Wheeler Heights

The Wheeler Heights/Cromer Heights aboriginal engraving platform has a line of mundoes leading across to a cave and another line leading to a scene that shows a successful kangaroo hunt. Two male figures stand by two speared kangaroos. There are also a number of fish and other unusual carvings.

Wheeler Heights - an engraving of two speared kangaroos

Speared Kangaroos

This image shows a figure with a club or axe nearby.

Wheeler Heights - an engraving of a figure with an axe

Figure With Axe

Wheeler Heights - an engraving of a figure with an axe

Figure With Axe Outline

Just above the head of this figure a mundoe (footprint) can be seen.

Wheeler Heights - an engraving of a figure with a mundoe

Figure With Mundoe

Wheeler Heights - an outline of an engraving of a figure with a mundoe

Figure With Mundoe Outline

This engraving is probably some kind of shark.

Wheeler Heights - an engraving of a shark

Shark

Wheeler Heights - an outline of an engraving of a shark

Shark Outline

A wobbegong.

Wheeler Heights - an engraving of a wobbegong

Wobbegong

Wheeler Heights - an ouline of an engraving of a wobbegong

Wobbegong Outline

A shark ray (top) and some kind of fish (bottom).

Wheeler Heights - an engraving of a shark ray and a fish

Shark Ray And Fish

Wheeler Heights - an outline of an engraving of a shark ray and fish

Shark Ray And Fish Outline

This very unusual engraving appears to show a chain of large cowrie shells. This engraving is about one meter wide. Cowrie shell necklaces were considered to be of great value and one this size would probably only be worn for ceremonial purposes. The Art Gallery of NSW has some examples of these cowrie shell necklaces.

Wheeler Heights - an engraving of a string of cowrie shells

Cowrie Shell Chain

Wheeler Heights - an outline of an engraving of a cowrie shell chain

Cowrie Shell Chain Outline

This figure is very faint and has almost worn away.

Wheeler Heights - an engraving of a very faint figure

Faint Figure

Wheeler Heights - an outline of an engraving of a faint figure

Faint Figure Outline

This is a large unadorned shield.

Wheeler Heights - an engraving of a shield

Shield

A hunting boomerang. A hunting boomerang is not designed to return but is mainly for injuring or killing animals or enemies.

Wheeler Heights - an engraving of a hunting boomerang

Hunting Boomerang

63 thoughts on “Wheeler Heights

  1. Rebecca Munro

    I am on the P&C at Cromer Public School and would be interested to discuss how we would organise a school excursion to the carvings at Wheeler Heights/Cromer Heights?

    Reply
        1. Sydney Rock Art Post author

          Yes, these engravings are located on publicly accessible land so there should be no restriction on school groups visiting this site. Wheelchair access might not be so easy. Locating and recognizing the engravings may be difficult depending on weather conditions. Overcast days or very bright midday sun can be problematic. Early morning or late afternoon when the sun is low in the sky are the best times to view engravings.

          Reply
  2. Catherine

    I lived in Toronto Ave in the 60s and bush walked in the beautiful hills on weekends – up what was called Coronory Hill (part of the golf course, but now housing). I would love to view the aboriginal engravings.
    Where would I access these rock engravings please?
    Kind regards

    Reply
  3. Steve Page

    Hi I am interested in exploring the Wheeler Heights carvings. Is there more information you can share?

    Reply
  4. Alan Brightman

    Hi, My partner Denise and I would love to view this indigenous art. Are you able to help us with any directions please?

    Reply
  5. Laura Doyle

    I found some kind of carved whale while exploring some of Australia’s parks. I have a picture if you’d like me to send it.

    Reply
    1. Sydney Rock Art Post author

      That would be great if you would send us some of your pictures. We will contact you via email.

      Reply
  6. Sylvelin POST

    Can you please email me directions accessing from Cromer Rd? We live in Cromer and have heard about some beautiful carvings but can’t see them. We are very interested in aboriginal art.

    Reply
  7. Amanda

    Hi my children are learning about the rock art at Cromer Public School. Can you please email directions so we can visit the site?

