Dharawal Aboriginal Engravings Site
Dharawal Aboriginal Engravings Site
Dharawal Aboriginal Engravings Site
4
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At Jibbon Head/Point in the Royal National Park, which is at the end of a one-kilometre beach track from Bundeena, there is a good example of rock engravings that is accessible for public to view. The carvings are on a large sandstone platform and depict killer whales, stingrays, turtles, kangaroos and a well-endowed lawgiver, long ago carved by the Dharawal people of the area.
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4.0
23 reviews
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Marc N
Bartlesville, OK1,392 contributions
Feb 2020
To get to the engravings you must know where you are going. Park in town, walk along the beach until you get to the rocky end and then go inland into the bush. After a short walk there is an clearing with the history and aboriginal story of the engravings. Keep going and a metal walkway will emerge that looks out over the engravings. Each engraving is marked by a sign. After 20,000 years the engravings are worn but you can make them out. Not a major find for most people but if you are into archeology or history make the trip.
Written 26 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The_Pale_Ridah
Gladesville, Australia1,956 contributions
At approx 30 kms from the Sydney CBD in The Royal National Park the village of Bundeena hides an interesting collection of Aboriginal rock engravings by the Dharawal Aboriginal people.
The rock engravings have been estimated to be approx 2000 years old & depict images of a whale, stingray, kangaroo & human figure. There are a number of other faint images which are hard to make out as they have slowly been eroded over time & are outlines of animals in their basic shapes. The images suggest the local Aboriginal tribe had some sort of great affiliation, respect &/or affinity with animals. The images do not depict any corroberees, animal hunts or mass gatherings of people & seem significant for their representation of the local sea life.
The human figure has been described as a ‘law-giver’ who has a sixth finger & big stomach. The images do not seem to be part any one single scene or story as their positioning is random & at different angles & sizes to one another. The site is on a cliff that overlooks the sea where whales are known to use as a corridoor to warmer waters during the seasonal migration up the east Australian coast during winter in the southern hemisphere as it becomes too cold in their Antarctic waters.
The Dharawal Aboriginal rock engraving site itself is situated near the edge of a very scenic spot looking out to the Pacific Ocean to the east & the Conulla peninsula is quite visible to the north, just behind wild shrubs & trees. The engravings are sited on a rock floor & is only accessable via a great walk across Jibbon Beach which is approx 1 kms. From the beach it is a further few hundred metres in & around the low cliff at Jibbon Point. Currently all the information signs have been vandilised but if you scratch around after the 3rd sign you will literally walk over the site. The well worn narrow path is over grown with flora & is poorly marked to indicate distance as the normal standards of the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) is normally quite excellent for sites of natural & cultural significance. There are no handrailings for the handicapped & would be very difficult to reach by wheelchair without significant help but makes for a scenic walk from Jibbon Beach.
Jibbon Beach from Sydney can be reached from the Princess Hwy turining into Farnell Ave at the Royal National Park sign, there is an $11 entry fee to the national park at a gate operated by the National Parks & Wildlife Service. Street parking is available on Neil St not far from Bundeena.
The rock engravings have been estimated to be approx 2000 years old & depict images of a whale, stingray, kangaroo & human figure. There are a number of other faint images which are hard to make out as they have slowly been eroded over time & are outlines of animals in their basic shapes. The images suggest the local Aboriginal tribe had some sort of great affiliation, respect &/or affinity with animals. The images do not depict any corroberees, animal hunts or mass gatherings of people & seem significant for their representation of the local sea life.
The human figure has been described as a ‘law-giver’ who has a sixth finger & big stomach. The images do not seem to be part any one single scene or story as their positioning is random & at different angles & sizes to one another. The site is on a cliff that overlooks the sea where whales are known to use as a corridoor to warmer waters during the seasonal migration up the east Australian coast during winter in the southern hemisphere as it becomes too cold in their Antarctic waters.
