Oatley Park – Looking for Aboriginal Art – 7 July 2022

Bob had never been to Oatley Park, and I had suggested a visit there, and we thought we could combine it with looking for Aboriginal art sites. Digi Dave had shown me an art site on a previous visit – a small cave with some charcoal drawings. It seemed likely that there could be more art scattered throughout the park.

Lime Kiln Bay is on the west side of Oatley Park and that name comes from the early colonial activity that took place there – making lime, an ingredient of cement used for building work. But the lime would be made from shells – and that in turn suggests middens. And that means Aboriginal occupation sites.

So we travelled to Oatley and we were soon in the park. We started by visiting the site I had been to previously with Digi Dave. It is a small overhang that has some charcoal art. There is a large figure – hard to work out, a small fish and a shield shape and a few other things.

We then looked in the same general area. One cave looked promising. The floor was covered in shells – an old midden.

The roof had one section with three hand stencils.

And there appears to be another faint hand stencil on this section –

We then looked at some other overhangs. This one had some charcoal art –

And a single hand stencil –

Another cave with more charcoal art –

The cliffs of that area seemed to be running out, so we then started searching at another cliffline. One cave we found was quite good. It had a single hand stencil –

And some ochre art –

And charcoal art –

So far our searching had been very fruitful.

We checked out some more caves but did not find any more art. These caves were more exposed to the weather and not so suitable.

One of them did have possible engraving –

It was still early in the day, so we then completed some of the tracks in the park and at Lime Kiln Bay.

Variegated Fairy-wren

Earth Stars

A very distant Osprey –

Tawny Frogmouth

Silvereye

Striated Thornbill

White-browed Scrubwren

Acianthus sp. Orchid

Near the track on the west side of Lime Kiln Bay, above the wetlands, are several large overhangs that would have been Aboriginal occupation sites. The walls are however covered in graffiti. But middens are still evident –

Greenhood Orchid

Acianthus sp. Orchid

Australasian Grebe – in the Lime Kiln Bay Wetlands.

Variegated Fairy-wren

Grey Butcherbird

We then went to the other side of Oatley – to Oatley Point.

We looked in the Oatley Point Reserve for Aboriginal sites. We found a few middens –

And a possible engraving site –

This had been a very interesting day.