    Many thanks
    Amanda

    Reply
  8. Jason Crowe

    Hi,
    I visited these carvings when I was at Cromer Public School in the 70’s and would now like to take my kids, could you tell me where they are as I can’t remember…

    Reply
  9. Johnny Waite

    G’day , I have found one rock ledge with some engravings , but not these ones ? And I have heard of a sacred cave in the Cromer Heights area also ? Can you provide me with more info please ?
    Thank you – Johnny Waite

    Reply
  10. Greg Humphreys

    We have seen indigenous carving all around Australia but have never seen the ones at Cromer where we have been residents for many years. We would love to be able to see them and are hoping to get direction of where to find them.
    Regards Greg & Kaye

    Reply
  11. Philippa

    I grew up in Cromer heights and as kids 30+ years ago I remember us all going bush walking around the hills behind Cromer heights and seeing aboriginal artworks. I can’t remember exactly what they looked like but I think I remember engravings and hand stencils, none of which were being protected back then. I remember the older kids knew where they were and would take us to see them, but the adults were oblivious. I’m so glad to see these are registered and hopefully protected now.

    Reply
  12. Dr. Keith Vincent Smith

    Congratulations on your site.
    I volunteer to take mentors & kids from the Tribal Warrior organisation at Redfern on cultural visits to places like Wheeler Heights.
    If you have time, I would like to get the address of the Wheeler Heights rock engravings to show them.

    Kind regards

    Dr. Keith Vincent Smith
    Historian/ Curator

    Reply
  13. Lana martin

    Hi there,

    I am just wondering if I could get directions to the rock art in wheeler heights ? I live inWheeler Heights and would love to take my son there,

    Warm regards, Lana

    Reply
      1. David Lorimer

        Hello.

        I would love to see the rock carvings around Cromer and Wheeler heights. I have heard there are some in beacon hill too. Do you know if these ?

        Reply
        1. Sydney Rock Art Post author

          There probably are engravings at Beacon Hill, but we have not yet explored that area. There is a large, well known engraving site nearby at Allambie Heights.

          Reply
  14. Corinne

    Hello, I would also really appreciate the directions to the engravings so I can see them in person. Thank you!

    Reply
  15. Shelley

    Hi. We are of Gunditjmara heritage. Whenever I visit an area I look up sites to visit. It is important to me that my son has cultural understanding and helps us to respect the country we are on. Today we need to pick something up from Wheeler Heights and we’re delighted to see there is a site in the suburb itself. I know it is a long shot that we get a reply before leaving this afternoon, but please could you let us know where to look (to tell the truth we always go back if we learn of a new place) I was excited to see the area is rich so we may even do a day or two if any information can be provided on other Guringai sites too
    Thank you

    Reply
    1. Bernice

      The carvings in Beacon Hill are in the front yard of a private home. It is accessible at the moment as it is the display home ?ICONIC. It will be sold off in the next couple of years. It is next door to the car wash. About 226 Warringah Rd Beacon Hill. Really worth a visit.

      Reply
  16. Martin Carroll

    Hi, would love to walk up to the engravings and cave with my kids, can you please send me directions via email too.

    Thanks, Martin

    Reply
  17. Nicola Turman

    Hi
    I have lived in Cromer Heights for 17 years. I would love to walk to the aboriginal carvings with my daughter and would be very grateful for details of their loacation

    Thank you

    Nicola Turman

    Reply
  18. Carleen

    I am a retired teacher living in the area and love exploring the local community. I would be very grateful if you would email me the address please so we can learn more about the rich history of our area.

    Reply
  19. Jenny Simpfendorfer

    Hi, I live at Cromer Heights also and would love to visit. Could you please send me instructions on how to get to the site? Thanks Jenny

    Reply
  20. Katja

    Hi there,

    We live in Cromer for many years and would love to visit the site! Would you please pave do kind and send us the location.

    Warm Regards
    Katja Girdler

    Reply
  21. Von Kerridge

    Hi
    We would like to see the Aboriginal rock carvings in Cromer Heights and would be grateful if you could email the directions to us please. We’ve lived in Cromer Heights since the 1970s and have visited the rock carvings back then however we can’t recall exactly where they are.
    Many thanks

    Reply
  22. Anne-Marie Maplesden

    Hi – we live in Dee Why. We would love to visit the Cromer Heights aboriginal engraving platform. We tried to find it yesterday but ended up back at Narrabeen Lakes. We would really appreciate directions to the site. Also, is it accessible (or is any part of the route accessible) by bike? Thank you.
    Kind regards
    Anne-Marie

    Reply
    1. Andrew

      You can’t really find it much. Hidden away protected by trees and rocks have been place around to make it look like nothing.

