Christmas
Pool (Wantamata) is a semi-permanent rockpool in the
Paterson Range and has been a marker and a reliable water-supply point for early
explorers and aborigines.
The pool is situated in a gully, at the base of the
Paterson Range, and is filled by natural catchment from the range, as
well as soak-fed by the percolation of waters through
the rock to an underlying impervious clay bed.
The European discovery of
the pool was first recorded in December 1896 by William Rudall during his search for the ill-fated members of the Calvert Scientific expedition and stumbled onto
the pool on Christmas Day. The members of the party carved their names in
the rock walls of
the pool. Trotman and expedition members, HWBT (
Talbot was a government geologist), Chudleigh – a government surveyor in 1967 – and Turcaud. You will also find some faint
rock art and petroglyphs.
At the time of Rudall’s visit he recorded that
the pool contained 39,000 gallons of water and that its native name was “Mundamudda”.
For thousands of years prior to this, natives had used the area to collect and grind ochre and other coloured sediments. Over countless generations, this process has worn deep grooves into
the rock surfaces above
the pool. Colourful art also adorns the rocky walls of nearby overhangs and gullies.
If you’re keen on a good hike, follow the creek bed for about 1.5km eastwards through a gap in the range and you’ll come to a vast gallery of
rock art under a long, curved overhang. It’s a difficult, scrambly walk over rocks and across gullies, but
well worth the trek.