Mt Warning closed till November

Mt Warning closed till November - WTF!

NPWS have very sheepishly updated their Mt Warning information page. They now indicate the Mt Warning Summit Track will remain closed until the end of November 2021. There has been ample time since it was closed last March 2020 for the chain to be replaced and the walk reopened to the public. This is getting beyond ridiculous!

May

July

Now November-WTF!

I have updated an earlier letter to Minister Matt Kean asking for an explanation and when I can expect a reply to an official complaint about NPWS mismanagement of the Park I sent in February. In the meantime, if you want to climb to the summit, note the potential for a fine and take care on the trail, it's currently in a poor state thanks to NPWS neglect.

Dear Minister,

I note NPWS, without consultation, have now put off a decision about Wollumbin National Park and the Mt Warning Summit trail until November 2021. I am still waiting on NPWS to reply to a formal complaint I raised in February.

As indicated in my previous correspondence there are 1000s of Australians looking forward to walking to the summit of Mt Warning once again and experiencing the life-affirming, glorious views of nature available from the summit lookouts. Local businesses will be further impacted without compensation for NPWS mismanagement of the park as this unnecessary closure drags on. In the time it has been closed the chain could have been replaced for a small cost that could have been reclaimed from park users by charging a small fee.

The information about the summit walk provided by NPWS on its website still omits the views of the traditional owners, the Ngaraakwal. In 2007 before she died Ngaraakwal elder and custodian of Mt Warning Marlene Boyd provided this inspirational message about the Mt Warning summit walk: "How can the public experience the spiritual significance of this land if they do not climb the summit and witness creation." It is a great insult to her memory that NPWS refuse to post those wonderful words at the base of the climb and at the summit.

As has been pointed out previously NPWS safety claims about the walk are debunked. Expert engineering consultants engaged by NPWS confirmed my own expert findings I provided to the Minister and NPWS in January that the summit walk is as safe as any other grade 4-5 bushwalk in NSW. The chain claimed to pose a safety risk has been removed and the rock scramble to the summit is similar to many other in the state, on walks that remain open to the public.

The cultural claims are contested. NPWS have breached the ACT in not properly consulting with the rightful indigenous custodians who support public access to the summit.

The claims of environmental degradation are exaggerated.

The state of the track is the worst in 20 years but remains passable, a testament to NPWS lack of care and neglect. A recent increase in reported injuries to track users is due to NPWS failure to maintain the track.

In light of the above can the Minister please explain why the summit walk is still closed?

Can the Minister provide a date the summit walk will reopen to the public?

Can the Minister guarantee the views of Ngaraakwal custodians will be duly acknowledged through signs placed in the park?

Can the Minister provide assurances that the track will be properly maintained in the future in respect of the hard work and dedication of volunteers who constructed the track in the first place?

Can the Minister provide an indication of when NPWS will reply to my complaint?

Mount Warning: Aboriginal claims about summit climb are contested

"How can the public experience the spiritual significance of this land if they do not climb the summit and witness creation." Ngaraakwal Elder Marlene Boyd RIP NSW NPWS have the following description about Aboriginal attitudes to people climbing to the summit of Mt Warning on their webpage about the walking track: Wollumbin, which means ‘cloud catcher’ to some Aboriginal People, is a traditional place of cultural law, initiation and spiritual education for the people of the Bundjalung Nation. Under Bundjalung law, only certain people can climb the summit. Out of respect for their law and culture, consider not climbing the summit. These claims, including the very name applied to the mountain, are contested and it seems there is another story that NSW NPWS have not properly acknowledged and have long kept from public attention. We came across this article from the Daily News February 24 2007 about Ngaraakwal Elder Marlene Boyd that makes for interesting reading. ...

17th death on the Rock

17th death on the Rock ABC report that a 76 year old Japanese man collapsed on the steep part of the climb and despite first aid, was not able to be revived. The elderly Japanese man likely died as a result of heart complications, probably brought on by existing (perhaps unknown) medical conditions and over exerting himself. He appears to have died revelling in the opportunity life provides. RIP Brother of the Rock. Our thoughts with his family and the first attenders who did their best to treat him. It's sad, but life goes on, and so should the climb. His death marks the 17th death ON the Rock since 26 May 1962 when 16 year old school boy Brian Strieff, on a school excursion with Carey Grammar, wondered off the main path in heavy fog on the way down and fell to his death. ABC's report indicate it is the 37th death, but these figures from Parks Australia have not been substantiated. It seems that many of the deaths Parks Australia claim to have occurred ON the Rock occurr...

Mt Warning closure - 4 years of lies and misinformation

Mt Warning closure - 4 years of lies and misinformation March 30 (Easter Saturday) marks the 4-year anniversary of the "temporary" closure of the Mt Warning summit track. Some thoughts and rambled musings below. I spoke with Ben Fordham about the anniversary on the Ben Fordham Breakfast show on 2GB. Ben's response a classic: "If you want to climb, just climb it!" Link to that interview HERE . 4 year anniversary of bureaucratic madness We know the exact date of the closure thanks to bushwalker: Tertia Starr Maynard, who posted a photo of a note left on her windscreen by NPWS rangers to the reopen Facebook page . It was dated and read “NPWS advises Wollumbin National Park is closing from today due to covid19. Gate is not locked but please close behind you as you exit. Thanks NPWS.” Photo by T Maynard - the last walkers out. In the 4 years since, after other parks were reopened, Mt Warning remained closed and the reason for the temporary closure morphed to in...

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