A Torrumbarry resident and Wolithiga elder have voiced their frustration following heavy damage to an ancient Aboriginal site.
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Over the Christmas holiday period last year, Lynn Mason said a group of campers ignored temporary fencing at Young Bend that was in place to restrict vehicle access.
Ms Mason and Professor Uncle Henry Atkinson were in contact with Parks Victoria at the time, trying to protect a culturally significant site that was recently uncovered at the bend.
Ms Mason said the campers, who drove in with caravans, trashed the site with rubbish and dug a staircase into the riverbank, destroying part of a freshwater midden.
“I was just so gutted,” Ms Mason said.
“It was such a big site, and it would have been easily protected.”
A freshwater midden is an accumulation of shells produced by Aboriginal people who collected, cooked and ate shellfish, according to First Peoples State Relations Victoria.
They are culturally significant sites that offer glimpses into Aboriginal history, and can be dated to provide information on their origin and the surrounding environment.
Uncle Henry said it was disgusting to see the state of the midden following the damage.
“I was disturbed,” he said.
“My concern is, once Aboriginal cultural items are damaged, or sites, how are you going to get that back?”
The midden is estimated to be thousands of years old, and Uncle Henry said there was evidence of clay ovens and historic community gatherings around the site.
“I know who used it: my ancestors. It’s been there a long, long, long time, thousands of years,” he said.
“That is Wolithiga country, and across the river is also,” he said.
Ms Mason first came across the midden, which may be more than 100m long, during one of her daily walks in late 2023.
The bend was previously closed to the public for safety reasons following the October 2022 floods, which caused significant riverbank erosion.
Ms Mason recognised the midden after walking to part of the bank that had fallen into the Murray River.
“I was quite excited. I’d been walking down there for a long time, but I hadn’t actually walked to the very edge to see where (the bank) had fallen off,” she said.
Ms Mason reached out to Uncle Henry in March last year, who visited the site and confirmed its cultural importance.
Uncle Henry contacted Parks Victoria, which responded by installing temporary measures to protect the site from vehicle access.
A permanent fence was installed in late February after the damage occurred, but Ms Mason believes more can be been done, such as installing an educational plaque.
“I think some signage should be put up there regardless. They’ve put the fence up after the fact. It was kind of too little too late,” she said.
A Parks Victoria spokesperson said the fence work was carried out in consultation with Traditional Owners.
“Parks Victoria is grateful for their invaluable input and partnership,” they said.
“We ask visitors to respect protections put in place to ensure the reserve remains a special place for all.”
They said rangers and authorised officers would continue to conduct regular patrols throughout the Murray River Reserve.
Ultimately, Uncle Henry believes the Victorian Government is to blame for the damage, which is representative of a larger issue.
“What I’d like to see is the government spend a bit of money and time and think about other groups, not just Wolithiga, about how they’re treated, as far as their country goes,” he said.
Education also plays an important role, which Uncle Henry said could connect people with Aboriginal culture and help to preserve it for everyone.
“I’m not blaming the people that went out there and did damage. Maybe they didn’t know what they were doing,” he said.
“It gets back to the education side of it. It’s happening out there in Torrumbarry, on my country, but if you let it go, it’s going to happen to anybody else’s country.
“If you don’t educate people, how do you expect them to learn?”