Australian Aboriginal sacred site

This article is about sites in Australia. For Aboriginal cultural artefacts, see Australian Aboriginal artefacts. For Aboriginal culture, see Australian Aboriginal culture.

An Australian Aboriginal sacred site is a place deemed significant and meaningful by Aboriginal Australians based on their beliefs. It may include any feature in the landscape, and in coastal areas, these may lie underwater. The site's status is derived from an association with some aspect of social and cultural tradition, which is related to ancestral beings, collectively known as Dreamtime (or the Dreaming/s), who created both physical and social aspects of the world. The site may have its access restricted based on gender, clan or other Aboriginal grouping, or other factors.

Baiame Cave, Milbrodale, New South Wales

The sites are protected by various state- and territory-based legislation as part of Australian heritage laws, and the federal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 can be invoked as a "last resort" if the site is not considered adequately covered by legislation in the jurisdiction. The legislation also protects sites of archaeological, historical and cultural significance relating to Aboriginal peoples that may be unrelated to beliefs, and more commonly thought of as Aboriginal Australian heritage sites. States and territories maintain registers of sites of Indigenous significance with searchable online databases. Despite the legislation, some sites are still threatened by mining and other operations. One notable example in recent times was the culturally and archaeologically significant rock shelter at Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara, destroyed by Rio Tinto's blasting in the course of mining exploration in May 2020.

Land and The Dreaming

Further information: Dreamtime

The Aboriginal population of Australia is made up of hundreds of peoples or nations, each with their own sacred places, animal totems and other items in the geographic area known as their country,^[1] or traditional lands.

Sacred sites are places within the landscape that have a special significance under Aboriginal tradition. Hills, rocks, waterholes, trees, plains and other natural features may be sacred sites. In coastal and sea areas, sacred sites may include features which lie both above and below water. Sometimes sacred sites are obvious, such as ochre deposits, rock art galleries, or spectacular natural features. In other instances sacred sites may be unremarkable to an outside observer. They can range in size from a single stone or plant, to an entire mountain range.^[2]

The concept of "The Dreaming" or "Dreamtime" is inadequately explained by these English terms, and difficult to explain in terms of non-Indigenous cultures. Often referred to as the Warlpiri name Jukurrpa,^[3] It has been described as "an all-embracing concept that provides rules for living, a moral code, as well as rules for interacting with the natural environment... [it] provides for a total, integrated way of life... a lived daily reality". It embraces past, present and future,^[4] and some of the ancestor or spirit beings inhabiting the Dreamtime become one with parts of the landscape, such as rocks or trees.^[5] The concept of a life force is also often associated with sacred sites, and ceremonies performed at such sites "are a re-creation of the events which created the site during The Dreaming". The ceremony helps the life force at the site to remain active and to keep creating new life: if not performed, new life cannot be created.^[6]

Traditional custodians and management

The traditional custodians of the sacred sites in an area are the tribal elders. "Sacred sites give meaning to the natural landscape. They anchor values and kin-based relationships in the land. Custodians of sacred sites are concerned for the safety of all people, and the protection of sacred sites is integral to ensuring the well-being of the country and the wider community."^[2] These sites are or were used for many sacred traditions and customs. Sites used for male activities, such as initiation ceremonies, may be forbidden to women; sites used for female activities, such as giving birth, may be forbidden to men.

Some examples

Some documented examples of Aboriginal sacred and heritage sites in Australia include:

• Baiame's Cave: south of Singleton, New South Wales
• Ban Ban Springs: near Gayndah, Queensland
• Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory was first inscribed on the List of World Heritage Sites in Oceania in 1981.^[7]
• Kurtonitj and other places within the Budj Bim heritage areas
• Willandra Lakes Region was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1981 and included in the National Heritage List on 21 May 2007.^[8]
• Murujuga (a.k.a. Burrup Peninsula or Dampier Peninsula): in the Pilbara Western Australia.^[9]
• Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was added to the World Heritage List for cultural values in 1994 and is "associated with events, living traditions, ideas and beliefs".^[10]

Legislation

Before 1965 there was no legislation protecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sites in Australia, with the exception of some regulations in the Northern Territory. In 1965, the South Australian Government was the first to introduce legislation (with the Aboriginal and Historic Relics Preservation Act 1965), and all other states have since done so.^[11] Sacred sites are given protection under both Commonwealth and state and territory laws.^[12]

The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) established the National Heritage List, which includes natural, Indigenous and historic places of outstanding heritage value to the nation. Under this Act there are penalties for anyone who takes an action that has or will have a significant impact on the Indigenous heritage values of a place that is recognised in the National Heritage List.^[13]

Indigenous heritage protected to varying degrees by state and territory laws: they protect various kinds of areas and objects, but developers can apply for a permit to allow them to undertake activities which may affect such land or objects.^[12]

