Ourimbah Creek Dancing Men Shelter

Summary: A large Aboriginal rock art shelter which features three sets of "dancing men" in charcoal and white ochre, as well as a bandicoot and indeterminate figures.

  • Site type: Cave Painting
  • Number of motifs: 12
  • Motif/s: Bandicoot, Indeterminate figure, Man
  • Quality: 3.5/5
  • Condition of site: Good
  • Year first recorded: 1960
  • Originally Recorded by: Bob Pankhurst

Arguably the most impressive of five shelters containing Aboriginal rock along the same cliff line, this is also the largest of the overhangs.

IMG 1119 LR Ourimbah Creek Dancing Men Shelter

At one end of the shelter, a small charcoal figure is drawn within a “wasp’s nest” tafoni formation – an unusual location.

IMG 1135 LR Ourimbah Creek Dancing Men Shelter
IMG 1219 LR Ourimbah Creek Dancing Men Shelter

At the opposite (southern) end of the shelter are some indeterminate motifs also in charcoal, two “dancing men” and a bandicoot.

IMG 1215 LR Ourimbah Creek Dancing Men Shelter

There are two more “dancing men” in charcoal.

IMG 1128 LR Ourimbah Creek Dancing Men Shelter

And five “dancing men” in white ochre.

IMG 1124 LR Ourimbah Creek Dancing Men Shelter

Not easily visible without image enhancement is part of a large (indeterminate) red ochre figure.

IMG 1143 LR Ourimbah Creek Dancing Men ShelterIMG 1143 LR yre Ourimbah Creek Dancing Men Shelter
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 745 other subscribers

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Avatar placeholder

Aboriginal Sites by National Park

Aboriginal Rock Art – Maroota and Marramarra NP
Located to the north-west of Sydney, just south of the Dharug and Yengo National Parks, Maroota has a high concentration of (known) Aboriginal sites. Many more Aboriginal heritage sites are located in the Marramarra National Park. The original inhabitants of the area were the Darug people.
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.
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 in the Greater Blue Mountains
The Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area protects over 3,000 known Aboriginal heritage sites, and many more which are yet to be recorded. This area includes the Blue Mountains National Park, Gardens of Stone, Wollemi National Park and Yengo National Park.