Archaeologists have confirmed an image of a sailing ship painted at a rock shelter in west Arnhem Land is Australia’s oldest dated contact art. The painting was dated as part of research into relationships between South-East Asian seafarers and Aboriginal people in the 17th and 18th centuries. The project builds on the work of retired researcher Campbell McKnight who returned to the Northern Territory to revisit the Arnhem Land coast and find out what other archaeologists are uncovering.
Emma Masters, ABC News (2010)