Jowalbinna is not far from Laura, an old goldmining town famed for its rock galleries of Quinkan Aboriginal art. The Quinkans were "discovered" as recently as 1959 by Captain Percy Trezise, then an airline pilot, who had often flown over the area and seen the Aboriginal sites from the air. Trezise, now retired as a pilot but a budding artist these days, Trezise now lives at Jowalbinna close to his treasured artworks.
After first visiting the Split Rock gallery he realised that it must be one of many located in the area and began a program of exploration and recording of the Quinkan art. Following his discovery in 1959, some 1,500 sites have been recorded by Percy Trezise over the last 30 years on canvas. Theses Canvases are now held in the archives of the Institute of Aboriginal Studies in Canberra. In order to protect the extensive body of rock art in the Laura district Percy Trezise strived to have the area declared a Reserve, this he achieved in 1975, ensuring the preservation of these ancient drawings for the future generations. Permission is needed from the Aboriginal Rangers at Laura to enter the reserve and visit any sites.
Jowalbinna has a rich past. Its Aboriginal occupation dates back over 37,000 years, and the images of Quinkan spirits, totem animals and people adorn many of the rock shelters. The discovery of gold on the Palmer River brought thousands of miners from 1873 on the old coach road from Cooktown to the goldfields. Conflict, dislocation and new diseases decimated the Aboriginal people, and the traditional lifestyle of over a thousand generations was lost. Now the rock art tells the stories of the past. Accommodation is available at the Jowalbinna Rock Art Safari Camp.