A number of discrete Aboriginal engraving sites can be found in the vicinity of the Cowan to Brooklyn (Great North Walk) track, many of them documented by W.D. Campbell and McCarthy, and some more recently “discovered”.
Jerusalem Bay Track engraving site
An Aboriginal engraving site described by McCarthy as being of “ritual importance” is near the track down to Jerusalem Bay. It includes a large composite body of a man and seal, a bird-like figure, a man, an eel-like figure and some ovals.
Campbell’s Creek Fishing site
An Aboriginal engraving site above Campbells Creek with two overlapping men, fish and a shield may depict a fishing scene. Many of the figures are fairly weathered.
Vize Spur engraving site
Recorded in the 1960s, this Aboriginal engraving site was deemed to be of “considerable anthropological interest”.
The rock platform has two male figures carved “head to head”.
A female figure (with breasts and a penis) is nearby. Over twenty mundoes (footprints) in two lines intersect the engraving site.
Porto Gully Man and Woman
A small rock platform near the firetrail has an Aboriginal engraving site depicting a man and his pregnant wife. Both engravings are fairly weathered.
Near these two figures are two wallabies on a sloping rock platform, which are very weathered.
Brooklyn Engraving Site
On a long rock platform near Brooklyn Dam are over 20 Aboriginal engravings, first documented by McCarthy in a series of three sites. A few additional figures were later recorded.
The figures here include a number of men, as well as a large whale and a smaller whale (which may be a fish).
Summary of Cowan to Brooklyn (GNW) Aboriginal art sites
| Site Name | Reference | No. Motifs | Motifs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jerusalem Bay Track | Campbell Plate 24 Fig 7 McCarthy Group 157 | 7 | Seal/man, man, eel |
| Campbells Creek Fishing Site | 5 | Men, fish, shield | |
| Vize Spur engraving site | J.C. Lough field survey | 35 | Men, woman, mundoes |
| Porto Gully Man & Woman | 1st Hornsby Scouts McCarthy Group 70 J.C. Lough field survey | 2 | Man, pregnant woman |
| Porto Gully Two Wallabies | J.C. Lough field survey | 2 | Wallabies |
| Brooklyn Engraving Site | McCarthy Group 69 | 24 | Men, Whale |
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