Summary: First recorded by the 1st Hornsby Scout Group, this Aboriginal engraving site depicts a man and his pregnant wife.

This Aboriginal engraving site was first recorded and sketched by 1st Hornsby (2nd Section) Boy Scouts in 1948, and then doumented by McCarthy and Hansen in 1958. A detailed report by J.C. Lough in 1967, which was conducted to identify carving sites in the vicinity of the Sydney to Newcastle freeway, also recorded some additional engravings of kangaroos and fish nearby (Porto Gully Two Wallabies).

The site depicts “a pregnant woman, short and rounded, with a man (her husband) wearing a rayed headband, girdle and a band across his eyes which are placed unusually low on his face” (McCarthy). Both figures are fairly weathered.

Engraving McCarthy COWAN Group70 Porto Gully Man and Woman

The man is 5′ 6″ high, with outstretched arms, with an elongated penis, and bulbous knees.

AWAT8434 LR Porto Gully Man and Woman

The head of the pregnant woman is barely visible, but her pregnant body is still distinct, as is her “deep carved vagina”.

AWAT8426 LR Porto Gully Man and WomanAWAT8426 LR highlighted Porto Gully Man and Woman
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Aboriginal Sites by 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.
Over a hundred Aboriginal sites have been recorded in the Hornsby region, with many of these in the Berowra Valley National Park and around the suburb of Berowra.
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.