influences from coastal, hinterland and mountainous regions, suggesting that it is located at the intersection of three tribal and linguistic boundaries; Dharawal, Dharug and Gundungurra.
Dharawal people moved throughout their territories and to a lesser extent those of their neighbours including the Gundangurra and Darug, subject to season and purpose. They travelled widely, caring for country in ceremony and practice and harvesting only what was immediately required. People from other language groups travelled from inland to the coast to exchange foods, raw materials and artefacts. Bull Cave had a role as one of a network of sites along the Georges River and its tributaries. The style of art, pigments and artefacts at the cave suggest possible domestic, educational and spiritual uses into the nineteenth century. Several layers of stencils and drawings in Bull Cave were created by the Aboriginal community over time, the largest and most prominent of which, the figures of two large cattle, were created soon after the arrival of the First Fleet. One interpretation argues that the three colours of pigment indicate multi-layered applications of use of the cave and its art in cultural terms, whereby red pigment is associated with bloodlines, charcoal with education, and white with spiritual connections.
The Appin Massacre of 1816 is considered to have been the most detrimental and tragic historic event for the Aboriginal people of Campbelltown and Camden. It occurred in the early hours of the morning of 17 April 1816, the outcome of a military reprisal raid against Aboriginal people ordered by Governor Lachlan Macquarie. At least 14 Aboriginal men, women and children were killed when soldiers under the command of Captain James Wallis shot at and drove a group of Aboriginal people over the gorge of the Cataract River.
Although largely depleted, local Aboriginal people maintained a connection with the Cowpastures region. From the late 1820s magistrates provided lists of local Aboriginal people who might be eligible for the annual distribution of blankets. Comparison of the lists of neighbouring police districts for the 1830s suggests that the surviving Dharawal and Gandangara moved between Campbelltown, the Cowpastures and Picton, rarely venturing to more populated Liverpool.
Tribal life continued in a limited way. Corroborees were held nearby at Camden Park and north of the Nepean at Denham Court until at least the 1850s, usually celebrated when other Aboriginal groups were passing through the district.
The Wild Cattle
In 1787 the First Fleet, bound for Botany Bay, stopped at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, to collect livestock for the new colony. Among these were 11 Cape Cattle, of which 7 live cattle arrived at their destination; one bull, five cows and a bull calf. Despite being kept under the watch of a convict herdsman in what is now known as the Domain, in June 1788 these cattle escaped their bounds. After several unsuccessful attempts at recovery Governor Philip abandoned the matter and they were thought lost to the colony.
In October 1795, in line with reports from the Aboriginal community, two convicts came across a herd of wild cattle while on a hunting expedition across the Nepean River. On hearing the news Governor John Hunter arranged for a party to verify the sighting, and later set out himself with a group from Prospect Hill on 8 November 1795. After travelling for two days south and having crossed the Nepean they found a fine herd of over 40 cattle grazing in "country remarkably pleasant to the eye, and the finest yet discovered in New South Wales, the soil good and eligible for cultivation, everywhere thick luxuriant grass".