Alison’s Cascade Engraving Site

Summary: An intriguing Aboriginal engraving site near Alison's Cascades, which has two birds, a shark and a long line of mundoes.

  • Site type: Rock engraving
  • Number of motifs: 26
  • Motif/s: Bird, Mundoe (foot), Shark
  • Quality: 3.5/5
  • Condition of site: Good
  • Year first recorded: 1971
  • Originally Recorded by: Ian Sim
  • Sim Reference: Sim Collection 7/10
  • Ian Sim, Archaelogical Sites in the Sydney Region – A Record of Field Surveys 1958-1973 (“Sim Collection”), Site 7/10 (Wondabyne) p.53

This interesting Aboriginal engraving site is at Alison’s Cascade, where Tank Creek plunges over the cliff after a series of pools and cascades. Originally documented by Ian Sim in 1976, some of the weathered figures have been recorded quite differently by different people. The most distinctive shape is generally described as a “large bird”, but its exact shape is unclear.

bird1 Alison's Cascade Engraving Site
bird2 Alison's Cascade Engraving Site

It appears very much as a bird-like figure, with at least one leg that has claw-like feet.

AWAT0082 LR Alison's Cascade Engraving SiteAWAT0082 LR highlighted Alison's Cascade Engraving Site

Nearby is a shark.

AWAT9988 LR Alison's Cascade Engraving Site

Over twenty mundoes (footprints) were recorded, in a line which crosses the creek above the waterfall.

Alison's Cascasdes
AWAT0042 LR Alison's Cascade Engraving Site
AWAT0046 LR Alison's Cascade Engraving Site
AWAT0047 LR Alison's Cascade Engraving Site
AWAT0049 LR Alison's Cascade Engraving Site

In the middle of Tank Creek is a fish, which is not Aboriginal.

AWAT0052 LR Alison's Cascade Engraving Site

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