Most of the Shark Rock Ridge track follows a ridge that runs between the Yatala Trig and Want Trig, which is now dissected by the Pacific Motorway. It’s an area with many Aboriginal rock art sites, primarily along the top of the ridge.

Adult and Young Emu
Just above the freeway is an Aboriginal engraving site on a small rock platform, which has an Adult Emu and Young Emu. They are both fairly weathered.



Fishing or Hunting Scene
McCarthy suggested the men at this rock engraving site were “hunting the kangaroo rats or are engaged in fishing”.

Stingray

Stingray or skate which is 7'6" in length, with a bar across its body and a median strip down its tail.
Two kangaroos

Above the stingray are two kangaroos; one of them is described as a young kangaroo with no tail.
Kangaroo

Emu

One of three emus in file
Emu

One of three emus in file
Emu

One of three emus in file
Man and Boomerang

A man ("tall, upright, long and narrow half oval head, no eyes, straight arms upraised") next to an angled boomerang.
Two fish

Two fish, both very weathered.
There are 22 figures including kangaroos and kangaroo rats, emus, a stingray, fish and a man with a sword club or boomerang.
Whale
This enormous whale is over ten metres in length, with a goanna and whale inside the outline of the figure. Parts of the whale have been “corrected”, with at least one fin showing two sets of carved lines.
Koalas and Shields
This interesting Aboriginal engraving site along Shark Rock was thought to represent “a hunting incident in the mythology or a totemic ritual”.

Koala

A composite human-koala figure
Shield

One of four shields
Shield

One of four shields
Shield

One of four shields
Shield

One of our shields
Koala

Despite the appearance of a Daramulan, this figure was described as a "koala bear"
Legless Bird

A legless bird - or an emu?
Oval

an oval shaped figure - or basket?
Man

Very weathered figure of a man.
The most prominent carvings are two koala bears (one with a human-like foot), which look very much like Daramulan figures.
There are 14 figures in total, including four shields, part of a man, a legless bird (or emu?) and an oval (or basket?).
Deity
On a thin strip of rock surrounded by dense scrub is a deity figure, described by Campbell as “that of the protective deity, holding up a fish with the right hand” and by McCarthy as “A mythological incident and a site of sacred importance”. Much of the figure is covered by debris & vegetation.
Man and Shields
A small site below the ridge, which has two shields and a small man who is “a unique figure with his bent legs” (this motif couldn’t be located).
Ledge Engravings
A ritual or mythological Aboriginal engraving site, with six figures including a man with “the largest and most distinct mouth in a human figure yet found in the Sydney-Hawkesbury engravings”.

Fish

Leaping Wallaby

A "well posed animal"
Goanna

The six figures are found along a long ledge, over a distance of 30 metres, with a pothole and axe grinding grooves at the southern end.



Shark Rock Ridge Aboriginal rock art sites
Site Name | Reference | No. Motifs | Motifs |
---|---|---|---|
Adult and Young Emu | McCarthy Mankind Group 99 | 2 | Emus |
Hunting or Fishing Scene | McCarthy Mankind Group 98 | 22 | Kangaroos, stingray, man |
Whale | McCarthy Group 164 Campbell Plate 25 Fig 4 | 3 | Whale, goanna, man |
Koalas and Shields | McCarthy Group 162 Campbell Plate 25 Fig 5 | 14 | Koalas, shields, bird |
Deity | McCarthy Group 163 Campbell Plate 25 Fig 6 | 2 | Deity holding a fish |
Man and Shields | McCarthy Mankind Group 100 | 3 | Man, shields |
Ledge Engravings | McCarthy Mankind Group 101 | 6 | Man, goanna, fish, jellyfish |
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