we headed off to the ngilgi caves this morning with madeline and joseph, while alex went off to church at busselton branch with nanna and grandad. thank goodness for that as mum insisted - and i had seriously underestimated how difficult it would have been if we had taken him with us.
we were met at the visitors centre by our guide for the morning - the lovely lisa from the lighthouse yesterday and the kids were absolutely thrilled, as was she. we learned all about the caves history as we waited to enter via the heavy wooden staircase before descending into the caves.
we also learned that when the caves were first discovered in the late 1800s, people would come to explore as a day trip and spend hours in there, climbing over the rock in the dark, in their very best clothes. entry was only possible via a rope ladder and explorers had to use a lamp. there is a corner in the cave called cupids corner where honeymooners would sneak off for some private time. there's also an impressive amphitheater where dame nellie melba once performed.
places like this make me wonder how people don't believe in god. his majesty is all over this place. knowing that 1cm of these pillars can take 100 years to make, simply by the constant drip drip of water over time is incredible to me.
Found online at margaretriverattractions.com:
Europeans first learnt of Ngilgi Cave around 1899. Edward Dawson, William Curtis and Fred Seymour are commonly attributed with the ‘European discovery’, apparently having found the entrance whilst out searching for wild horses and dingo pups in the area. Several accounts indicate that all these men then explored the cave together.
By 1899 there had been so many caves discovered in the region that a government report was drafted, proposing that several of them could be developed for tourism. The government was supportive and, acting on the report, a ‘Caves Board’ was established by J.W. Hackett to develop and promote the caves. Edward Dawson applied to the government to have Ngilgi Cave opened as a tourist site in 1900, and he was head tour guide and caretaker for the next 37 years.
During this time the cave was known as Yallingup Cave; in fact it was not until the year 2000 that the indigenous name was adopted. A tour of the caves during the early 1900’s was vastly different to what is experienced today. A coupon ticket system was organised by the Caves Board. Visitors travelled from Perth to Busselton by steam train, then continued on horseback to the caves and either camped in the bush, stayed in pioneers’ homes or lodged at Caves House Hotel; originally built to accommodate the guests to Ngilgi. Admission to the caves was by guided tour only, with a ticket costing 1 shilling (10c).
The caves were originally crudely lit by candle or kerosene lamps, with patrons stumbling along rough paths in semidarkness. If the guide wished to point out a formation he would light a magnesium flare which burned brightly for a just a few seconds before plunging patrons back into darkness. Ngilgi was the first cave in the region to have electric lighting installed, with power supplied from a generator near Caves House Hotel. Ngilgi Cave undoubtedly played a formative role in the development of tourism in Western Australia.
thankfully the caves are much better equipped these days with boardwalks and electric lighting throughout. we all enjoyed our visit and spent a lot of time looking at the formations and trying to spot some fairies in the fairy cave.
all too soon it was time to go and we headed back out the wide cave mouth off for our next adventure.
two very happy kids without their toddler brother hahaha.
