At the end of the Slade Lookout Track is an engraving of what has been described as an emu, waterfowl or goose – it’s thought to be non-Aboriginal in origin.
Almost directly underneath is a engraving of a lizard. This may also be fake; its provenance has not been verified and the grooves look very smooth, rather than pecked.
2 Comments
Miriam Lewis · February 4, 2026 at 8:29 pm
“… it’s provenance has not been verified” – this applies to every engraving, cave art etc. out there doesn’t it? i.e. what’s fake or not doesn’t come from any historical record of whoever created it. For all we know it’s as authentic as any other.
oliverd :-) · February 4, 2026 at 9:06 pm
It could be “authentic” – my comment was based on both my somewhat untrained assessment (looking at the grooves and style of the figure) anjd the fact I could find no information on this site.
Some sites are clearly “fake” in that they were engraved using an angle grinder or metal tool.
Other sites have documentation dating back to the 1880s or have been researched by anthropologists who have determined them to be “genuine” based on dating techniques or analysis of the grooves and style of the figures.
But it’s not perfect – in 2019 a hand stencil in Glenbrook was deemed to be “culturally significant” by an independent archaeologist specialising in Aboriginal heritage – until it was discovered that two (non-indigenous) teenagers created them in the 1960s.