Maitland Bay marine engravings

Summary: A small group of Aboriginal engravings on a spur above Maitland bay. The figures include a shark, fish, an eel and a shield.

Site type: Rock engraving
Number of motifs: 6
Motif/s: Eel, Fish, Mundoe (foot), Shark, Shield
Quality: 2/5
Condition of site: Good
Year first recorded: 1976
Originally Recorded by: Ian Sim
Sim Reference: Sim Reference: Sim Collection Site 1/8
Ian Sim, Archaelogical Sites in the Sydney Region – A Record of Field Surveys 1958-1973 (“Sim Collection”), Site 1/8 (Kincumber Peninsula), p.3

On a spur above Maitland Bay are a number of Aboriginal engravings, consisting mostly of marine creatures. One small rock has a carving of a fish.

1X3A6189 LR Maitland Bay marine engravings

Nearby is an engraving of a shield, with a single longitudinal line.

1X3A6195 LR Maitland Bay marine engravings

Another sandstone boulder has four figures, which have been “highlighted” by the local Aboriginal Land Council and NPWS.

1X3A6210 LR Maitland Bay marine engravings

There are two

1X3A6203 LR Maitland Bay marine engravings

1X3A6206 LR Maitland Bay marine engravings

The largest figure is what appears to be a shark.

1X3A6198 LR Maitland Bay marine engravings

A single oval (or mundoe) is on a thin rock ledge.

1X3A6211 LR Maitland Bay marine engravings

The site was described rather succinctly by Ian Sim: “4 small groups. Several fish, eels, kangaroo, shield, oval, abraded grooves”. The engraving of a kangaroo may be covered by grass or leaves.