Y’know, I might just go scatter a dead rellie somewhere with a nice harbour view and call dibs on it. Sorry, current owners, but it’s a sacred memorial site to Great-Uncle Bertie’s ashes, so that makes it mine. Get off my sacred site.
Is that how this works, now?
Or is it only if you’re ‘indigenous’? Well, no worries there: I’ll just tick off a few boxes, conveniently unearth a distant ancestor I Just Reckon was totally 1/16th Ungabungadoowop nations. Now, I’m as indigenous as any other pasty white bloke who can buy a possum-skin cloak on Etsy and call himself ‘Uncle’. That’ll be three grand for the Welcome to Country on my new harbourside sacred site, thanks.
Am I taking the piss? Maybe. But, surely, so are they, too. How else could you explain this:
The family of deceased indigenous elder Brian Grant have lodged a federal heritage protection application for their late father’s memorial site after past attempts at recognition were marred by the influence of a controversial local indigenous group.
The Bathurst Wiradjuri loreman was laid to rest atop Mount Panorama-Wahluu in November 2022, where his ashes were mixed in with ochre and a tree was scarred in his memory.
When his family sought to register the site as a location of Aboriginal significance after the memorial, their attempt was stymied by a member of the Wiradyuri Traditional Owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation misrepresenting the site and seeking to secure state recognition of an overblown amount of the mountaintop.
So, one bunch of scammers got out-bid by another bunch of scammers, who took the scam just a bit too far and alerted everyone to the scam that was being pulled.
On Saturday, the family officially lodged its request for urgent emergency protection of the site after the Bathurst Regional Council removed all fencing around the bora site and ochre circle in anticipation of the Bathurst Motor Festival on the Easter long weekend […]
“As it currently stands, the site has no formal protection in place.”
And why should there be?
“This vulnerability has been exacerbated by the recent removal of the temporary security fencing around both the Bora ground and the ceremonial fire pit. These areas are now entirely exposed and unmarked, lacking even signage to deter unauthorised access or warn of potential criminal penalties for desecration,” [Cultural heritage consultant Scott Franks, a Wonnarua man] wrote in response to queries by DCCEEW staff.
Criminal penalties? Because some bunch took it on themselves to chuck their dead relative’s ashes somewhere, they get to put a fence around it and threaten to sue anyone who doesn’t play along with their scam?
“To be clear, this application is being made only after all avenues at the state and local level have been exhausted. Both the NSW government – under the National Parks and Wildlife Act – and Bathurst Council have demonstrably failed in their duty to protect a site of high cultural and archaeological significance.”
They really are taking the piss, surely?