      Reply
  23. Anne-Marie

    Our family would love to visit the Cromer Heights Aboriginal site. Could you please send directions by return email? That would be much appreciated. Thank you. Regards, Anne-Marie

    Reply
  24. Bethany Williamson

    Hello,
    My family and I live in Wheeler Heights and would love to see the carvings. Is it possible to get the directions emailed please?
    Thank you so much.

    Reply
  25. Andrew

    We have lived in Cromer for over 40 years and would love to take our kids to the carvings.
    Can you please send directions.
    Thank you so much.

    Reply
  26. Michael Neaves

    I have just visited Moon Rock in Belrose and as we live in Cromer I am keen to visit the rock carvings in Cromer/Wheeler Heights area. I would be grateful if you would email directions to me please. Thank you

    Reply
  27. RIchard Hastings

    I lived in Cromer from 1962 to 1986 and often bushwalked in the area. These rock carvings first came into prominence about 1972 when a road was bulldozed past them in order to erect electrical power poles, and stakes were driven into the rock carvings in order to support the poles. As a result of this, the conservation group National Parks Association of NSW organised for an aboriginal elder from the Northern Territory to view and interpret the rock carvings. He said that the carvings indicated that this was a sacred site, the carvings of the hunter, the kangaroo and the fish said that if any hunting was done on the site then the kangaroos and the fish would depart. He also said that it was a Bora ground, and nearby would be a flat grassed area with an upright rock in the centre, and a sacred cave. Both of these were located. These findings were published in the National Parks Journal at this time.
    I have searched the website of the National Parks Association, but their records do not seem to go back that far, however I have not contacted them to ask whether they have a copy of the Journal in their archives.

    Reply
  28. Deb

    Hi, I’m a Joey Scout Leader in Allambie and would like to take my Joeys to visit the engravings and rock shelter. Please could you email me directions to the site?

    Reply
  29. Gioia

    Hi, I live in manly and am very keen to visit this site. Keen to learn more about the history of the land I live on. If you could point me in the right direction that would be great. Thanks.

    Reply
    1. Robert

      Not going to really be able to get there. It has been protected by trees and the exact location doesn’t get released

      Reply
  30. Rick

    Hi
    I’ve been walking past a rock at narrabeen lakes between south creek and Jamison park and noticed an engraving. Would like to send you an image for you to let us know what creature is depicted in the image
    Thanks

    Reply
    1. Sydney Rock Art Post author

      That sounds very interesting. We would like to see any images that you have of that engraving.

      Reply
  31. Sara Camier

    Hi, we live in Collaroy Plateau and have recently discovered the fantastic bush walks in Cromer Heights. I’d love to take my kids to see the Aboriginal rock art (and this could potentially be a great activity for his cub group). I’d be very grateful if you could email me the details.
    Thanks and regards,
    Sara

    Reply
  32. Selena Griffith

    I found some interesting markings in the rocks and a carved out reservoir to collect spring water – would love to send you pics. Also know where to find the sites you mention.

    Reply
  33. Joanna

    I would love to take my children to see these as we live so close by are you able to provide some directions?
    Kindest

    Reply
  34. Carole Beales Evans

    We have a great respect and admiration for the way the Aboriginal locals cared for the land and did it so well. We live in the area and would love to visit if you could kindly provide details of where to go.

    Reply
  35. MIKE ANDERSON

    HI Carole.
    I found you by doing a google search which brought me here.
    My name is Mike and I rent 11 Townland Close, Biddenden, Kent. A letter / ?Xmas card arrived from you addressed to Isabel Green. I have not been able to find a forwarding address for her.
    If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know.
    Best wishes,
    Mike

    Reply
  36. Peter

    When I lived in Wheeler Heights as a young fella in the 70s and 80s I explored through the bush along the creeks. There were may axe grinding grooves and water line grooves. I will try to locate the area on google maps and send to you. Would you be able to show me the locations of the carvings you have shown? I’d like to be able to show my son. Many thanks, Peter

    Reply
  37. Debby Ryan

    I bush walk on weekends with friends, one of whom has a particular interest in Aboriginal rock carvings. Could I get the location so we can go for a walk and see these carvings.
    Regards Debby Ryan

    Reply
  38. Lisa Wishart

    Hello,
    I live in Cromer and have been reading about local Indigenous art. Could you let me know where I can access the wheeler Heights engravings please.
    Thank you

    Reply
  39. E. Keidge

    Many of these Aboriginal sites are protected by the fact that the locations are not disclosed. Once the the site locations are publicised on social media the visitation can increase exponentially along with human impacts such as vandalism, abrasion of the soft rock and creation of worn paths or the creation of bike tracks to sites. There are many sites in the Sydney Basin and as the number of unmanaged increases resources to monitor become stretched and the carving slowly disappear from increasing impacts… There are Aboriginal engraving sites open to the public across Sydney which are more suitable to visit.. Help protect Aboriginal cultural heritage.

