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 sites are protected in the national parks of the Central Coast, but a surprisingly large number of recorded sites are on rural properties and industrial estates.
Many of the sites were documented by W. D. Campbell in 1899, and later by Fred McCarthy and Ian Sim. Â The Central Coast Original Recordings page lists all the publicly documented Campbell, Sim and McCarthy sites.
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 SF
An Aboriginal engraving of a man and a "composite emu spirit figure"; it's one of a series of eleven sites documented by Ian Sim near the Lyre Trig.
- Number of motifs: 3
- 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 of a single fish; one of a series of eleven sites documented by Ian Sim near the Lyre Trig.
- Number of motifs: 1
- Quality: 2.5/5
- Condition of art: Good
- Year first recorded: 1969
- Originally recorded by: F.D. McCarthy, Ian Sim
- View site sketch
A large Aboriginal engraving of a kangaroo near the Lyre Trig Track; possibly a mythological figure due to its size.
- Number of motifs: 1
- Quality: 4/5
- Condition of art: Good
- Year first recorded: 1899
- Originally recorded by: W.D. Campbell, F.D. McCarthy
- View site sketch
An Aboriginal engraving of a goanna or lizard near Lyre Trig
- Number of motifs: 1
- Quality: 1/5
- Condition of art: Weathered
- Year first recorded: 2020
A single Aboriginal engraving of a man below Lyre Trig in Kariong, first documented by W.D. Campbell in 1899.
- Number of motifs: 1
- Quality: 2.5/5
- Condition of art: Weathered
- Year first recorded: 1899
- Originally recorded by: W.D. Campbell, F.D. McCarthy
- View site sketch
A very weathered and faint Aboriginal engraving of a man on top of Mount Lyre (next to Lyre Trig)
- Number of motifs: 1
- Quality: 1/5
- Condition of art: Weathered
- Year first recorded: 2019
- Originally recorded by: Bob Pankhurst
An Aboriginal engraving of a fish and an oval below Lyre Trig; it is one of a series of eleven sites documented by Ian Sim.
- 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
A small Aboriginal engraving site near the Lyre Trig in Kariong, which has a mundoe and a kangaroo.
- Number of motifs: 2
- Quality: 2/5
- Condition of art: Weathered
- Year first recorded: 1981
- Originally recorded by: Bob Pankhurst
A complex and likely significant Aboriginal engraving site below the Lyre Trig in Kariong. The site has over sixty figures and 10 axe grinding grooves.
- Number of motifs: 59
- Quality: 4.5/5
- Condition of art: Good
- Year first recorded: 1899
- Originally recorded by: W.D. Campbell, F.D. McCarthy
- View site sketch
An interesting Aboriginal engraving site which has 14 figures, including a marine creature (which could be a shark), a snake and an indeterminate animal. It's one of a series of eleven sites documented by Ian Sim near the Lyre Trig.
- Number of motifs: 14
- Quality: 4/5
- Condition of art: Good
- Year first recorded: 1969
- Originally recorded by: F.D. McCarthy, Ian Sim
- View site sketch
Two very weathered wallabies near the Lyre Trig Firetrail.
- Number of motifs: 2
- Quality: 1/5
- Condition of art: Weathered
- Year first recorded: 2021
An interesting Aboriginal engraving site below Lyre Trig in Kariong; most figures are very weathered or have been buried by soil and vegetation.
- Number of motifs: 14
- Condition of art: Weathered
- Year first recorded: 1899
- Originally recorded by: W.D. Campbell, F.D. McCarthy, Bob Pankhurst
- View site sketch
An Aboriginal engraving of a single wallaby, which is fairly weathed; it's one of a series of eleven sites documented by Ian Sim near the Lyre Trig.
- Number of motifs: 1
- Quality: 2.5/5
- Condition of art: Weathered
- Year first recorded: 1969
- Originally recorded by: F.D. McCarthy, Ian Sim
A small group of Aboriginal engravings on a spur above Maitland bay. The figures include a shark, fish, an eel and a shield.
- Number of motifs: 6
- Quality: 2/5
- Condition of art: Good
- Year first recorded: 1976
- Originally recorded by: Ian Sim
A deep shelter at the base of a tall cliff-line near Maitland Bay Drive with multiple charcoal motifs and two hand stencils.
- Number of motifs: 8
- Quality: 3.5/5
- Condition of art: Good, Weathered
- Year first recorded: 1980
- Originally recorded by: Stanbury and Clegg