Wattle
Point Wind farm developers desecrate protected Aboriginal
archaeological site
and breach the Aboriginal Heritage Act; Ancient skeletal remains
discovered
smashed up are Aboriginal.
In June 2004, the South Australian Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Terry Roberts, determined that the site for the proposed $170 million Wattle Point Wind farm development, on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, was a significant Aboriginal site, which comprised of Dreaming and 2 major archaeological sites, then against the Narungga Heritage Committee's wishes, he authorized the damage and destruction of the site. Only the 2 archaeological sites were going to be protected.
One month ago, at Wind Turbine 4, we discovered skeletal remains; the developer's grader desecrated and destroyed an ancient Aboriginal burial ground and the skeletal remains that were buried there.
Now we discover that Wind Turbine 4 was actually built over part of the main archaeological site that was supposed to be protected there. What's happening at Wattle Point isn't just a crime against Aboriginal heritage; it's a crime against Aboriginal culture.
There is a continued lack of respect shown for the knowledge we have of our country and our sacred burial grounds. Not only by these developers and government, but also from Aboriginal people who are not direct descendants of the traditional owners of this country (Yorke Peninsula), who have little knowledge of the Dreaming sites, cultural landscapes and burial grounds of this country and are having a say on heritage matters that they know little about.
The report from the Dept of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (DAARE) confirms the bones that were discovered at Wind Turbine 4 were Aboriginal. After reading the reports from the anthropologist employed by DAARE and the archaeologist employed by the developers (Southern Hydro and NRG Micon), about the area at Wind Turbine 4 and the skeletal remains that were discovered there and after experiencing the disgraceful way this whole process has been handled;
From my experience and knowledge of our country, cultural landscapes and burial grounds and in respect to the people who did the reports, I disagree with some of their conclusions.
SKELETAL REMAINS
NOT DATED
DAARE's report does not date the bones that were found at Wind Turbine 4. Surely this needs to be done to get an accurate understanding of the landscape at the time of burial. If the burial took place more that 200 years ago, before European settlement and farming, which is extremely likely, the landscape would have been very different. DAARE's report states that the layer of sandy topsoil at Wind Turbine 4 is only about 100-120 mm thick over a calcrete foundation and this is used as a reason why the site couldn't be the original burial ground. Anyone with good knowledge of this country will tell you that high winds and shifting sands, together with 150 years of farming, would have eroded the top soil to it's current depth. To get a true picture, the bones found at Wind Turbine 4 must be dated. Is DAARE going to do this?
Only 2 skeletal remains from the Yorke Peninsula have ever been properly dated. The most recent one from Black Point was dated at 600 years old.
ANCIENT HUMAN
BONES ARE
ABORIGINAL
DAARE's report states that the bones, which are Aboriginal, were in good condition and that if this was the original burial site more bones would have been found.
The Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation should know that discovering partial and sometimes bleached ancient skeletal remains is a normal occurrence on the Yorke Peninsula and if DAARE staff had researched this properly they would have found many examples of this in their own survey cards of Aboriginal heritage sites of the Yorke Peninsula. And if DAARE staff communicated with the South Australian Museum they would have found that the Museum have 15O boxes of skeletal remains which were removed from the Yorke Peninsula over the last century and a large number of these are partial skeletal remains including 4 partial remains that came from the Edithburgh (Wattle Point) area.
I discovered the original bone on the edge of the graded crane pad, just a few metres away from the massive hole that was dug for the base of the Wind Turbine (Hard stand). My ancestor's bone fragments were found scattered and broken up to 10 metres away from the original discovery. The excavation of the massive hole (hard stand) could easily have removed some of the skeletal remains and the rest may still be buried in the area that wasn't disturbed, near the edge of the graded area where the original bone was found?
What happened with all the dirt that came from the massive hole that was dug for the base of the Wind Turbine (Hard stand) and has it been properly sifted? The report doesn't say, so I assume it wasn't?
