Hawkesbury Track Baiame at Berowra Waters

Next to the Hawkesbury Track at Berowra Waters is an unusual Aboriginal engraving site, with overlapping engravings carved on a rock surface. It was first described by R.H. Mathews in 1895:

The central figures of the group are suggestive of a woman with a child upon her lap. The larger figure has four longitudinal stripes on the body, a belt around the waist, a band across the thigh, and another on the arm; there is also what appears to be a head-dress. Beside this figure are a number of lines resembling those cut upon the ground and upon trees, and known “yammunyamun” among some tribes. These lines terminate behind the nether part of the body in an object resembling a human foot. The smaller figure, which may be intended for a child, has also a belt around the waist, and the line forming the lower side of the arm is continued across the body; the only features shown are the eyes.

One of the best photos of this unusual site was captured by Ray Norris in a composite image, which Bob Pankhurst included in his documentation of this site.

It’s difficult to determine the individual motifs as they are intertwined: Stegg & Campbell illustrated the challenges of interpreting Aboriginal rock engravings: “It also brings into discussion the problems of recording sites when one has preconceived ideas about the subject-matter, or indeed when one has no idea of the subject matter“. The figures (arguably) include a Baiame figure, and a seated Daramulan figure with an infant or small child on his lap, and a koala (which could be another Daramulan figure).