    Reply
    1. Mark

      … and if you hide them from the world how do you expect appreciation of the culture to blossom? Compared to the rest of the world Australians in general have little to zero appreciation of their country’s ancient history, and your post there is a prime example as to one reason why. Look at the rest of the world – Greece, China, Egypt, Japan, Italy the UK etc. etc. all promote and encourage tourists, both international and local, to visit and enjoy their historic sites and thus the appreciation and PROTECTION of those sites grows and grows. Meanwhile, people like you hold this elitist view of keeping our history “secret and hidden”, but at the same time giving bushwalking clubs, websites like this one and others some kind of exclusive knowledge and access to these sites, as if they have more right to see them than the “average Joe” who has as much of a genuine interest and respect towrds these sites as any of your exclusive club – and the majority of these elitists are not indigeneous and have no more “ownership” or claim of these sites than the any other non-aboriginal person. Who are you to say there are other sites “more suitable to visit”, maybe we want to see other sites too, maybe there are 500 suitable sites for all to enjoy – they don’t belong to you!

      Reply
      1. Phil

        Hi Mark,
        I think your reply is a little unfair. Are you saying Aboriginal people are wrong to keep places confidential? Are you saying Aboriginal sites officers and heritage managers are wrong to try and keep site locations confidential when all the evidence points to increased damage and vandalism and vegetation impacts where visitation increases? Aboriginal traditions across this continent included very strict laws about what areas were open to everyone and which were restricted. We may not have that type of traditional knowledge for here, but there has been an agreed ‘new’ tradition endorsed by Aboriginal heritage workers for decades that the best way to protect most sites is simply keep their location confidential. It doesn’t mean you can’t visit, but it absolutely means not spreading the information widely because increased visitation increases the likelihood of irreversible damage. Climate change is putting more stress on vegetation which isn’t always able to recover from the last group visit, thus leading to more tracks, more erosion and more accidental discovery and visitation. Given that state governments have been reducing the funding for on-ground staff in National Parks, while at the same time trying to make more areas open to the public, it means there are fewer resources to actually protect and maintain these fragile landscapes. Some mountain bikers, for example, feel it is their right to make new tracks through bushland, regardless of the impacts to flora, fauna, cultural heritage and other park users. If more people feel Aboriginal sites are theirs to promote and visit regardless of potential impacts, then how is this respecting Aboriginal heritage and the traditions of caring for country? It takes a lot of money and time by many individuals and organisations to get a site to a state where it is reasonably safe for public visitation (yet they are still vandalised and ongoing maintenance is essential). If Aboriginal heritage was seen as a higher priority by all Australians, perhaps there would be more resources to promote, protect and manage it. I would suggest people try and reduce or cease visits to unmanaged sites, don’t share the locations of sites with others, and lobby their local MPs to increase the funding for Aboriginal heritage management. In further defending E.Keidge, I would say it is certainly not elitist to wish that as many sites as possible are in the best possible condition well into the future, rather than adding to the list of degraded and sorry sites that have been too long on the well-beaten track. It’s nice to have great photos. Even better to have a well-cared for environment.

        Reply
  40. Luke Miller

    I live in this area and would love to educate my children and show them this rock art. Would it be possible for you to share this location?
    Thanks

    Reply
  41. Kimberley

    Hi
    I live locally in Cromer and am teaching my children about indigenous cultures and would really like to be able to show them something so close to where they live to help them connect with the community and the land on which we live. Please could you share the directions to locate this precious rock art. Thank you

    Reply
  42. Kyle Stevens

    What you haven’t written is one of the most amazing facts about the carvings, which is, All the animals are carved pointing towards where you can find them. All the marine animals, fish, sharks are pointing towards the sea. The kangaroos are facing towards the fields where they would have been found. These people where very clever. We always believed they were carved to show tribes in the area where they were and to show where to get food.

    Reply

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