Legislation relating to the protection and management of sacred sites and other Indigenous heritage items and places in Australia includes:^[14]

Jurisdiction	Legislation
Commonwealth (Aust)	Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976^[15] Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984^[16] Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986^[17] Native Title Act 1993^[18] Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999^[19]^[13]
Australian Capital Territory	Heritage Act 2004^[20]^[21]^[14]^[22]
New South Wales	National Parks and Wildlife Amendment (Aboriginal Ownership) Act 1996^[23] Heritage Act 1977^[14]^[24]
Northern Territory	Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1989^[25]^[26] Aboriginal Land Act 1978^[27] Heritage Act 2011^[28]
Queensland	Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003^[29] Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Act 2003^[30]^[31]
South Australia	Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988^[32]
Tasmania	Aboriginal Heritage 1975^[33] (Updated version of the Aboriginal Relics Act 1975, commencing 16 August 2017.^[34])
Victoria	Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006^[35] Heritage Act 2017^[36] (Updated version of the Heritage Act 1995, commencing 1 November 2017.^[37])
Western Australia	Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972^[38]

Online registers

Searchable online lists of sacred and Indigenous heritage sites are maintained by all states and territories under their legislation. Not all of them are publicly accessible, but logins can be obtained on application. They include:

• ACT: The ACT Heritage Register is a general register, which includes Indigenous heritage. Publicly accessible.^[39]
• NSW: The Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System (AHIMS) contains detailed information on over 93,000 recorded sites and over 13,500 archaeological and cultural heritage assessment reports^[40][41]
• Northern Territory: Heritage Register maintained by the NT Department of Lands, Planning and Environment^[42][43]
• Queensland: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Database and Register^[44]
• South Australia: Register of Aboriginal Sites and Objects^[45][46]
• Tasmania: The Aboriginal Heritage Register has over 13,000 places and objects on its database.^[47]
• Victoria: The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Register and Information System (ACHRIS) is the online tool that is used to access the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register.^[48][49][50]
• Western Australia: The Aboriginal Heritage Inquiry System (AHIS) is publicly available and information about sites is accessible via an interactive map.^[51][52]

Destruction of Juukan Gorge

Further information: Juukan Gorge

In May 2020, in order to expand an iron ore mine, Rio Tinto demolished a sacred cave in the Pilbara region of Western Australia that had evidence of 46,000 years of continual human occupation.^[53][54] The rock shelter known as Juukan 2 was the only inland site in Australia to show signs of continuous human occupation through the Ice Age,^[55] and had been described as one of the "top five" most significant in the whole of the Pilbara region, and of "the highest archaeological significance in Australia", being "[the only] site of this age with faunal remains in unequivocal association with stone tools". In addition, it was of great cultural significance to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura, with a hair of one of their ancestors having been found there.^[56][55]

Permission to destroy the site had been given in 2013 under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (WA), although later information about the site's significance had been given to the company. The destruction brought widespread criticism,^[57][58] and sparked an internal review at Rio Tinto,^[59][60] a review of the Aboriginal Heritage Act,^[61] and a government inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia.^[62]

On 11 September 2020, it was announced that, as a result of the destruction at Juukan Gorge, CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques and two other Rio Tinto executives would step down.^[63] The National Native Title Council (NNTC) welcomed the move, but said that there should be an independent review into the company's procedures and culture to ensure that such an incident could never happen again.^[64] Rio Tinto admitted their error, issued an apology via media^[65] and on their website, and also committed to building relationships with the traditional owners as well as getting Indigenous people into leadership roles in the company.^[66] One analysis of what went wrong in Rio Tinto to allow the destruction to occur suggested that processes failed at several levels, but mainly due to its "segmented organisational structure", a poor reporting structure, and Indigenous relations not being properly represented at a high enough level.^[67]

Threats to heritage sites

WA

"Blanket approvals" under Section 18 of WA's Aboriginal Heritage Act have been granted by the Government of Western Australia to mining companies which could be a threat to the safety of many other sites in the Pilbara and Goldfields regions of Western Australia. Aboriginal people have no power to object to such approvals, which allows corporations to disturb or destroy sites across wide areas. One example is the 148 square kilometres (57 sq mi) of Ngalia land in the Goldfields which contains seven sacred sites, and an area which includes 40 Banjima sites in the Djadjiling Range in the Pilbara.^[68]

Canberra development

As of June 2020^[update], the federal government has approved plans by a developer for a residential complex near Mount Ainslie in Canberra, on a site that has been deemed of Indigenous significance by archaeologists at the Geological Society of Australia and Geoheritage Australasia. The government has not consulted local elders or Aboriginal organisation, and a Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment spokesperson said that it had not assessed the site for its Indigenous heritage (under heritage provisions of the EPBC Act) "as no world or national heritage sites were identified on the location". However, local Ngambri people say was used for sacred men's business; in addition, artefacts found there in 1933 are of enough significance to be displayed in the British Museum.^[69]

