Western Ridge Charcoal Frieze

Summary: An impressive frieze of Aboriginal charcoal drawings in the Blue Labyrinth area of the Blue Mountains; the identifiable motifs include a wallaby or kangaroo, and two men fighting.

  • Site type: Cave Painting
  • Number of motifs: 35
  • Motif/s: Emu, Kangaroo, Man
  • Quality: 4.5/5
  • Condition of site: Good
  • Year first recorded: 1958

Along the wall of a long and sheltered cave along the Western Ridge in the Blue Labyrinth is an impressive “frieze” of Aboriginal rock art. After a few days without rain, water was still dripping over the front of the shelter – although there are no grinding grooves under the dripline.

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Many of the charcoal figures exhibit some weathering, but a number are still quite distinct. One complex panel has what seems to be multiple human figures.

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Another, described in A History of the Blue Labyrinth (Bruce Cameron), shows two figures “possibly fighting”.

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At one end of the shelter is what appears to be a man and a bird, perhaps an emu.

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Nearby is a wallaby, or kangaroo.

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There are over 30 motifs scattered along about 20m of sandstone.

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1X3A7877 Western Ridge Charcoal Frieze
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1X3A7886 Western Ridge Charcoal Frieze
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Aboriginal Sites by National Park

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 – 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 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 – 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.