Summary: One of the most significant sites in the Sydney bason, Devil's Rock has over 67 figures, including Baiame and Daramulan who are are both ends of the rock platform.

Devil’s Rock, located at the Maroota Historic Site (south of Wiseman’s Ferry) was used for initiation rituals, and possibly also totemic increase rites. It was considered by Fred McCarthy to be one of most important engraving sites in the Sydney-Hawkesbury region, because of its planned composition and the line of dots linking two Ancestral Beings. At the time the Great Northern Road was being constructed in 1826, it was reported that the local Aboriginal people avoided certain areas in which there were engravings, calling them “Debbil Debbil Rocks” (Stanbury & Clegg).

img 3921 lr Devil's Rock (Maroota)

The engraving site has a total of 67 figures connected by 89 tracks, with most of the engraving situated between the two Ancestral Beings: Baiame and his one-legged son or brother, Daramulan. The engraving techniques used indicate that the figures were engraved at different times, and over a long period of time (McCarthy 1983)

The most prominent and impressive carving is of Baime, at one end of the complex site.

Nearby is another significant – and unusual – engraving of an emu with a clutch of eggs. The left image (below) is an enhanced photo by Jo McDonald; the right a photo under flat lighting with no enhancement.

Just above the main line of engravings and more obvious is a small leaping wallaby or kangaroo.

img 3926 lr Devil's Rock (Maroota)

There are 26 axe grinding grooves around the site.

The site also has motifs depicting European contact (rare in the Sydney region), including a sailing ship, a man in a top hat and a woman in a crinoline dress.

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Devines Hill and Finchs Line (Dharug NP) - Hiking the World · April 24, 2021 at 12:17 am

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Aboriginal Sites by 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.
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.
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.