Common motifs found at rock engraving sites include, what appear to be kangaroos and marine animals such as whales, fish and eels.

[5][1] European colonisation of the Gosford district began in the 1820s, with the main points of entry being Brisbane Water in the east and Mangrove Creek (a tributary of the Hawkesbury River) in the west.

[1] Early settlement of the district can be divided into two phases: At the head of Brisbane Water, on land between Erina and Narara Creeks, a government township was laid out in the 1830s.

[1] Early industry include timber getters (forest oak, ironbark and red cedar), lime burners (from shells from the many Aboriginal middens or large natural deposits around the shores) and ship builders of Brisbane Water (this activity continued into the 20th century).

The centre was set out on an open plan, with the detainees housed in dormitories and attending schooling and vocational technical training on site during the week.

The Vernon was legally an Industrial School, and as such was intended to house children who had not been convicted of criminal offences, but were instead found to be destitute, neglected, or in moral danger.

The new centre would be based on similar principles as the Brush Farm in Eastwood, where hard physical work and a basic school education would combine to assist in the rehabilitation of delinquent boys.

His work with the Department of Public Instruction on the design of portable classrooms made him well qualified to sit on the Building Committee for Mount Penang.

To the north of the building site, a team of boys also opened up a mile-long drain using a road plough, and sank a well 3.65 m (12 ft) deep to tap an underground stream for fresh water.

Boys frequently are bad, or delinquent, not from natural bent, but simply because they are lazy and have never been forced to work steadily at any occupation requiring the expenditure of a certain amount of energy.

The distinction reflected the Government's recognition of the need for more lenient treatment of young people under State care, away from the harsh environment of the NSW criminal justice system.

Due to the relatively poor quality of the soil at Mount Penang, a farm was established on Government land at Narara, about 16 km from the centre.

Maintenance, gardening and small construction jobs could be carried out by the boys, which helped develop a sense of civic pride and responsibility amongst the inmates.

Further improvements, such as replacement of the Hawkesbury River car ferries with a new road bridge in 1945, led to a rapid increase in the numbers of day trippers to the Central Coast.

Built at an initial cost of £25,000, it was originally designed as a maximum-security sub-institution for unresponsive boys, but after 1948 it became a privilege cottage, representing a shift in governmental policy in child welfare.

The changes in government policies generally sought to move away from the authoritarian structures and harsh discipline that was associated with reform schools, towards a more open, family-style environment.

[1] Between 1944 and 1947, Heffernan set about reinvigorating the Institution; buying new equipment for the trade rooms, establishing a boot shop to supply shoes, upgrading the pastures, and raising the pigs and cows to stud standard.

The construction of new recreational facilities, including new playing fields, bowling greens and a tennis court, as well as extensive landscaping and planting were also begun during this period.

A survey of the former inmates of McCabe Cottage, conducted in the 1950s, found that of sixty-two boys who had passed through it, seven had been returned to the main institution, thirty-eight had been discharged and fourteen were still in residence.

In recent times, the expansion of metropolitan Sydney, the availability of private and public transport and improved road systems have combined to change the development of Gosford from a rural community prior to World War II, to that of a city containing some secondary and service industries related to the tourist trade.

Sculptors from around the world joined to produce a permanent public artwork from local stone, a dynamic which would provide the model for many symposia to follow.

[17] That year approval was given to build a Parklands Post Office, Family Tavern, Brewery & Hunter Wines Promotion Centre on The Avenue.

[1] Central Coast Region Development Corporation (CCRDC) owns the Mount Penang Parklands and is charged with securing ongoing management of public open spaces and community facilities at Mt.

[1][18] The landscape characteristics of the site derive from its bushland setting, originally separated from suburban development; its location on a broad, ridgetop plateau with gentle slopes suitable for farming; availability of water supply through its central drainage swale and underground stream; the curving configuration of the eastern side of the ridge, with its steep rock benches downslope, creating a broad, amphitheatre effect; the excellent views outwards from the site from northeast, through east, to southwest; the diverse but pleasant views across and within the site created by the curving roadway, the spines of old buildings, the man-made dam and the grazing paddocks; the pastoral, almost Arcadian, rural landscape with old buildings and mature trees; direct access to an almost intact Hawkesbury sandstone plant community, with a good range of shrubs and herbaceous plants as understorey; he boundary or perimeter plantings of mature pines, poplars, coral trees and brush box; the remnant stands or scattered specimens of ancient scribly gums; the unexpected, but pleasant, informal "courtyards" created by the progressive placement of buildings over time; and the spaciousness around the buildings created by the numerous playing fields.

[1][18] The first dormitories and administrative buildings were constructed in the colonial era, with wide verandas, steeply pitched roofs and regular punctuation of windows and door openings.

The design of the early buildings, their configuration and the layout of the site itself, as well as its agricultural and pastoral features, its remnant dairy and its landscaping collectively and individually illustrate juvenile penal philosophies and practices of the period and their subsequent evolution over eighty-five years of operation.

The location of the centre is a feature in the historical expansion of the city of Sydney into its rural hinterland and its operations are an element in the development of Gosford and the Central Coast.

The earlier buildings are attractive, human-scaled structures, which, while of an institutional character, utilise colonial homestead architecture appropriate to their setting and construction techniques of particular interest.

The earlier buildings reproduce these forms to reinforce the characteristic appearance of the complex, whilst the McCabe Cottages group is an excellent example of the Inter-War Functionalist architectural style.

[1] Mount Penang Juvenile Justice Centre was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 19 September 2003 having satisfied the relevant criteria.