While traces of Aboriginal rock art can still be found in this shelter above the Lane Cove River, it is no longer as impressive as it was in the 1960s when described by Rosemary Taplin:
The walls have a 3½ ft high red ochre drawing, stylized of a man, an unusually heavily drawn large red shield is on the ceiling, traces in black and red, many of which may yield complete figures on recording abound. This is the best cave I have found in quite a while, and is a welcome relief to middens and a “no surviving, or insignificant traces of art”.
Hunters Hill Heritage Study
One of the most prominent drawings in the shelter was a sailing ship, “faintly reminiscent of a boom-ringed sailing boat” and compared to the ship at the Maroota Stencils Shelter – which is now very hard to discern (bottom left is an older image of the ship by Val Attenbrow, most likely taken in the 1960s).
Superimposed on the sailing ship are a number of red ochre figures.
Two man drawn in red ochre figures are better preserved; both have oustretched arms.
Next to one of the red ochre figures is a faint hand stencil.
Another very weathered panel contains remants of charcoal figures.
The “big red shield” after which this shelter was named is no longer visible.
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