Wonders of Oz: Devil's Marbles/Karwekarlwe
05 June 2006

The Devil's Marbles (or its Aborigine name Karwekarlwe)

The remarkable geological formations have been formed by spheroidal weathering. Signs along the pathways describe how the boulders were formed by a combination of mechanical weathering


The temperature ranges in the Northern Territory outback range from sub-zero temperatures at night to over 40°C during the day - meaning that the erosive processes are still very much at work and the boulders continue to evolve into new shapes.
One of the Marbles were removed from the site and was placed on the top of the grave to John Flynn who was the founder of the
Flying Doctor Service in Central Australia. At the time, this was seen as a way of remembering his link to the outback, but in later decades it was a source of great controversy because the rock was removed from a sacred site without the direct permission of the tribal elders. In the late 1990s, a boulder swap was arranged, and the missing marble was removed from the grave, cleaned, and returned to its original place. The grave is now marked with a similar boulder donated by the local Arrernte people.
