A group of young men have been branded “ignorant and disrespectful” after they were seen standing on top of a rocky outcrop in a popular hiking area in the Queensland bush.
White Rock in Ipswich’s Spring Mountain Conservation Estate, southwest of Brisbane, is a “sacred site known culturally as a women’s area” to the Yagara people, according to the local council.
While the impressive sandstone formation, known as “Nugum/Boogun”, is accessible via a 1.5 kilometre trail, climbing the rock itself and the adjacent southern ridge is prohibited. It is registered cultural heritage and protected under the Queensland’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003.
But the trio of hikers, one of them shirtless, were seen standing on top of White Rock and casually chatting on Saturday.
One local took a video using their phone camera’s powerful zoom and posted it to a local Facebook group, saying they had ignored the signs along the trail requesting them not to climb the rock and labelling the group “ignorant and disrespectful”.
The City of Ipswich states on its website, “This conservation estate remains sacred to the traditional owners of Ipswich. Some of the cultural landscapes within this estate include White Rock, the caves and outcrop overhangs. These sacred sites are very important to the traditional owners as they provide a link between country and personal identity and allow the passing on of cultural knowledge. As per cultural protocol the traditional owners have requested no one climbs White Rock.”
The footage sparked heated debate in the Redbank Plains Facebook group, The Daily Mail reported.
Many locals fumed that men had invaded a place of “women’s business”.
One pointed out that the rock was traditionally a place where Indigenous women would give birth, adding “it is a very sacred place for all womenfolk”.
Another likened it to someone breaking into a church “because they want to”.
But others said they should be allowed on the rock because “it’s nature”.
“I personally don’t see the harm I realise it says don’t climb but if they aren’t defacing it or leaving rubbish everywhere then no harm done probably just enjoying the view better then having them out doing crime,” one person commented.
Another said, “The rock belongs to no one, it’s part of nature so anyone should be able to walk near it, climb it. Locals have been climbing White Rock since the 1800s.”
Others admitted to climbing the formation in the past and while another said “I still climb it”, adding, “You won’t be able to walk out your door soon as it will be disrespectful to someone.”
The City of Ipswich has been contacted for comment.
Similar debates over recreational access to national parks and other sites deemed sacred by traditional owners have been raging across the country.
Visitors could soon be banned from walking on Lake Eyre in South Australia without a permit, and the closure of many popular hiking trails such as Mount Warning in NSW has sparked debate.
On the Sunshine Coast, traditional owners have proposed restrictions on three summits in the Glass House Mountains, including Mount Beerwah.
Last year, a section of rock at Mount Beerwah, considered a sacred Indigenous site to the Jinibara people, was defaced with a message reading “Jesus saves just ask him”.
Jinibara elder Kenny Murphy told The Guardian at the time that he believed the vandalism was “clearly payback” for efforts by traditional owners to stop people climbing the mountain.
“The mountain is very important, it’s like our St John’s Cathedral, it’s a special mountain to us,” he said.
“Why can’t we have that respected? It’s just bulls**t what they’ve done, this is a birthing site, it has a special meaning to us, but Jesus is clearly the only spiritual thing this person understands.”
He added, “They want to show that there isn’t anything significant to the mountain, they would’ve cried if it was their cathedral. They can’t just leave us alone, they’ve killed our way of life, killed all the animals, poisoned our waters, and now this. It’s a big insult to us.”
frank.chung@news.com.au