WIND TURBINE 4
DESECRATED A
SIGNIFICANT ABORIGINAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE
PROTECTED
A flagged off area a few metres away from Wind Turbine 4 indicates the boundary of one of the main archaeological sites that was determined by the Minister. The developer graded the surface at Wind Turbine 4, desecrating and revealing the ancient skeletal remains of our ancestors.
Now hundreds of artefacts and tools have been discovered there. Even without the skeletal remains, the site at Wind Turbine 4 is very significant.
It's obvious to me that the boundary of the main archaeological site, which is located only a few metres away from Wind Turbine 4, was compromised and put in the wrong place to suit the developers so they could get away with not moving the location of Wind Turbine 4. Even the report from the developer's archaeologist states, "The archaeological area extending from the registered site 6247/6657 has been exposed by construction works for hardstand WTG 04.Ó Pg 10) 1.4 Recommendations.
The watering hole (well) marks the centre of the archaeological site and it's only about 50 metres away from the boundary near Wind Turbine 4. The main archaeological site should have included the Wind Turbine 4 area and the boundary should have gone way past Wind Turbine 4. Before the development started I asked the Minister Terry Roberts, DAARE, the site archaeologists and the developers, for Wind Turbines 2, 3, 4, & 5 to be moved across the road away from the main archaeological site but our wishes were ignored. No turbines were moved out of the area and development went ahead. Why didn't anyone take any notice of what we were saying? The Turbines should have been moved out of the area.
When I visited the site, only a few days after receiving DAARE's report, I was shocked and disgusted to see what the developer had done. Work had continued at Wind Turbine 4, even after the discovery of skeletal remains and hundreds of artefacts; and the area was now nearly fully developed. This is disgraceful. Weren't the developers supposed to stop work at Wind Turbine 4 so we could have proper consultation? We didn't even have time to read DAARE's report properly. Not even finding skeletal remains stopped these people. Not even knowing that they built the Wind Turbine on a protected archaeological site stopped these people. Who gave these developers the green light to continue developing the area at Wind Turbine 4? Who gave them the right to destroy our ancient heritage? It certainly wasn't the Narungga Heritage Committee, because no one consulted with the committee. Who is to blame for this disgraceful, money hungry act that desecrated the archaeological site that the Minister Terry Roberts said was supposed to be protected?
No recognition or apology has been given to us by the developers for building Wind Turbine 4 on one of the archaeological sites that was supposed to be protected and for destroying a sacred burial ground. These developers have breached the Aboriginal heritage Act and should be prosecuted. What is DAARE and Native Title going to do about it? Not one prosecution has occurred in South Australia for breaches of the Aboriginal Heritage Act - not one!
We have a copy of the developer's archaeologist report. We know what was found, cleared and removed from the site and we would like the artefacts and tools returned to us.
AN EXCAVATOR WAS
USED TO SIFT
THE SAND AT WIND TURBINE 4.
After the discovery of skeletal remains and artefacts, to examine the site properly, the whole area that was disturbed by the developer's grader should have been sifted. The report doesn't say it was, so I assume the whole area wasn't sifted?
At the time of sifting I was unable to attend because of a previous commitment. I asked for the sifting to take place a few days later when I was available but no one was listening. Sifting proceeded without me. The Chairperson of the Narungga Heritage Committee attended but he has since resigned and I have not been able to talk to him about the sifting process.
While inspecting the site after reading DAARE's and the developer's reports I noticed that there were certain areas that looked like they weren't sifted, including two small mounds that the grader had pushed to one side. The report stated that the spoil heap (big mound of dirt), which was graded from the site, was actually sifted by an excavator onto the large crane pad area. Was the dirt that was already in the crane pad area sifted before the dirt from the spoil heap was placed on it? The report doesn't say, so I assume it wasn't? And I noticed that not all the spoil heap was sifted.
I have also got to question the use of an excavator to sift through the sand at Wind Turbine 4, especially knowing that fragile smashed up bones were scattered in the area by the developer's grader?
