The Australian edition of the DAILY MAIL reported yesterday that a group of three backpackers climbed Mt Warning and when they got back down they found their car had been vandalised. The Daily Mail story did not dig that deeply into the background and so I sent them the following letter....
Dear Editor,
I read with interest your story about backpackers having their car vandalised after climbing Mt Warning in northern News South Wales, Australia.
You might be interested to know that there is much more to this story if you take a few moments to chase down some facts that NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service officers would rather remain hidden.
The official story in regard to Aboriginal beliefs is that the Bundjalung prefer you not to climb and claim the mountain is a sacred men's area. However, (and it's a big however!) the Bundjalung claims have no basis in history. Prior to the 2000s the mountain was seen by officials as being in the custody of the Ngarakwaal/Nganduwal Aboriginal Moiety, the traditional owners and Gulgan or keepers of Mt Warning included respected elders Millie and Marlene Boyd. This group at that stage had dwindling numbers and little political influence. In the late 1990s the Bundjalung Nation, an amalgam of other Aboriginal groups in the area, claimed that as the Ngarakwaal had been "wiped out" they would take over custody of the Mountain. This was challenged by other senior Aboriginal men at the time like Wijabul elder Fletcher Roberts who pointed out in a press release claims that the mountain was not to be climbed were "a modern day invention". He stated, "The white community needs to make sure it identifies the true elders of an area. They should realise that elders' responsibilities apply to their own tribal areas and they have no jurisdiction over another area". But NPWS contrary to their governing ACT did not identify and consult with the true owners of Mt Warning and they started dealing with the politically savvy Bundjalung Nation. For the last 20 years NPWS have sadly ignored the true custodians, bringing to fruition the effective extinction of the Ngarakwaal people through willful ignorance and bureaucracy expediency.
But of course, the Ngarakwaal had not been wiped out. The Ngarakwaal claims on the mountain and their complex and wonderful mythology about the mountain are well documented in NPWS own interviews with Ngarakwaal elders recorded in the 1970s. These recordings still exist. If you listen to elder Millie Boyd (see this Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdXD3TyVJf0 ) you will find Mt Warning's Aboriginal name is Wulambiny Momoli. That it is a Brush Turkey and the whole mountain is an increase site for Brush Turkeys, not a warrior as the Bundjalung claim. In 2007 before she died Ngarakwaal elder Marlene Boyd, Millie's daughter, recorded a newspaper interview (see below) in which she called out the Bundjalung claims as false. She stated: "We are the Wollumbin tribe who are traditionally the Ngarakwal/Nganduwal Aboriginal Moiety - we are the original custodians of Mt Warning. We are not Bundjalung." She said "she had no problem with people climbing the mountain. "I do not oppose the public climbing of Mt Warning - how can the public experience the spiritual significance of this land if they do not climb the summit and witness creation!" she said. "Much of my ancestral lore and history have been stolen and abused. The current Tweed Heads Master Plan states that the Ngarakwal/Nganduwal are the spiritual owners of the mountain yet we have never been asked to participate or be part of the plans".
The bigger story is that for 20 years NPWS have provided an official stamp to Marlene's claims of stolen culture and abuse. And, with the current plans by NPWS to ban access not only to the summit but also the entire National Park park on spurious grounds, NPWS bureaucrats will put the final nail in the coffin of Ngarakwaal culture.
In regard to locals vandalising visitors' cars, this has been going on for many years. In 2016 and 2017 many many cars in the carpark were damaged by having their tyres slashed. I am unaware of police chasing down and prosecuting the perpetrators. Rather than increase security at the site NPWS have ignored this safety and criminal damage as it fits with their agenda to close down the park.
The real vandals here are NPWS and its bureaucrats.
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