Australia Telescope National Facility

Description

This beautiful site is protected by a wooden walkway, permitting easy access so that you get an excellent view of all the engravings without having to walk on the stone, which would damage the engravings. Bulgandry is actually the name given to the ancestral hero depicted at this site, and which is probably the most spectacular aspect of it.

Bulgandry is wearing a headress, holding a circular object in one hand (a shield?) and an elongated object in the other, while at his waist is a club or woomera.

Close to him is an elongated object which may be a canoe, which is rarely seen in engravings. The third unusal object is a spider or octupus (in any case, it has eight legs) next to a kangaroo.

Stanbury and Clegg show him holding a crescent-shaped object, which may be a boomerang or a crescent moon. But it's now very hard to make out such an object in his hand, although there is an indication of an elongated object above his hand.

To get there

Drive up the F3 freeway from Sydney, and take the turning signposted to Woy Woy and Gosford. About 3km from the Pacific Highway, on the road to Woy Woy, you will see a small NPWS sign on the right announcing the location of Bulgandry Aboriginal Engraving Site. Enter the track, park in the carpark, and follow the path to the site.

For more information

• Stanbury & Clegg (1990), p. 85
• NPWS leaflet
• Popp & Walker, 1997, "Footprints on Rock", pp. 42-43.

For full information on books (publisher, ISBN, etc) see the "Further Reading" page.

Image Gallery

Click on thumbnail on left to see full-sized image

	Map showing the location of the site.
	Diagram of the site.
	A top-down view of ancestral hero Bulgandry. This photo was taken using a large (5m high) tripod and a flash illuminating it from a position low down at the side. The photo you see here is actually a composite of four photos taken with the flash in different positions to highlight different areas of the engraving. The white stick is 1m long and points to magnetic North.
	Another view of Bulgandry. The blue and white stick is 1m long and is oriented to magnetic North.
	Another view of Bulgandry.
	The octupus or spider.
	The smaller man standing behind the kangaroo.
	Is it a fish? Is it a bird?
	The dolphin.