Princess Margaret Rose Cave

About

The Princess Margaret Rose Cave is a limestone cave located in Lower Glenelg National Park in Victoria, Australia. The cave features actively growing stalactites, stalagmites and helictites.

The cave was formed in poorly consolidated Tertiary limestone laid down in a shallow sea in the Oligocene and early Miocene geological epochs, between about 35 and 15 million years ago. Princess Margaret Rose Cave in South Western Victoria, is about 2 km from South Australian border and is also accessible by boat along the Glenelg River about 17 km upstream from the small seaside settlement of Nelson. It is said to be the most decorated cave per square metre anywhere in Australia. The cave was "discovered" on 7 September 1936 by Mr Keith McEachern, an adjoining property owner, who held a grazing licence over the State Forest, together with local rabbit trapper Mr Jack “Bunny” Hutchesson and his two sons Allan and Bernard. Keith was then lowered on ropes down the 50-foot vertical shaft into the cave and conducted an initial search using candles and an old hurricane lantern. Keith and Bunny subsequently obtained a forest produce licence to remove bat guano from the cave to sell as fertiliser. Later...