SOME ROCK ENGRAVINGS OF the ABORIGINES of 

 NEW SOUTH WALES. 

 By R. H. Mathews, l.s. 



During my rambles among the large sandstone rocks along 

 the valley of the Hawkesbury river some time back, I 

 discovered some interesting aboriginal drawings, which no 

 one else has brought under notice. It seems to me that 

 the present is an opportune time to try and revive an 

 interest in native drawings, so that when the representa- 

 tives of the British Association for the Advancement of 

 Science visit this country they may consider it worth their 

 while to bestow some attention upon aboriginal art, and 

 the customs of the natives generally. 



I have prepared a diagram, upon which all the figures 

 are accurately drawn to scale, from careful measurements 

 made by myself, and their position on the Government maps 

 is stated in the descriptive letter press, so that they can 

 be readily found at any future time. From the date of the 

 first settlement of Australia by Governor Phillip in 1788 to 

 the present, aboriginal drawings on rocks have been 

 reported by explorers and others in various parts of the 

 continent. But from whatever part of Australia they 

 have yet been reported, they have all been executed in the 

 same manner. A row of holes was first made with a sharp 

 pointed piece of hard stone along the outline of the intended 

 drawing, after which the spaces between the punctures 

 were cut away to a uniform depth, forming a continuous 

 groove around the figure. This resemblance in the work- 

 manship might go to show that the aborigines were either 



