NPWS nominated for 2022 Bent Spoon Award

The Bent Spoon Award is presented annually by Australian Skeptics to the perpetrator of the most preposterous piece of paranormal or pseudo-scientific piffle. see https://www.skeptics.com.au/about/activities/bent-spoon/

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) have been nominated for the 2022 Bent Spoon award.

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service are banning access to the summit of Mount Warning and the National Park in which it stands to satisfy the claims of the Bundjalung Nation an Indigenous Group with contested claims on the Mountain. Other Indigenous groups not promoted by NPWS have no problem with the public accessing the summit, and some groups actually encourage visitors to climb. The summit walk climbs the central plug of the Mount Warning Caldera Complex the largest eroded shield volcano in the southern hemisphere, providing unparalleled views of the caldera walls, the coastal plain and Tweed River valley. It has provided a source of inspiration to all who have scaled it and acts as an important educational tool about volcanic landforms in Australia used by many University geology departments. In promoting irrational stone age beliefs over science and logic NPWS would be worthy winners of this year's prize.

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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

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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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