Sacred sites – a warning to us all

Great article in the Spectator by Tony Letford

We are being misled about indigenous history

They are at it again. Another group of First Nations people is trying to close a part of a national park because it is a ‘sacred site’. This time it is Mt Warning, aka Wollumbin, on the far north coast of NSW. It is ‘sacred’ to the Bundjalung people and, until recently, attracted over 100,000 visitors annually who took the 8.8-kilometre round-trip to the summit to enjoy the spectacular coastal views.

Closing down walking trails around Australia because they impinge on sacred sites is increasingly common. When Uluru was closed down it was national news but the closure of less well-known sites such as St Mary’s Peak in the Flinders Ranges and various parts of the Grampians National Park in Western Victoria is passing almost unnoticed. A recent edition of the ABC programme Four Corners dealt with problems in Kakadu where traditional owners are threatening to close the entire park unless Canberra allows them a greater say in managing Kakadu.

The story was a masterpiece of obfuscation as it avoided any suggestion that indigenous intransigence was contributing to Kakadu’s problems.

In an attempt to appease the locals, federal Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley removed the three most senior Canberra appointees and promised to pay greater attention to the desires of the traditional owners. At least one walking track near a major tourist attraction is now closed because of ‘potential damage to sacred sites’.

As an atheist I do not accept that there are such things as sites which are sacred due to their connection with holy spirits. Thus I do not believe that the ground on which the Vatican or Canterbury Cathedral are located is sacred. I do accept unreservedly that the Catholics and Anglicans for whom these sites have tremendous spiritual significance have every right to consider them as sacred ground and they have that right because they subscribe to a set of beliefs and teachings which have been passed down from one generation to the next over several centuries.

Read the rest at the Spectator!

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