NSW NPWS support requests to close the Mt Warning Summit hike

In January we sent the letter below to the NSW Premier requesting her "Liberal" Government provide assurances that access to the summit of Mt Warning will remain open to all and not be banned in the future.

Today we finally received a response, not from the Premier but from the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. No assurances have been given and the prospect of the summit walk being closed remains a reality. Incredulously NSW NPWS, an agency funded by all NSW residents to look after our National Parks for ALL of us, provide support for the closure. "The local Aboriginal Elders requested that people not climb the summit due to its cultural significance. The NPWS support this request through signage on the Summit Walking Track."

The language being used is very similar to that used at Ayers Rock. This language only serves to cause confusion and antagonises the public. To our great sadness, in their signage NSW NPWS do not mention anything positive about the summit walk, or encourage visitors to complete the climb. The views are among the best from any summit on the east coast, and the walk itself is a real adventure, which is why over 100,000 people make the climb each year.

The 2010 Uluru -Kata Tjuta Park management plan provided for the Ayers Rock climb to be closed. This plan slipped through despite opposition of the then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and the then opposition leader Malcom Turnbull. In 2016 the current government gave assurances that the Ayers Rock climb would not be closed, and yet due to the success of myth and superstition over common sense, it will be closed next year.

With NSW NPWS openly supporting a closure and not encouraging climbing, there remains a very real chance that the walk up Mt Warning will end up the same way as the Ayers Rock climb. All it will take is for one bureaucrat to quietly write the paragraph and insert it as an amendment to the current plan, thereby amputating another beautiful part of the country off from public access.

Keep an eye open on any proposed amendments to the management plan for the area that could make this a sad reality, and if you see any notification of any proposed changes please get in touch.

Make sure your local politicians receive a clear message that these wonderful natural places remain open to all Australians to enjoy and not just a select few.

Comments

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. It seems

Mt Warning - Summit signing, time capsule

A Mt Warning Visit, summit signing Drove up the long road from Sydney, leaving early to grab a beer at the Mt Warning Hotel at Uki in the afternoon. There's a nice view of the summit from the smoker's deck. The tip of the mountain was catching clouds and then letting them go. I met Roger, a one-legged ex- navy seal and former security guard to Gloria Estafan. He was an interesting bloke, sucking a large Cuban cigar and slamming spiced rum on ice. He had one eye, apparently, he had lost the other blue pearl in a firefight with Somali terrorists in the Persian Gulf. We had a brief discussion of current affairs and the insanity of public parks being closed for no good reason, and vandalism of the tourism industry by a woke broken Bureaucracy - just light conversation. I mentioned I had a mission that might suit him and he agreed to join in. We headed to the Mt Warning Rainforest Caravan Park. Mt Warning from the Mt Warning Hotel Roads around the area are still not repaired from la

Chain and post removed at Mount Warning Summit Walk

The current situation is a disgrace and an insult to Park users and all Australians. The Minister must instigate an independent audit and review of NSW NPWS management of the Park and develop a brighter vision of the Park's future. The walk to the summit of Mt Warning in northern NSW is an iconic experience of the natural world. Views from the summit on a clear day provide an unrivaled vista over the Tweed River Valley, lush rainforests, eroded volcanic landscape and beaches on the coast. They fill visitors with a sense of awe and wonder. From a geological perspective, it is arguably the best-preserved erosion caldera in the world. The 4.4km (8.8km return) track was completed in 1909 but the hike was firmly established as a popular tourist attraction in 1929 with the declaration of the area around the mountain as a National Park. The opening ceremony was attended at the summit by 200 people, some rode horses up the trail. The standard of the early track construction is extreme

Right to Climb

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