Several rock shelters containing Aboriginal art are located in the Mt. Grenfell area, 50 km west of Cobar. These are some of the finest, best preverved examples of Aboriginal rock art in New South Wales. Around 1,300 figures have been created in solid blocks of colour rather than as stick figures or single line designs. Large multicoloured panels are the result of superimposition by the Aboriginal painters.

The main colours are yellow and red ochres and white gypsum extracted from nearby creek beds, with the occasional use of black. These colours are common throughout the Cobar area. Other colours may have been obtained by trading with tribes from other areas. Paint was produced by rubbing the ochres and gypsum against sandstone to form powder, and then mixing with water. Animal fat was sometimes mixed with the paint to make it thicker and more durable. The paint was applied either by fingers or with brushes made by chewing the ends of twigs or grasses. Stencil objects were used by putting the paint mixture into the mouth and blowing over the chosen object. The result is an impressive display, as the paint has filled the crevices in the uneven rock surface, giving it a continuous coating of colour.

The majority of the art is concentrated in two of the seven sandstone shelters in the area. One shelter contains one of the two biggest friezes of motifs found in the Cobar area. Almost every part of the ceiling has been covered with paintings, with a number of superimpositions. Human figures, mammals, reptiles, birds and linear patterns and designs are painted on the walls. There are further compositions associated with rituals and fishing, including two rows of dancing men and a woman giving birth. The paintings of a horse and rider are presumed to have been done between 1829 and 1860, as explorer Charles Sturt passed through in 1829 and the paintings were documented in 1860.

Another important shelter contains the usual figures of people and animals, and includes a large kangaroo attacking a hunter. A number of figures wearing headdresses are also found. Figures with hunting tools, which are plenteous in the other shelters, depict the chasing of their prey with boomerangs, clubs and spears into nets where they are captured alive.



A group would use this method if camping in an area for a lengthy period, so that fresh meat was readily available without having to hunt every day. Bird tracks, hand stencils, other animals, grids and lattices are also depicted. Some of the more notable motifs include a woman with very long fingers and toes, a painted human hand with solid discs, and a man in a tree watching a line of six emus.

The Aboriginal people of Mt. Grenfell who created this art were from the Ngiyampaa / Wangaapuware speaking tribe. Between 1850 and 1860, European settlers moved into the area. During this time, government policy prohibited tribal gatherings, forcing the Aboriginal families to disperse. Descendants of the tribe are now scattered, although a few still live in Cobar.

The Mt. Grenfell Historic Site is located 40 km west of Cobar on the Barrier Highway and then 32 km north on an unsealed road. All photographs on this page illustrate the rock art at Mt. Grenfell.