Koolewong Ridge Shelter

Summary: Shelter below Koolewong Ridge, which has Aboriginal charcoal art (indeterminate motifs) and a midden.

  • Site type: Cave Painting
  • Number of motifs: 18
  • Motif/s: Fish, Indeterminate figure
  • Quality: 3/5
  • Condition of site: Good, Partially Destroyed
  • View site sketch
  • Year first recorded: 2019
  • Originally Recorded by: W.D. Campbell
  • Campbell Reference: PATONGA Plate 28 Fig 6 in Aboriginal Carving of Port Jackon and Broken Bay (Download)

Despite having a fairly weathered and wind-blasted interior, this shelter below the Koolewong Ridge contains charcoal Aboriginal art on some of the smoother sections of sandstone on the ceiling.

AWAT0047 LR Koolewong Ridge Shelter

The figures were described by W.D. Campbell: “The group is composed of fish, with a squid in the centre”. Many of the charcoal motifs can no longer be seen.

AWAT0035 LR Koolewong Ridge Shelter
AWAT0041 LR 1 Koolewong Ridge Shelter

Depite being over a hundred metres above the water, the shelter also contains a midden, with a dense layer of shells at one end of the cave.

AWAT0029 LR Koolewong Ridge Shelter
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