Summary: Below the Shark Rock Ridge in dense scrub is an Aboriginal engraving of a "protective deity, holding up a fish with the right hand"

This Aboriginal rock engraving side below Shark Rock Ridge is on a thin strip of rock surrounded by dense scrub; not a location you would associate with a deity figure. The figure was described by Campbell as “that of the protective deity, holding up a fish with the right hand”. McCarthy later interpreted the site as representing “A mythological incident and a site of sacred importance”.

It’s very hard to see the entire deity or ancestral being, with vegetation and leaf litter encroaching all sides of the figure. You can make out his “bars on upper legs, conical penis… 4-strand belt”.

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 1,164 other subscribers

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Aboriginal Sites by National Park

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.
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.
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.
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.