Waratah Track Grooved Waterhole

Summary: Two potholes with a deep channel around them and two axe grinding grooves along a steep ledge. A short distance away are engravings of a shield and fish (not found).

  • Site type: Axe Grinding Groove (AGG), Rock engraving, Water Hole
  • Number of motifs: 2
  • Motif/s: Fish, Shield
  • Quality: 3/5
  • Condition of site: Good
  • View site sketch
  • Year first recorded: 1899
  • Originally Recorded by: F.D. McCarthy
  • McCarthy reference: BROKEN BAY Group 115/116 & Mankind Group 48 S4 in Catalogue of Rock Engravings (1983)
  • McCarthy in Mankind Vol 5, No. 1 (1954). Fig 8D. p.21-23

On the opposite side of the road to the Waratah Track – part of the Arden Trig Station group of Aboriginal engravings – are multiple potholes and two carvings along a ledge. Although only one of these potholes was documented by McCarthy, there are two which both have a deep, grooved channel around them.

AWAT2799 LR Waratah Track Grooved Waterhole
AWAT2806 LR Waratah Track Grooved Waterhole

The two pothole are linked by a horizontal channel.

AWAT2812 LR Waratah Track Grooved Waterhole
AWAT2814 LR Waratah Track Grooved Waterhole

Along the same, steep ledge are two axe grinding grooves.

AWAT2795 LR Waratah Track Grooved Waterhole
AWAT2794 LR Waratah Track Grooved Waterhole

To the north of the pothole, McCarthy documented a small fish and a “shield lacking the crossed line decoration” – these are currently covered by fallen trees and vegetation, and could not be found.

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 646 other subscribers

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Aboriginal Sites by National Park

Aboriginal Rock Art – Blue Mountains National Park
Red Hands Cave, Glenbrook (Blue Mountains)
The Blue Mountains National Park (and surrounding areas along the Great Western Highway) is thought to have over a thousand indigenous heritage sites, although much of the park has not been comprehensively surveyed. The Aboriginal rock sites in the Blue Mountains include grinding grooves, stensils, drawing and rock carvings.
Aboriginal Rock Art – Maroota and Marramarra NP
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.
Aboriginal Rock Art – Hornsby Shire
Hornsby Shire - which is the largest LGA in the Greater Sydney Metropolitan region - contains approximately 600 recorded Aboriginal rock art sites (and over 1,200 Aboriginal heritage sites). These date back from thousands of years to post-European contact art.
Aboriginal Rock Art – Lane Cove
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.
Aboriginal Rock Art in the Greater Blue Mountains
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.
Aboriginal Rock Art – Yengo National Park
Yengo National Park was an important spiritual and cultural place for the Darkinjung and Wonnarua People for thousands of years, and 640 Aboriginal cultural sites are recorded in the park and nearby areas.