Bambara Road Dead Emu

Summary: An Aboriginal rock engraving of a (possibly dead) emu along the bed of a creek near Kariong.

  • Site type: Rock engraving
  • Number of motifs: 1
  • Motif/s: Emu
  • Quality: 1/5
  • Condition of site: Weathered
  • View site sketch
  • Year first recorded: 1899
  • Originally Recorded by: W.D. Campbell, F.D. McCarthy
  • Campbell Reference: PATONGA Plate 27 Fig 5 in Aboriginal Carving of Port Jackon and Broken Bay (Download)
  • McCarthy reference: PATONGA Group 177 in Catalogue of Rock Engravings (1983)

On a rock platform along a small creek near the Kariong Sacred Lands is an Aboriginal engraving site, which was first documented by William Campbell in 1899.

IMG 1528 LR Bambara Road Dead Emu

The figure was described by Campbell as “The figure of an emu, much weathered. Punctures are showing.” About eighty years later McCarthy documented the figure as “probably a dead emu… The neck and head are curved downward as though the bird is dead and lying on the ground. Groove weathered, pits visible”. I couldn’t find this weathered figure; the photo below was taken by Bob Pankhurst.

image 5 Bambara Road Dead Emu

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to Hiking the World, and receive notifications of new posts by email. (A hike is added every 1-2 weeks, on average.)

Join 548 other subscribers

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Aboriginal Sites by National Park

Aboriginal Rock Art – Maroota and Marramarra NP
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.
Aboriginal Rock Art – Lane Cove
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.
Aboriginal Rock Art – Hornsby Shire
Hornsby Shire - which is the largest LGA in the Greater Sydney Metropolitan region - contains approximately 600 recorded Aboriginal rock art sites (and over 1,200 Aboriginal heritage sites). These date back from thousands of years to post-European contact art.
Aboriginal Rock Art in the Greater Blue Mountains
The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area protects over 3,000 known Aboriginal heritage sites, and many more which are yet to be recorded. This area includes the Blue Mountains National Park, Gardens of Stone, Wollemi National Park and Yengo National Park.