The Murwillumbah Address
Copy of my speech given at the Community Gathering held at Knox Park Murwillumbah, January 14 2023. Links to press coverage below.
Thank you
all for coming today. You can all be proud of standing up and coming here in
support of continued public access to this remarkable 20 million year old
Natural Wonde.This grand volcanic edifice, that looks over this wonderful
town and country. The underlying principle of park management should be that we
are all able to enjoy the natural world on our own terms without interference
from petty bureaucracy and the ideological beliefs of others. Long established
trails and walks in our parks deserve to be appropriately maintained and open
to all. Those that do not want to climb or visit the park are free to do so,
but they have absolutely no right to impose their views on others seeking the
awe, wonder and serenity of this outstanding natural place.
I have a
shortish speech I hope not to bore you, and then if anyone else would like to
lend their voice in support of reopening the park we will be happy to hear from
you. If anyone here would like to say why the public should be banned from awe
and wonder we will hear you out. After this
there are a multitude of food and other options to explore in town and in the
surrounding country. After the mess of the last few years through covid and the
floods I’m sure you’ll find many businesses will appreciate a visit. If you
have suggestions for future events or future actions to help get the park
re-opened please post them to the facebook page. We welcome and need your
input. I suspect that this will not be the last time we meet to call for access
to our park, our mountain.
Over a century ago in 1909 the good people of Murwillumbah saw the value of their mountain, and volunteers from the town carved a track to its summit that included a set of drystone retaining walls that deserve heritage listing but have been ignored by the current park management. The track was so good you could ride a horse to the base of the rock scramble a couple of hundred meters from the top. Try doing that today along what’s become a narrow neglected overgrown single track. Between 1909 and 1929 the people of Murwillumbah petitioned the State government to preserve the area for posterity for All Australians, regardless of their race or religion, as a National Park.
The National
park was officially opened on Saturday August 3, 1929 by the State’s Attorney
General Francis Stewart Boyce. Lucky him, he got to ride a horse to near the
summit with his wife. The rest walked. The ceremony was attended at the summit by over 200
people, mainly school children from Murwillumbah – they were much tougher those
days. It would have been fairly crowded at the top. The Tweed Daily newspaper
covered the event at the time and I’ll just read some pieces from that news
story.
It mentions
the opening ceremony “is another link in local history, and consummates a deep
wish of many of the Tweed’s leading citizens to have the reserve dedicated for
public recreation and a sanctuary for wild life of all kinds.”
Those
present, aside from the state’s Attorney General included the Mayor of
Murwillumbah along with a few councillors and other dignitaries and people from
Murwillumbah and the surrounding region, including delegations from Nimbin,
Lismore, Grafton and Casino. It was truly a regional event.
In his
speech Mayor, Alderman Black praised the efforts of volunteers in maintaining
the track. To the many children at the summit ceremony he “urged the boys and
girls to remember that the park was theirs and that each could be a trustee in
his or her own little way. He said the park was a memorial of the beauty of
nature and of the bountiful way in which God had blessed the Tweed and the
people of Australia.”
Councillor
Alderman Rudd stated “The opening of the park was an historical occasion for
the area would be a haven for all time, and would be famous for years to come
as a tourist resort.”
Attorney
General Boyce said those who initiated and carried out the scheme to reserve
the park deserved the highest compliments on their enterprise. He said “So this
gorgeous and beautiful spot is dedicated to the people forever”, and the park
was declared open.
Between the
opening in 1929 and the early 1970s tourism in the area grew and increasing
numbers of people were visiting the park putting pressure on maintenance and
parking and the summit.
In the 1970s
and 80s the National Parks and Wildlife Service undertook extensive
anthropological research into parks under its control. For Mt Warning
Anthropologist Howard Creamer, who is still around, undertook extensive
interviews with Aboriginal elders including the last "Gulgan" or
keeper of Mount Warning and its tribal folklore: Millie Boyd. In her interview
with Howard part of which is available on youtube, Millie Boyd called Mt
Warning "Wulambiny Momoli". This has the meaning of 'scrub turkey nest',
the mountain was an increase site where hunting was forbidden so that
Brush-turkeys could replenish their numbers. If you look at the profile of Mt
Warning from the north, you can see the Turkey sitting on its nest. It is as
plain as day. No wonder this view inspired the story. In the foreground, north
east of Mt Warning according to Millie lies Wollumbin the warrior lying on his
back looking at the stars. It is the Mountain on James McKenzie's property. Its
name stolen by NSW Lands and incorrectly applied to Millie's Turkey. Recently
we have been told a new story about Wallumban as a place of Caterpillar
Dreaming by a group of Ngarakbal – Githabul Women lead by Lizzie Boyd,
granddaughter of Millie. Mt Warning has many Aboriginal names each one depicting
different Dreaming Lores but we are told all are connected. Shamefully this
important cultural group with proven links to the mountain and its stories have
been ignored for the past 20 years by NPWS bureaucrats. In 2007 before she died
Ngaraakwal Elder Marlene Boyd daughter of Millie worked to expose the
misinformation being promulgated by NPWS. In 2007 before her death she
challenged the claims of the Bundjalung Nation and stated: “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!”
Shamefully
none of this wonderful mythology has made its way into current management plans
for the park, including the recent Aboriginal Place Management Plan released
last year. None of this has been provided for in signage at the base of the
summit walk. Marlene Boyd’s wonderful affirmation of humanity of what many of
us seek when we bushwalk is not on a sign at the summit. Instead NPWS
bureaucrats have for 20 years mislead the public about the nature of Aboriginal
beliefs about the mountain and promoted the ideology of just one group, the so
called Bundjalung Nation who seek to ban the public from the entire park. In
the declaration of the area as an Aboriginal Place in 2014 we are told there
are at least 8 Aboriginal stories about the mountain. We are told each story is
equally valid; with no one story taking precedence. How then can NPWS justify
promoting just one ideology over the others? They can’t but they have been
getting away with it for nearly two decades deliberately misleading government
ministers and the public. I have asked the State Ombudsman’s office to look
into this wilful deception but they decline to investigate.
