Cottage Rock Stalactite Shelter

Summary: A large occupation and rock art shelter near Cottage Rock at West Head, with a single hand stencil.

  • Site type: Stencil - Hand
  • Number of motifs: 1
  • Motif/s: Hand
  • Quality: 2/5
  • Condition of site: Good
  • Year first recorded: 2019

This very long and deep shelter is notable for several large stalactites and stalacmites, which are formed from secondary mineral deposits like common opal, limonite or alunite seeping through the sandstone.

1X3A9772 LR Cottage Rock Stalactite Shelter

On the ceiling is single hand stencil.

1X3A9770 LR Cottage Rock Stalactite Shelter

The large flat and sandy floor and midden deposit suggest that this may have also been an Aboriginal occupation shelter.

1X3A9774 LR Cottage Rock Stalactite Shelter

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 684 other subscribers

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Aboriginal Sites by National Park

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 – 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 – Yengo National Park
Yengo National Park was an important spiritual and cultural place for the Darkinjung and Wonnarua People for thousands of years, and 640 Aboriginal cultural sites are recorded in the park and nearby areas.
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.