Racism and violence emerge in fight over bypass
Recently while travelling back to Byron from a festival in Canberra, myself, my partner, Greg Sheehan and our kids were informed of the Road and Traffic Authority’s plans to build a 6 lane highway through Bulahdelah, between Taree and Newcastle, and specifically through the base of The Alum Mountain, a mountain held sacred for time out of mind by the indigenous Worimi people of that country.
We visited the site as we were travelling through and spent ANZAC day weekend there at a corroboree organised by Robert Corowa (Canberra Tent Embassey), Billy Pike, and Ruth Forsythe..
It was an amazing experience and one that we want to share, to highlight the shocking lack of respect for the sacred places of Australia and for the people who hold these places as sacred and fundamental to the ongoing life of their culture. This is a situation that is happening over and over again all over Australia.
The Alum Mountain is traditionally believed to be a place where the spirits of the dead go to wait to be reincarnated. At the base of the mountain is a bora ring, burial site, a healing pool, ochre ground, many canoe trees and a Guardian Tree. The Guardian Tree is believed to be up to 700 years old. Traditionally when people were dying they would be laid under the tree on a platform, and when they passed away their bodies would be left under the tree with their spirit waiting until the bones were finally carried to the top of the mountain to a burial place.
If the RTA’s plans for the highway go ahead this tree and bora ring will be destroyed, the ground itself blasted several meters deep to find the solid rock that could support a highway, which could compromise the fragile top of the mountain and cause landslides and even more degradation. As Uncle Worimi said, the spirits are crying with sadness up on this mountain.
Peter Garrett (Australia’s environment secretary) has OK-ed the RTA’s plans, allegedly informed that the top of the mountain is sacred, but not the bottom. Uncle Worimi’s indignation and disbelief at this apparent misunderstanding is palpable. His words, “The top of the mountain?! Who told him that?! It’s a mountain, if the top’s sacred, the whole place is!” says a lot about his vastly different view of the land.
He has invited Peter Garrett to visit to personally show him these sacred spaces, explain their significance, show him where he as a boy had his hands laid on the Guardian Tree, where he wants to show his grandchildren the same. No response has resulted from the many official invitations.
The fragile barrier between this place and the bulldozers is Worimi’s dedication – he is going to court on the 27th May, and other than that, in his own words “I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying here.”
Uncle Worimi is a grandfather of 46 grandchildren, a gentle, deeply committed, intelligent man, with a rare integrity written on his face, also deep sorrow. He is not officially known as an elder as to the government he must be 60 years old or voted by the land-council to be an elder. He welcomed us with a genuine appreciation for our support, and shared some of his knowledge about the cultural and spiritual significance of this place. We were a mixed bunch of folk, some Byron shire people, a well-dressed couple from Taiwan, several students from Sydney, some of Worimi’s family, an older German fella, some mums, lots of kids, there was a notable lack of locals, with the exception of one family.
There is Uncle’s second front of the battle. The people of Bulahdelah, numbering 1500, are less than supportive. I can only speculate that there is a mis-placed belief that the new highway will put them on the map, provide many more jobs. In fact, it will likely mean that many more people by-pass the town.
The exact location of the sacred trees is not publicly known, as in the past it has happened that locals have chopped down such trees, for what reason I can’t understand.
About a month ago, the word went round that “the old fella’s camping alone tonight, lets go and sort him out.” Several young non-indigenous guys turned up at the campsite, drunk and aggressive. Luckily for Uncle he wasn’t alone but had four young students with him. Inspite of that, Uncle was seriously injured with a head wound, and at least one of the students is understandably too terrified to offer further support. The police were present but no-one was charged.
I am so shocked and saddened at this, it reinforces my feeling that, as a South African friend said, the relationship and respect shown to our indigenous neighbours in this big, wide, beautiful country is worse than apartheid was in South Africa. It makes me question whether politically we are living in the same century as the rest of the so-called first-world countries.
The third front is the land-council itself. Here is a highly sensitive area that I don’t know enough about to speak authoritatively on, but Uncle Worimi has not been recognised as an Elder, the bora ring, sacred trees, pools etc have been deemed not sacred, the land has been offered to the RTA. I’ve heard rumours of money going in the back door, of land-council being pitted against land-council….who knows? Uncle Worimi says, “Land councils were set up by the government so the government would still have control of the land.” His frustration at having to live in his ancestral country according to new-comers laws and regulations begs for understanding, this is his land but he can’t live on it – he hasn’t been approved to build a traditional dwelling to teach his kids their culture, their history.
Imagine this situation in our rather more privileged white lives, imagine if suddenly there were people knocking down our churches and cathedrals to build roads, if there were fences put across our roads with a private property sign written in a foreign language, if we were no longer allowed to live in our suburban communities, or our towns and cities, if we were unable to buy food from our shops, if we were at a loss how to understand the intruders way of life, how to survive, imagine all the impacts on our health, our happiness of what has happened, imagine a public apology to address some of the wrongs done to us, and then imagine trying to teach our kids some pride in our culture, some connection to what we believe is important, to have red-tape at every turn, and a continuing lack of freedom, lack of support to live as a flourishing people. And that’s the tame version.
Has the racist ideal of white assimilation really been done away with in Australia, or does it continue in the guise of modern day politics?
Any support offered to help protect this place is welcomed. Please write letters to Peter Garrett. A visit to Bulahdelah and Uncle Worimi will be there. Email ctcbulahdelah@gmail.com for more information.