Dunoon dam, NSW

Rous County Council, which is the authority responsible for the water supply for most of the Ballina, Byron, Lismore and Richmond Valley council areas, published its draft water strategy in June 2020, which includes a 50-gigalitre (1.8×10⁹ cu ft) dam at Dunoon, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Lismore. The council has been aware of Indigenous concerns since the matter was first considered in the 1990s, and was committed to working with local communities to mitigate concerns. An impact assessment of the site had identified various artefacts and burial sites in the area.^[70]

Gunlom Falls

As of September 2020^[update], the walking track to the lookout and pools above the Gunlom Falls in Kakadu National Park is closed at the request of the Jawoyn traditional owners. It was closed before mid-2019, due to an investigation by the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (AAPA) into Parks Australia under the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1989 (NT). The traditional owners allege that, in the process of upgrading the track, Parks Australia may have damaged a sacred site near the track.^[71] AAPA has filed charges, which could lead to the authority being fined up to A$314,000.^[72]

In the media

In June 2008 BBC released the series Ray Mears Goes Walkabout, composed of four episodes, where Mears tours the Australian outback. An accompanying hardcover book was published in the UK by Hodder and Stoughton in March 2008. In the series, Mears meets one of his heroes, Les Hiddins (a.k.a. "The Bush Tucker Man"), and he also headed to the Kimberley region to meet the reputed Aboriginal artist and bush guide Juju Wilson.^[73]

See also

• Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (NT)
• Aboriginal sites of New South Wales
• Aboriginal Heritage Act (disambiguation), various state legislation to protect sites
• Australian heritage law, general heritage laws across Australia
• Customary Aboriginal law
• Hindmarsh Island bridge controversy
• National Indigenous Heritage Art Award (1993–2000)
• Rock art § Australia

