The Earlwood Aboriginal Art Site is a heritage-listed Aboriginal cultural site which reflects the spiritual and physical connection of the Cooks River catchment to the Wangal, Cadigal and Gameygal people (some sources attribute this rock shelter to the Bediagal / Bijigal / Bidjigal people, who are likely to have occupied an area further north, between Parramatta and the Hawkesbury River).
Comprising a rockshelter, midden and stencil work, the site offers a rare and unique insight into the daily life as well as the routine and ceremonial culture of the Bidigal people prior to European contact. It’s [sic] significance is strengthened in that it is a rare example of such an intact surviving occupation site in a highly urbanised setting.
Environment NSW – Earlwood Aboriginal Art Site
Many Aboriginal sites were destroyed by European colonisation, but at least ten recorded shelter sites provide some archaeological evidence of Aboriginal life along the Cooks River and Wolli Creek.
Undercliffe (the Earlwood Aboriginal Art Site) is the most significant of the surviving Aboriginal sites, and features rare foot stencils, as well as hand stencils and a midden. It’s the only one of its kind in the City of Canterbury area.
The hand stencils covering the rear wall of the sandstone overhang at Undercliffe remind us of the central importance of ceremony in Aboriginal life. Hand prints of many different Aboriginal people were placed there over time, for reasons we do not fully understand, but the shelter would have been recognised as a significant place in the Cooks River landscape.
Aboriginal History along the Cooks River
The rock art in the shelter was first informally recorded around 1970, and subsequent investigations revealed more stencils.
| c. 1970 | Informal recording with at least 10 hand stencils noted |
| 1974 | First formal recording by NPWS documented “5 very faint hand stencils, some very indistinct charcoal lines” |
| 1979 | Detailed recording by Michael Guider which included a survey sheet, drawing and photographs noted 23 white hand stencils (two showing forearms) and two foot stencils |
| 2005 | An investigation by Jo McDonald added a third foot stencil |
Most of the stencils are still visible, but a 2009 report found that the site “has been deteriorating over time due to a lack of protection and poor site management practices”.
More information
- Environment NSW – Earlwood Aboriginal Art Site
- Cooks River Alliance – Aboriginal History along the Cooks River [PDF]
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