Red Hands Cave
{{Short description|Australian Aboriginal rock art site}}
{{Infobox Australian place
|name=Red Hands Cave
|state=NSW
|coordinates={{Coord|33|46|56|S|150|35|28|E|display=inline,title}}
|image=Red Hands Cave.jpg
|image_alt=Aboriginal hand stencils at Red Hands Cave
|elevation=
|region=Blue Labyrinth
|type=protected
}}
Red Hands Cave is an Australian Aboriginal rock art site in the Blue Labyrinth area of Blue Mountains National Park. It is a rock shelter located within walking distance from the town of Glenbrook, New South Wales.{{cite book|last=Cameron|first=Bruce|title=A History of the Blue Labyrinth|date=2014|isbn=978-0-9586215-1-9|edition=2nd|location=Sun Valley, NSW, Australia}}{{cite web|title=Blue Labyrinth|website=Bushwalking NSW|url=https://bushwalkingnsw.com/region.php?nid=988|access-date=2023-12-13}}
History
The ochre handprints and stencils at Red Hands Cave were painted around 500–1,600 years B.P.{{cite web|title=Red Hands Cave|website=Official NSW Tourism Website|url=https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/blue-mountains/katoomba-area/attractions/red-hands-cave|access-date=2024-01-17}}{{cite web|title=Red Hands Cave|website=NSW National Parks|url=https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/aboriginal-sites/red-hands-cave|access-date=2024-01-17}}
The cave was first discovered by white Australians on 10 August 1913, when James (Jim) Colquhoun Dunn (1892-1978) went searching for Ruby Gladys Hunter (1892–1973), who became lost in the bush near Glenbrook while collecting wild flowers with her two dogs. Both were Glenbrook residents who were about 21 years old at the time. Ruby Hunter was later found and was able to return home.{{rp|81}}
In the early 1930s, the Blue Mountains Shire Council installed a wire screen fence at the cave to protect it from vandalism.
See also
References
{{Commons category|Red Hands Cave, Blue Mountains National Park}}
{{Wikiquote|Red Hands Cave}}
{{reflist}}
{{Blue Mountains topics |state=autocollapse}}
Category:Geography of the Blue Mountains (New South Wales)
Category:Rock art in Australia