Near Strangers Creek in the Field of Mars is an unusual vertical engraving of a wallaby or kangaroo; the deep and smooth grooves suggest that the figure has been re-grooved since European colonisation.
References to the Field of Mars go back to 1792, when Governor Phillip granted land to Issac Archer and John Colethread, who named the area ‘Field of Mars’ to pay homage to their service as marines. Strangers Creek runs through the Field of Mars Common Area, and its name is believed to be named from the “strangers” – squatters, timber cutters, and “disreputable characters” who often inhabited the common.
Prior to European occupation, the area was inhabited by the Wallumedegal (or Wallumattagal) people who would have fished and hunted along the creeks and rivers.
The Wallumedegal were distributed on the northern side of the Parramatta River, starting from Lane Cove (dans le district de Field-of-Mars).
Captain Louis de Freycinet (1797-1842)
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