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

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.
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.