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Racism and violence emerge in fight over bypass
Racism and violence emerge in fight over bypass
Recently while travelling back to Byron from a festival in Canberra, myself, my partner, Greg Sheehan and our kids were informed of the Road and Traffic Authority’s plans to build a 6 lane highway through Bulahdelah, between Taree and Newcastle, and specifically through the base of The Alum Mountain, a mountain held sacred for time out of mind by the indigenous Worimi people of that country.
We visited the site as we were travelling through and spent ANZAC day weekend there at a corroboree organised by Robert Corowa (Canberra Tent Embassey), Billy Pike, and Ruth Forsythe..
It was an amazing experience and one that we want to share, to highlight the shocking lack of respect for the sacred places of Australia and for the people who hold these places as sacred and fundamental to the ongoing life of their culture. This is a situation that is happening over and over again all over Australia.
The Alum Mountain is traditionally believed to be a place where the spirits of the dead go to wait to be reincarnated. At the base of the mountain is a bora ring, burial site, a healing pool, ochre ground, many canoe trees and a Guardian Tree. The Guardian Tree is believed to be up to 700 years old. Traditionally when people were dying they would be laid under the tree on a platform, and when they passed away their bodies would be left under the tree with their spirit waiting until the bones were finally carried to the top of the mountain to a burial place.
If the RTA’s plans for the highway go ahead this tree and bora ring will be destroyed, the ground itself blasted several meters deep to find the solid rock that could support a highway, which could compromise the fragile top of the mountain and cause landslides and even more degradation. As Uncle Worimi said, the spirits are crying with sadness up on this mountain.
Peter Garrett (Australia’s environment secretary) has OK-ed the RTA’s plans, allegedly informed that the top of the mountain is sacred, but not the bottom. Uncle Worimi’s indignation and disbelief at this apparent misunderstanding is palpable. His words, “The top of the mountain?! Who told him that?! It’s a mountain, if the top’s sacred, the whole place is!” says a lot about his vastly different view of the land.
He has invited Peter Garrett to visit to personally show him these sacred spaces, explain their significance, show him where he as a boy had his hands laid on the Guardian Tree, where he wants to show his grandchildren the same. No response has resulted from the many official invitations.
The fragile barrier between this place and the bulldozers is Worimi’s dedication – he is going to court on the 27th May, and other than that, in his own words “I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying here.”
Uncle Worimi is a grandfather of 46 grandchildren, a gentle, deeply committed, intelligent man, with a rare integrity written on his face, also deep sorrow. He is not officially known as an elder as to the government he must be 60 years old or voted by the land-council to be an elder. He welcomed us with a genuine appreciation for our support, and shared some of his knowledge about the cultural and spiritual significance of this place. We were a mixed bunch of folk, some Byron shire people, a well-dressed couple from Taiwan, several students from Sydney, some of Worimi’s family, an older German fella, some mums, lots of kids, there was a notable lack of locals, with the exception of one family.
There is Uncle’s second front of the battle. The people of Bulahdelah, numbering 1500, are less than supportive. I can only speculate that there is a mis-placed belief that the new highway will put them on the map, provide many more jobs. In fact, it will likely mean that many more people by-pass the town.
The exact location of the sacred trees is not publicly known, as in the past it has happened that locals have chopped down such trees, for what reason I can’t understand.
About a month ago, the word went round that “the old fella’s camping alone tonight, lets go and sort him out.” Several young non-indigenous guys turned up at the campsite, drunk and aggressive. Luckily for Uncle he wasn’t alone but had four young students with him. Inspite of that, Uncle was seriously injured with a head wound, and at least one of the students is understandably too terrified to offer further support. The police were present but no-one was charged.
I am so shocked and saddened at this, it reinforces my feeling that, as a South African friend said, the relationship and respect shown to our indigenous neighbours in this big, wide, beautiful country is worse than apartheid was in South Africa. It makes me question whether politically we are living in the same century as the rest of the so-called first-world countries.
The third front is the land-council itself. Here is a highly sensitive area that I don’t know enough about to speak authoritatively on, but Uncle Worimi has not been recognised as an Elder, the bora ring, sacred trees, pools etc have been deemed not sacred, the land has been offered to the RTA. I’ve heard rumours of money going in the back door, of land-council being pitted against land-council….who knows? Uncle Worimi says, “Land councils were set up by the government so the government would still have control of the land.” His frustration at having to live in his ancestral country according to new-comers laws and regulations begs for understanding, this is his land but he can’t live on it – he hasn’t been approved to build a traditional dwelling to teach his kids their culture, their history.
Imagine this situation in our rather more privileged white lives, imagine if suddenly there were people knocking down our churches and cathedrals to build roads, if there were fences put across our roads with a private property sign written in a foreign language, if we were no longer allowed to live in our suburban communities, or our towns and cities, if we were unable to buy food from our shops, if we were at a loss how to understand the intruders way of life, how to survive, imagine all the impacts on our health, our happiness of what has happened, imagine a public apology to address some of the wrongs done to us, and then imagine trying to teach our kids some pride in our culture, some connection to what we believe is important, to have red-tape at every turn, and a continuing lack of freedom, lack of support to live as a flourishing people. And that’s the tame version.
Has the racist ideal of white assimilation really been done away with in Australia, or does it continue in the guise of modern day politics?
Any support offered to help protect this place is welcomed. Please write letters to Peter Garrett. A visit to Bulahdelah and Uncle Worimi will be there. Email ctcbulahdelah@gmail.com for more information.
**