Summary: An engraving of a whale around six metres in length, within the tail of which there is faded, but just-visible man.

This Aboriginal engraving site was uncovered during renovations at the Coal Loader development, a Sydney industrial site at Balls Head (in Waverton). Part of the site have been destroyed, but a large whale with a man inside it remains and is protected by a fence.

img 5571 lr Balls Head (Waverton)IMG 5571 LR highlighted Balls Head (Waverton)

The whale and man and engraving were thought to represent either a magician performing magic to entice whales to become stranded – or a man who has entered the body of a stranded whale to cure an illness.

Engraving Balls Head Balls Head (Waverton)

A second “man-like figure” was recorded inside the whale in 1963. A new article in 2008 suggested that this second figure inside the whale appeared to be a dog or a horse: if correct, this would indicate the local Cammeraygal people were still carving at the site after the arrival of white settlers in 1788.

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Aboriginal Sites by National Park

Located to the north-west of Sydney, just south of the Dharug and Yengo National Parks, Maroota has a high concentration of (known) Aboriginal sites. Many more Aboriginal heritage sites are located in the Marramarra National Park. The original inhabitants of the area were the Darug people.
Over a hundred Aboriginal sites have been recorded in the Hornsby region, with many of these in the Berowra Valley National Park and around the suburb of Berowra.
Over 40 sites have been recorded within the park; many were located along the river bank and were flooded by the building of the weir in 1938.