Ticehurst Park
General Research Report
By Roger Cooper B.Sc. May, 1997
Ticehurst Park
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Please click on pictures to view large copy of the picture |
This report is written not as an archaeological or historical report of what is a very important Aboriginal Place. This is simply the observations of a non aboriginal Australian to what he found at Ticehurst park. It is based on the understanding gained from talking with members of the Deerubbin Local Aboriginal Land Council.
Ticehurst Park is a location set aside by the local civic authorities as a public park that contains a number of carvings and other features of importance to the aboriginal community. In particular it has the most accessible examples of flat rock engravings on the Blue Mountains. While it is generally protected by legislation it is subject to continuing deterioration due to the closeness of built up residential development.
At the time this survey was taken, while there had been earlier research into this site, the Local Aboriginal Land Council were still completing full documentation of this area. This documentation was undertaken as part of a training course in developing documentation techniques and surveying skills.
| Ticehurst Park is located at the end of Highland Rd after turning left off Bellvue Cres., which itself is on the northern side of the Great Western Highway a few kilometers west of Faulconbridge Station.The park is generally "T" shaped with a short leg of the "T" leading off the cul-d-sac end of Highland Rd. |  |
The main part of the park consists of a grass area sloping down to a rock edge which varies in width over a length of two hundred meters. The length of the rock platform runs approximately North – South with a deep valley dropping off the rock edge on the Western side while at the southern end the main highway can be seen running along the ridge of the Blue Mountains from east to west.
As mentioned earlier the park is surrounded on all but the western side by residential development in the form of typical mid mountains standard size residential building blocks. There are four houses that directly back onto the park area but some dozen or more up hill of the area. This is an important feature of the park due to the water run off that washes over the area at times of rain.
The site is open to the general public for passive recreational purposes. A chain gate prevents car access but push bike and motor bike access is possible and other recreational activities such as skateboard riding are also possible which is a problem.
The neighbors (at least in one instance) do keep an eye on the park and as a result there is little sign of recent intentional vandalism. In the past (probably before the park was dedicated) vandalism in the form of engraved initials and the figure of a bird’s head were carved in the rock close to the aboriginal carvings.
While there might be a general interest in preventing vandalism there is no general protection being implemented from more gradual degradation of the engravings due to the effects of close proximity to residential development.
In addition to the various water "wells" that collected water for drinking there are three types of engravings on the rock platform. It seems that the general opinion is that they all go together to make a story although the axe grinding grooves and water wells could have had a purely practical purpose.
| The most obvious engravings are the three large emu figures that are visible. The first is at the southern end of the platform while the other two are closer together at the other end of the platform. The southern end is considered the first because of the story that links the three figures together. |  |
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The axe grinding grooves could be entirely practical in purpose or they could be both practical and symbolic. The placement of the axe grinding grooves next to water wells is practical as water was required for the stone grinding process both to wash away the sand produced by the grinding process and to keep the axe cool during the process. |
The water wells themselves could have been ground out intentionally but more likely they started as natural indentations which were then enlarged by the users grinding them out a bit more each time they visited them. Quite large holes in rock have been found occurring naturally as a result of scouring caused by a number of small stones being washed into holes and then swirled around by water entering the hole during flood times.
Round shaped water holes therefor have a number of explanations but most of the water holes at Ticehurst Park show other signs of human modification. In many cases around the edge of the hole pick marks can been seen where someone has been enlarging the hole by chipping away at the edge.
Another common feature of most of the water wells are drainage channels which appear to have been intentionally cut to guide the overflow water away from the engraved figures. Again in many cases these seem to take advantage of naturally occuring faults in the rock and it could be argued that the water itself did the enlarging by running down these fault lines. However particularly in the case of the last firure at the northern end of the platform the drainage channels obviously protecting the figure.
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The third engraving set are the Mundoes tracks at the southern end of the platform. These are a set of footprints that start at the very southern end of the platform and extend the to the first emu.These engravings are the most endangered as they are not obvious and some are now very feint.The largest of these so only 200mm long and they do not stand out like the emu engravings do. |
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In fact some are almost impossible to see except when the light is from just the right angle.There are seven or eight prints but because it is difficult to see them all at the same time due to the light angle at the time it is difficult to say how many there might originally have been.Under the most favorable light in late afternoon the foot prints can be seen going straight towards the first emu. |
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Along the way they pass a number of small water wells some of which have associated axe grinding grooves.The problem with these prints is that because they are so hard to see they are the most in danger from abrasion due to people accidentally walking on then and abrading them with their shoes. |
Unlike the larger figures the mundoes prints are not individually protected by any drainage channels and as a result water does run over these prints.
Moss and algae also grow in the grooves and I suspect that the roots of these small plants are able to crack off particles of the sandstone softening the edges of the engravings.
The following story is as suggested by various members of the Land Council. One of the things that they suggested is that they felt that the real story was probably open to interpretation by the viewer of the whole platform. It was also suggested that full understanding was only possible after experiencing a process of maturity as a person (coming of age) that would have eventually led to full initiation within the aboriginal group. As such it was felt that even for the current land council members full understanding of the significance of the engravings was not possible as they are not initiated members of the area. As there would appear to be no fully initiated people from the area to whom the tales of the Ticehurst platform have been directly handed down to it is unlikely that anyone will know exactly what the significance of the place was to those who created it.
As a person of English background I can have little if any idea of the cultural significance of the engravings so this account of the story is little more than a simple explanation about why the figures might be related to each other. In western terms it is little more than a childs simplistic Sunday school story compared to a deep understanding of the Bible based on a lifetime of theological study and living.
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The hunting of the Emu |
| At the southern end of the platform we see the tracks of the hunter as he enters the hunting ground in search of the emu. At the water wells he sharps his axe and spears ready for the hunt. | |
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The tracks lead to the first emu which is depicted in a normal pose as he peacefully grazes on the grass. At the northern end we see the second emu. |
| Here the emu is displayed with a full crop after feeding. |  |
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At the bottom of the northern end the emu lies in an awkward pose with a neck at a very odd angle as if broken.. The emu has been chased across the platform and finally captured and killed. |
It may not be obvious to some why these engravings should be protected but for the purpose of this document it is taken as understood that these engravings are part of Australia’s collective past and should be preserved as an aspect of present day culture.
While this site is not subject to the sort of vandalism that other public sites have been it is still suffering from damage by direct effect and neglect.
Abrasion
The most obvious effect that is causing the engravings to ware away is the effect of various forms of abrasion on the engravings. The main problem is simply people walking over the engravings. Where the surface of an engraving has been weakened by chemical pollution even the relative soft tread of a child in rubber soled sports shoes is enough to rub off the weakened layers of sandstone. Abrasion of a more radical kind can be caused by the wheels of bicycles and skateboards. At present there are no signs asking anybody to avoid causing this type of damage to the engravings.
Pollution
In the past the houses uphill and to the east of the rock platform were not connected to the sewer system. Some of the houses are still not connected and continue to use septic tanks with soil absorbtion systems. During heavy rain the run off from groud water is polluted with organic matter that causes strong algae growth on the rock surface. The is some evidence that this weakens the rock surface allowing erosion to occur more readily.