Summary: An interesting Aboriginal engraving site in the bed of Coorumbine Creek, first documented by Ian Sim in 1969 and depicting a whale and three men.

Above the Corrumbine Creek Firetrail and in the bed of the Coorumbine Creek is an interesting Aboriginal engraving site. It was interpreted by McCarthy as “A favoured axe grinding site, with engravings showing a man speared for breaking the law, a disciplinary figure, and a man inside a whale representing magic to entice the whale to become stranded”.

Engraving Sim Group170 Coorumbine Creek Whale and Men

Some of the figures are partly covered or hard to see: one of the men at the edge of the site is half-buried by fallen branches and debris. What can still be seen are his legs, and pointed penis.

AWAT0383 LR Coorumbine Creek Whale and Men

The whale with a man inside was partly underwater after heavy rain, and hard to photograph. The club held by the man (who is inside the whale) was the most distinct motif.

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Aboriginal Sites by National Park

Red Hands Cave, Glenbrook (Blue Mountains)
The Blue Mountains National Park (and surrounding areas along the Great Western Highway) is thought to have over a thousand indigenous heritage sites, although much of the park has not been comprehensively surveyed. The Aboriginal rock sites in the Blue Mountains include grinding grooves, stensils, drawing and rock carvings.
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.
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.