Spirits Rock (Cowan Trail)

Summary: Spirits Rock is a signposted Aboriginal engraving site at the end of the Cowan Trail, which has a number of figures, including a large and detailed engraving of the Baiame deity.

Spirits Rock is at the end of the Cowan Trail (which branches off the Long Trail): a small, signposted Aboriginal engraving site with a number of carved figures. It suffered some damage in the 1970s from people riding across the platform, and some misguided efforts to regroove some of the figures. Near the centre of the Spirits Rock site is a large and detailed engraving of Baiame.

baiame Spirits Rock (Cowan Trail)
Source: Sydney Rock Art

The site features a number of men, in different poses.

IMG 1943 LR Spirits Rock (Cowan Trail)IMG 1943 LR highlighted Spirits Rock (Cowan Trail)

Another engraving of a man.

IMG 1939 LR Spirits Rock (Cowan Trail)IMG 1939 LR highlighted Spirits Rock (Cowan Trail)

Below this one of the men is a shield; it seems to have only a vertical line, which is unusual.

IMG 7394 LR Spirits Rock (Cowan Trail)IMG 7394 LR highlighted Spirits Rock (Cowan Trail)

Another two men near one another have what appears to be a a headress.

IMG 1941 LR Spirits Rock (Cowan Trail)IMG 1941 LR highlighted Spirits Rock (Cowan Trail)
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3 Comments

ian jacobs · June 25, 2021 at 12:33 pm

It may be of some interest to know that all the engraved images of Daramullan and other sky heroes in the Sydney area are oriented with the head east of the body

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Wildflowers on the Cowan Trail | Hiking the World · August 26, 2021 at 8:51 pm

[…] the end of Cowan Trail is Spirits Rock, a signposted Aboriginal site which I visited a few months ago – the fairly well-preserved […]

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