The Dharawal Aboriginal rock engraving site itself is situated near the edge of a very scenic spot looking out to the Pacific Ocean to the east & the Conulla peninsula is quite visible to the north, just behind wild shrubs & trees. The engravings are sited on a rock floor & is only accessable via a great walk across Jibbon Beach which is approx 1 kms. From the beach it is a further few hundred metres in & around the low cliff at Jibbon Point. Currently all the information signs have been vandilised but if you scratch around after the 3rd sign you will literally walk over the site. The well worn narrow path is over grown with flora & is poorly marked to indicate distance as the normal standards of the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) is normally quite excellent for sites of natural & cultural significance. There are no handrailings for the handicapped & would be very difficult to reach by wheelchair without significant help but makes for a scenic walk from Jibbon Beach.
Jibbon Beach from Sydney can be reached from the Princess Hwy turining into Farnell Ave at the Royal National Park sign, there is an $11 entry fee to the national park at a gate operated by the National Parks & Wildlife Service. Street parking is available on Neil St not far from Bundeena.
Written 6 January 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jonathon S
Sydney, Australia3 contributions
Dec 2014 • Solo
By pure incident a local Bundeena kid stumbled onto an over grown rock ledge whilst playing hid and seek with two class mate ,The year was 1956 only to find to his amazement a set of historically valued rock carvings which remain to this very day for a new generation of history buffs . A visit well worth the time taken to venture down to Gibbon beach then over to the head land to retrace those same foot steps of history situated right on our door steps, just a short distance from every day life.
Written 30 December 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
FoodySA
Adelaide, Australia25 contributions
Nov 2019 • Family
Took the kids hiking to show them these engravings after showing them the petroglyphs at Gosford a couple of years ago. These glyphs were harder to find and even harder to see from the raised platform. The day we went was extremely sunny so that could have contributed.
Written 18 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lynne Z
Gold Coast, Australia231 contributions
Dec 2017 • Friends
We caught the ferry from Cronulla to Bundeena to do the walk to Jibbon Head and these carvings and were so disappointed. The walk itself was lovely, although very exposed and often lacking signposts. It took us some time to find the carvings because again the signposts were damaged or missing. The blurb says the local aborigines are charged with maintaining the site, and it was obvious it hadn't seen any maintenance for quite a while. Although we could see the rocks had been carved, it was impossible to make out what the carvings were because of lichen and discolouration.. If the carvings is your reason for visiting, don't bother.
Written 3 January 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Marc A
Sydney, Australia68 contributions
Oct 2014 • Friends
Accessible via a bush walking trail, the aboriginal engravings are spread out across a large sandstone rock and illustrate some of the animals that were a part of the Dharawal people lives in the past. It makes me think of how different (and pristine) Sydney area was in the not too distant past.
Written 24 December 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Teresa C
Metro Manila, Philippines1,563 contributions
Jun 2020
Good instructions and directions to follow. Great slightly elevated (and protective) wattled pathways lead you around the bush to the sites.
Written 3 June 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Granules2013
Darwin, Australia1,959 contributions
Nov 2019 • Friends
Worth wandering past these if doing the walk out to Jibbon Head. Not overly exciting and wouldn’t make it the main reason to come here. Interesting to see though.
Written 11 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bartonbears
Coffs Harbour, Australia2,742 contributions
Oct 2019 • Couples
We visited this site on a slightly cloudy day so could not see the carvings at their best. Some of the figures were quite discernible whereas only parts of others could be seen. Sadly a kangaroo carved by a vandal in quite recent times was the most obvious. Even though the etchings were fairly obscure, the sensation of being at a place with so much cultural significance and some 5,000 years old was very rewarding.
Written 3 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JElliot32
New South Wales, Australia3,960 contributions
Mar 2019 • Friends
The ancient Aboriginal rock engravings are just past Jibbon Beach, an easy and pleasant walk out of Bundeena township. The engravings are quite extensive and are viewed from a a raised platform that traverses the sandstone ledge where they are located. The figures can be hard to make out at first but include a whale, a shark and a kangaroo as well as other figures. No idea of their age, but I imagine they were already ancient when Capt Cook sailed past some 250 years ago.
Written 16 March 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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