References

1. David L. Carmichael; Jane Hubert; Brian Reeves; Audhild Schanche), eds. (1997). Sacred sites, sacred places. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-15226-6.
2. "What is a sacred site?". Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority. Northern Territory Government. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
3. "Jukurrpa". Jukurrpa Designs. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
4. Nicholls, Christine Judith (22 January 2014). "'Dreamtime' and 'The Dreaming' – an introduction". The Conversation. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
5. Korff, Jens (8 February 2019). "What is the 'Dreamtime' or the 'Dreaming'?". Creative Spirits. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
6. "The Dreaming: Sacred sites". Working with Indigenous Australians. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
7. . Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012.
8. . Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013.
9. Bednarik, Robert G. . Sacred Sites International Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012.
10. . Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
11. . Recognition of Aboriginal Customary Laws (ALRC Report 31). Australian Law Reform Commission. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012.
12. "Sacred and heritage sites". Austrade. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
13. "Indigenous heritage laws". Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 2 July 2020.   Text is available under a Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU) licence.
14. "Protection under state and territory laws [Indigenous Heritage]". Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 1 July 2020.   Text is available under a Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU) licence. NOTE: As of 1 July 2020, this site incorrectly lists the repealed Heritage Objects 1991 Act (ACT).
15. "Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976". Federal Register of Legislation. Australian Government. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
16. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth).
17. "Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986". Federal Register of Legislation. Australian Government. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
18. Native Title Act 1993 (Cth).
19. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth).
20. Heritage Act 2004 (ACT).
21. "Heritage Act 2004". ACT Legislation Register. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
22. "Heritage in the ACT". Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
23. (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2017
24. "Heritage Act 1977 No 136". NSW Legislation. NSW Government. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
25. Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1989 (NT).
26. "Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1989". NT Legislation Database. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
27. "Aboriginal Land Act 1978". Australasian Legal Information Institute (Austlii). Retrieved 23 June 2020.
28. "Heritage Act 2011". NT Legislation Database. Retrieved 1 July 2020. NOTE: Heritage Conservation Act 1991 was repealed by this act, as per austlii
29. Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 (Qld).
30. "Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Act 2003". Queensland Legislation. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
31. "Protecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage". Department of Transport and Main Road. Queensland Government. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
32. Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988 (SA).
33. "Aboriginal Heritage 1975". Tasmanian Legislation Online. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
34. "Legislation". Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania. Tasmanian Government. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
35. Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (Vic).
36. "Heritage Act 2017". Victorian legislation. Victorian Government. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020. [1] 19 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine
37. "Heritage Act 1995". Victorian legislation. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
38. Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (WA).
39. "ACT Heritage Register". Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
40. "Aboriginal heritage information management system". Heritage NSW. NSW Government. 26 August 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2020.   Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.
41. "Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System (AHIMS) Web Services". NSW Environment, Energy and Science. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
42. "Heritage conservation under the Heritage Act 2011 (NT)". Environmental Defenders Office. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
43. "Heritage Register Search". NT Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
44. "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Database and Register". Queensland Government. Dept of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
45. "Register of Aboriginal Sites and Objects". Department of the Premier and Cabinet. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
46. "Cultural Heritage Database and Register". Taa wika. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
47. "Aboriginal Heritage Register". Aboriginal Heritage. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
48. "Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register". Aboriginal Victoria. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2020. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.
49. "Aboriginal culture and heritage". Aboriginal Victoria. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
50. "Dashboard". ACHRIS. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
51. "Aboriginal heritage inquiry system". Department of Planning Lands Heritage. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
52. "Aboriginal Heritage Inquiry System". AHIS. WA Government. Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
53. "A 46,000-Year-Old Aboriginal Site Was Just Deliberately Destroyed in Australia". Science Alert. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
54. "Mining firm Rio Tinto sorry for destroying Aboriginal caves". BBC News. 31 May 2020.
55. "Rio Tinto blasts 46,000-year-old Aboriginal site to expand iron ore mine". The Guardian. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
56. Jenkins, Keira (5 August 2020). "Rio Tinto tells Senate inquiry it could have avoided Juukan Gorge destruction". NITV. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
57. "Rio Tinto blasts 46,000-year-old Aboriginal site to expand iron ore mine | Indigenous Australians". The Guardian. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
58. "Rio Tinto's claim rejected as 'outrageous' after Aboriginal sacred site destroyed". SBS News. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
59. Hopkins, Andrew; Kemp, Deanna; Owen, John (22 June 2020). "How Rio Tinto can ensure its Aboriginal heritage review is transparent and independent". The Conversation. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
60. Perpitch, Nicolas (23 August 2020). "Rio Tinto executives stripped of bonuses over destruction of Juukan Gorge rock shelters". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
61. Michelmore, Karen (7 August 2020). "Rio Tinto didn't tell traditional owners there were options to save ancient Juukan Gorge rock shelters". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
62. . Parliament of Australia. 18 June 2020. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
63. Shaimaa Khalil (11 September 2020). "Rio Tinto chief Jean-Sébastien Jacques to quit over Aboriginal cave destruction". BBC News. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
64. Chau, David; Janda, Michael (11 September 2020). "Rio Tinto boss Jean-Sebastien Jacques quits over Juukan Gorge blast". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 12 September 2020.
65. Fernando, Gavin; Young, Evan; Stayner, Tom (11 September 2020). "Rio Tinto boss and top executives step down following destruction of Aboriginal Juukan Gorge rock shelters". SBS News. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
66. "Inquiry into Juukan Gorge". Rio Tinto. 24 August 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
67. Hopkins, Andrew; Kemp, Deanna (11 September 2020). "Corporate dysfunction on Indigenous affairs: Why heads rolled at Rio Tinto". The Conversation. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
68. Van Extel, Cathy; Borschmann, Gregg (18 June 2020). "ABC News (RN Breakfast)". Dozens more ancient heritage sites could be destroyed by Australian mining companies. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
69. Evans, Jake (21 June 2020). "Doma development to be built over possible Aboriginal men's business site in Canberra". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
70. MacKenzie, Bruce (19 June 2020). "Indigenous heritage sites could be underwater if new dam is built on New South Wales north coast". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
71. Garrick, Matt; Ashton, Kate (9 July 2020). "Kakadu National Park's Gunlom Falls stays shut due to potential sacred site damage". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 18 September 2020.
72. Zwartz, Henry (15 September 2020). "Parks Australia to be prosecuted by Aboriginal authority over alleged desecration of Kakadu site". ABC News. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
73. Katsoulis, Melissa (25 April 2008). "Ray Mears discusses bushcraft and his new book about the Australian outback". The Times. London. Retrieved 22 May 2010.

Further reading

• Commonwealth of Australia (December 2015). "Australian Heritage Strategy" (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia.   Text available under a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

• Evatt, Elizabeth Andreas; Australia. Office of the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (1996), "Review of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984", Norfolk Island Report, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, ISBN 978-0-642-27173-0, ISSN 0727-4181 (Selected parts of the review)
• Goldflam, Russell (1997). "Noble Salvage: Aboriginal Heritage Protection and the Evatt Review". Aboriginal Law Bulletin. 3 (88) – via austlii.
• "Sacred sites". Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority. Northern Territory Government. 2 July 2014.
• Turner, Rebecca (10 June 2020). "Juukan Gorge won't be the last priceless record of human history to be legally destroyed by mining". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
• Turner, Rebecca (18 September 2020). "Will the mining giants change the way they treat Aboriginal sites after the Juukan Gorge caves were destroyed?". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.