Eastern Firetrail Whale

Summary: An Aboriginal engraving site in Muogamarra Nature Reserve, which has a single carving of a whale.

  • Art type/s: Rock engraving
  • Number of motifs: 1
  • Motif/s: Whale
  • Quality: 3.5/5
  • Condition of art: Good
  • View site sketch
  • Year first recorded: 1958
  • Originally Recorded by: F.D. McCarthy, 1st Hornsby Scout Group
  • McCarthy reference: COWAN Mankind Group 59 in Catalogue of Rock Engravings (1983)
  • McCarthy in Mankind Vol. 5 No 5 (1958), Sheet 3, Fig A, p.202-3
  • Aboriginal Rock Carvings in the Broken Bay Area, 1st Hornsby (2nd Section) Boy Scouts No. 2

Note: The Djarra Crossing bushwalk is offered from time to time as a guided walk through the National Parks Discovery Walks Program (bookings essential and a small fee applies). It passes this Aboriginal engraving site, which is one of only two in Muogamarra that is publicly accessible.

This Aboriginal engraving of a whale on a rock along the Eastern Firetrail in the Muogamarra Nature Reserve was first documented by Fred McCarthy in 1958 (but previously recorded by the 1st Hornsby Boy Scouts).

AWAT5440 LR Eastern Firetrail Whale

The whale was described as “whale just over 10 feet long, with an unusually large number of fins” and “swimming in an animated pose”. The grooves and two eyes of the whale are quite distinct.

AWAT5439 LR Eastern Firetrail Whale
AWAT5445 LR Eastern Firetrail Whale
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 1,188 other subscribers

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Aboriginal Sites by National Park

Photographing Aboriginal rock art
A review of different techniques for photographing Aboriginal rock art. This includdes oblique flash, chain and planar mosaic imaging which combines hundreds of overlapping photos.
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 – Berowra Valley
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.
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.