In Howard
Creamer’s interviews with elders in the 1970s and 80s the issue of the public
climbing Mt Warning was never raised by those elders. NPWS management plans in
1985 acknowledged the importance of the mountain to Aboriginal Groups but
indicated there were no actual artefacts found on the mountain stating:
"There are no Aboriginal sites recorded in Mount Warning National Park
although Mount Warning itself is considered by aborigines to be of great
significance."
In the
century since the track was opened the summit has been visited by millions of
people, men women, children, families. They have come, like I did, as we all
do, to enjoy the peaceful journey through the rainforest and experience the
remarkable views of the north coast that are available from the mountain’s summit.
We climb for a multitude of reasons, for the pure joy of it, for the physical
challenge, for the view. Looking out on that remarkable landscape from the
summit is humbling. It provides a sense of perspective and insight of our place
in this world - we are but a small speck
in the face of such grandeur. It shows us we are part of a bigger whole, the
what we see is worth protecting, worth preserving for the future. The vast
majority of those visitors have left just their footprints behind. NPWS have
raised issues about waste and rubbish but these problems have been exaggerated
and are easily solvable. NPWS need to look overseas at parks like the Zion
National Park in Utah or the Diamond Head Walk at Waikiki in Hawaii to see how
these places can be adequately managed in a way that preserves natural spaces
but also provides for sustainable public access. There are easy solutions
available if they just open their eyes and look around. The Minister needs to
get his bureaucracy working for the people and not against them.
Issues have
been raised about safety along the walk and the increase in the numbers of
visitors requiring rescue. Firstly, and I deal with risks like this as part of
my work as an engineering geologist, the numbers are no greater than other walks
of similar grade elsewhere in the state. Secondly this issue arises largely due
to NPWS own mismanagement and lack of maintenance of the track. The track was
built by volunteers to a very high standard in 1909 with horses able to walk to
near the summit. No one needed rescue at the opening in 1929 before the chain
was in place because the track was in such good condition. It is currently a
narrow overgrown single track with areas of exposed boulders that get slippery
when wet – no wonder there are people twisting ankles. Many of these minor
injuries could have been prevented if only NPWS had maintained the track to a
suitable standard appropriate for the high level of visitation experienced
since it installed the lookout platforms in the late 1980s. This was perhaps
the last time NPWS undertook appropriate management of infrastructure in the
park.
I contend
the issues surrounding public access in the park including to the summit are
not overwhelming and I believe a compromise that results in better management
of the park for all, including the multitude of Aboriginal groups is possible.
The current situation arises from the disgraceful neglect and mismanagement of
the park by NPWS bureaucrats. Based in Sydney and Byron Bay, I suspect few have
even visited the park or walked the summit trail preferring the comfort and air
conditioning of the office. They have been busy working for that last 20 years
to make life easier for themselves. Since the mid 2000s obscenely they have
been working on a “demarketing plan” to downgrade the experience of Mt Warning
National Park, seeking to reduce visitor numbers and it looks like they will
soon be successful. Like some bizarre Monty Python or Yes Prime Minister Comedy
Sketch we will soon see a National Park that has no visitors. What easier way
to manage than that? These clowns will probably laud this as the best park
management in the world.
Our
political leaders, especially the Premier and current Minister James Griffin,
have lacked the courage to call out the misinformation, the lies about safety,
the exaggerations about environmental issues and misinformation about the views
of Aboriginal custodians. This disgraceful situation is an example of the worst
management of public lands in the history of New South Wales, if not the whole
country.
I call on
the Premier and Minister Griffin, and the NSW Ombudsman to undertake an
in-depth independent inquiry into the gross mismanagement of Mt Warning
National Park and work to restore public access as soon as possible.
Today we gather
together to celebrate the mountain’s history. To remember how good and special
it was to walk to the summit with friends and family or on our own and relish
the trek through the rainforest, the rock scramble and those stunning summit
views. Seeing the sun rise over the Pacific, or getting up there and being
shrouded in mist.
We call on the state government bureaucracy and our political
leaders to work with us, the Aboriginal custodians and other stakeholders
towards a solution that will see public access to the park and its summit
restored so all our children and grandchildren through the ages to come can
experience the same joy, awe and wonder as we have.
In 1929 Alderman Black in 1929 entrusted the boys and
girls at the summit to look after the park. We assembled here today are the
descendants of those summit children. It is up to us to protect our legacy.
It’s time to
re-Open Mt Warning! Once again, let this gorgeous and beautiful spot be
dedicated to all people forever.
Channel 9 coverage....
https://www.nbnnews.com.au/2023/01/14/emotional-protest-over-wollumbin-mount-warning-trail-closures/?fbclid=IwAR1ASdO1SiR9bqmGuB6LRsz1NZKOpSFGPdHcSQJyAiQG2ysJ4AFYZTKSVec
Gold Coast Bulletin: https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/nsw/tweed-heads/group-rallies-in-murwillumbah-in-bid-to-reopen-wollumbinmount-warning-in-tweed-shire/news-story/9b817bf6f94114e5e1d19854fe75da56
Thankyou to Elizabeth Boyd for attending and speaking about her disappointment that the mountain has been closed and NPWS not involving her or her group in consultations.
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