Mt Warning- Help save the summit walk

Help save this wonderful bushwalk!

Access to the spectacular views from the summit of one of the biggest ancient shield volcanoes in the southern hemisphere - Mt Warning in northern NSW - is under threat. The summit is visited by over 100000 keen bushwalkers annually. Many walk up to catch the sunrise - the summit is the first place to catch the sun's rays each day in eastern Australia. The views over the caldera complex, subtropical forests and to the coast are outstanding. The walking track to the summit of Mt Warning was established in 1909. It has not been well maintained by NSW NPWS over recent years and NPWS are now using safety, environment and culture as excuses to close the summit track.

Similar to the unjustified reasons used to ban public access at Ayers Rock, those excuses do not stack up. The safety excuses are rubbish. NPWS claim the the summit chain is unsafe but it's not actually required to complete the walk and it could be easily repaired or upgraded for a small cost that could be funded by charging a small fee for access. The environmental problems to do with visitor's rubbish and toiletting are exaggerated and manageable. And the cultural claims are contested and do not make sense in a rational world and need to be balanced against the wishes of others whose culture exalts in walking to the tops of mountains.

Please help keep this wonderful experience of the natural world open for all by writing to the Minister of the Environmental in New South Wales Hon Matt Kean MP. Let's ensure all Australians and international visitors can access this remarkable volcanic landscape now and in the future. office@kean.minister.nsw.gov.au

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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