There are thousands of Aboriginal engraving and shelter art sites recorded around Gosford and across the Central Coast region. These rock art sites include animals, birds, sea creatures, bird tracks, human footsteps, male and female figures, hunting weapons and ancestral beings. Many of the sites were documented by W. D. Campbell in 1899, and later by Fred McCarthy and Ian Sim. Many sites are protected in the national parks of the Central Coast, but a large number of recorded sites are on rural properties and industrial estates.
An article by Coast Magazine (Ancient Art Galleries of the Central Coast – download PDF or read online) covers some of the significant rock art sites of the Central Coast area.
Aboriginal rock art sites by park: Bouddi NP / Brisbane Water / McPherson SF / Popran NP / Strickland SFA
An Aboriginal engraving site of a man with upstretched arms near the Milyerra Road Firetrail.
- Number of motifs: 1
- Quality: 2/5
- Condition of art: Good
- Year first recorded: 1969
- Originally recorded by: F.D. McCarthy, Ian Sim
- View site sketch
A very weathered Aboriginal engraving of a man, on a sloping rock. It is one of a series of ten sites near the Milyerra Trail documented by Ian Sim.
- Number of motifs: 1
- Quality: 1/5
- Condition of art: Weathered
- Year first recorded: 1967
- Originally recorded by: F.D. McCarthy, Ian Sim
- View site sketch
A rock ledge with multiple Aboriginal engravings, axe grinding grooves and a waterhole near the Milyerra Trail
- Number of motifs: 14
- Quality: 2.5/5
- Condition of art: Good
- Year first recorded: 1969
- Originally recorded by: F.D. McCarthy, Ian Sim
- View site sketch
An Aboriginal engraving site near the Milyerra Road Firetrail, which has two fish.
- Number of motifs: 2
- Quality: 2/5
- Condition of art: Good
- Year first recorded: 1995
- Originally recorded by: Warren Bluff
A small Aboriginal engraving site with two kangaroos, three fish, an eel and a shield, which is part of a series of ten sites documented by Ian Sim near the Milyerra Trail.
- Number of motifs: 8
- Quality: 2/5
- Condition of art: Good
- Year first recorded: 1969
- Originally recorded by: F.D. McCarthy, Ian Sim
- View site sketch
Aboriginal engravings of a kangaroo, head of a kangaroo and shield on scattered rock surfaces; they are part of a series of ten sites documented by Ian Sim near the Milyerra Trail
- Number of motifs: 4
- Quality: 1/5
- Condition of art: Weathered
- Year first recorded: 1969
- Originally recorded by: F.D. McCarthy, Ian Sim
- View site sketch
A large rock platform near the Milyerra Trail, with engravings of a 40' whale and 10' kangaroo.
- Number of motifs: 2
- Quality: 2.5/5
- Condition of art: Good
- Year first recorded: 1969
- Originally recorded by: F.D. McCarthy, Ian Sim
- View site sketch
The Mini Yengo site features a natural mound shaped like Mount Yengo; there are four engravings with the most distinct being a snake or serpent.
- Number of motifs: 4
- Quality: 3.5/5
- Condition of art: Good, Weathered
- Year first recorded: 1966
An extensive group of engravings, the Mooney Mooney Aboriginal Area includes many kangaroos, two rainbow serpents and many other figures.
- Number of motifs: 45
- Quality: 5/5
- Condition of art: Good
- Year first recorded: 1976
- Originally recorded by: F.D. McCarthy, Ian Sim
- View site sketch [PDF]
Axe Grinding Grooves above the Corrumbine Creek Firetrail, in Brisbane Water National Park.
- Number of motifs: 6
- Quality: 2/5
- Condition of art: Good
- Year first recorded: 1995
- Originally recorded by: Ian Sim, Warren Bluff
Under a small rock overhang near Mount Olive are some well-preserved cave paintings, including a wallaby and some indeterminate figures.
- Number of motifs: 5
- Quality: 4/5
- Condition of art: Good
- Year first recorded: 1992
An Aboriginal engraving site with a single fish, in thick near the Tunnel Trail.
- Number of motifs: 1
- Quality: 3/5
- Condition of art: Good
- Year first recorded: 1973
An Aboriginal engraving of half a man, who has been speared in the foot. It's on a small rock platform above Mullet Creek.
- Number of motifs: 2
- Quality: 3.5/5
- Condition of art: Good
- Year first recorded: 1899
- Originally recorded by: W.D. Campbell, F.D. McCarthy, Ian Sim
- View site sketch
An Aboriginal engraving site along a small creek above the Tunnel Trail, which has multiple figures and some axe grinding grooves.
- Number of motifs: 1
- Quality: 3/5
- Condition of art: Good
- Year first recorded: 1973
Above the Gosford Railway Dams in Narara is an Aboriginal engraving site and a long wave-like shelter with art, both only (relatively) recently documented.
- Number of motifs: 40
- Quality: 3/5
- Condition of art: Good, Weathered
- Year first recorded: 1974
- Originally recorded by: Ian Sim
- View site sketch