Kariong Fire Break Emus

Summary: An Aboriginal engraving site in Kariong, which has a pair of emus situated on what was an old road.

  • Site type: Rock engraving
  • Number of motifs: 2
  • Motif/s: Emu
  • Quality: 3/5
  • Condition of site: Good, Weathered
  • View site sketch
  • Year first recorded: 1969
  • Originally Recorded by: F.D. McCarthy, Ian Sim
  • McCarthy reference: PATONGA Mankind Group 164 in Catalogue of Rock Engravings (1983)
  • Sim Reference: Mankind 7(1) 1969 Sheet 3, Fig A

Along a disused firetrail in Kariong are two emus, which were first recorded by Ian Sim and later by Fred McCarthy when the road (since re-routed) ran over the Aboriginal engraving site.

IMG 1085 LR Kariong Fire Break Emus

The larger, or adult, emu was described by McCarthy as being “posed with its head down on straight neck”.

1X3A5951 LR Kariong Fire Break Emus
IMG 1077 LR Kariong Fire Break Emus

The smaller, incomplete emu has a “convex head, pointed beak, no eyes, neck bent upward”.

1X3A5964 LR Kariong Fire Break Emus
IMG 1083 LR Kariong Fire Break Emus

The firetrail to the west of the two emus has a number of weathered (and often damaged) engravings.

IMG 1057 LR Kariong Fire Break Emus
IMG 1055 LR Kariong Fire Break Emus

They include a number of circles, which appear to be engraved and not natural occurences.

IMG 1058 LR Kariong Fire Break Emus
IMG 1059 LR Kariong Fire Break Emus
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 1,267 other subscribers

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Aboriginal Sites by National Park

Aboriginal Rock Art – Blue Mountains National Park
Red Hands Cave, Glenbrook (Blue Mountains)
The Blue Mountains National Park (and surrounding areas along the Great Western Highway) is thought to have over a thousand indigenous heritage sites, although much of the park has not been comprehensively surveyed. The Aboriginal rock sites in the Blue Mountains include grinding grooves, stensils, drawing and rock carvings.
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.