OTHER DIGGING
CONTINUES
WITHOUT HERITAGE MONITORING
While on site I also observed workers digging long and deep trenches through soft sandy areas of the site. This was being done without any Aboriginal heritage monitoring. Weren't we supposed to monitor all the digging? Why isn't there monitoring being done for these trenches?
MY KNOWLEDGE OF
OUR COUNTRY
As Senior Heritage Monitor for the Narungga Heritage Committee and Cultural and Heritage Officer for the Goreta Aboriginal Corporation and with my mothers, Irene Agius and Elaine Newchurch, I have re-buried over 40 of my ancestors remains; 12 (25%) of those were full skeletons and the rest partial. Some of those partial skeletal remains came from DAARE. There is nothing out of the ordinary about only finding partial skeletal remains. And there is nothing out of the ordinary about finding them in areas similar to that at Wind Turbine 4.
Our ancestors weren't buried in boxes; they were buried directly into the ground. Major developments, farming and wind erosion have brought them to the surface and have desecrated and destroyed them. And they will continue coming to the surface and showing themselves to us and we will continue having problems like this if our cultural sites and burial grounds are not properly protected and our wishes and knowledge of this country not respected.
3 years ago the old DAARE gave me copies of all the site cards of archaeological surveys that were done on the Yorke Peninsula since the early 1900Õs, so I know where the cultural landscapes and burial grounds of our ancestors are located and the type of ground they were buried in.
My knowledge of this country also comes from my mothers, Elaine Newchurch and Irene Agius, and their parents before them and their parents before them and their parents before them; 40,000 years of knowledge has been handed down from generation to generation. I may not have a tertiary education, or a piece of paper to say that I am educated, but if experience and the knowledge that's been handed down to me by my mothers counts for anything, then I have a degree in Narungga Heritage and Dreaming many times over. I know this country, our cultural landscapes and burial grounds and how they are connected to our Dreaming. Our Dreaming shows us the way and explains the meaning of life and our heritage is an important part of that. Every time a cultural landscape or burial ground is desecrated or destroyed, bit-by-bit our culture dies along with it. If something isn't done soon to stop this destruction our heritage and sacred burial grounds will become extinct within the next 10 years.
STATE GOVERNMENT NOT SERIOUS ABOUT PRESERVATION
This state government isn't serious about the preservation of Aboriginal heritage and culture. It has been obvious to me for a long time that DAARE's heritage department is under resourced and they need more people with expertise in this field of work. The Aboriginal Affairs Minister, Terry Roberts and his department also need to become aware of the Aboriginal people who know what they are talking about and listen to what they have to say. Eight months after the Minister gave the Wattle Point Wind farm developers the go ahead, the Narungga Nations Aboriginal Corporation (NNAC) lawyers and the developers have still not put a heritage agreement in place.
DAARE and government still don't understand that only some of the families who are direct descendants of the traditional owners of this country (Yorke Peninsula) have knowledge of our country, heritage and Dreaming. And some Aboriginal people who grew up on this land only have 100 years of history on this country because their families were herded like cattle to Point Pearce when governments closed down Aboriginal missions from other areas of the state and I'm sorry to say that these families have little knowledge of Narunnga Dreaming and heritage.
CRITICISM FROM
OTHER PEOPLE
And as for the Aboriginal people who work for the government or other Aboriginal organizations who are not direct descendants of the traditional owners of this country (Yorke Peninsula), who criticize my family and their stand on Narungga heritage; All I can say to these people is; If you are a blackfella and you care for your heritage and culture, even if you come from another country, how can you not see what is going on here. How can you not see the destruction of our heritage and culture that is taking place? And how can you not stand up for Aboriginal rights to protect what is left of our heritage in this country. Our heritage has been decimated on the Yorke Peninsula. Protecting and preserving what is left of our heritage is an important part of our culture and if you are an Aboriginal person and you can't see that, then you are lost and I feel sorry for you.
Yours in unity
QUENTEN AGIUS
Direct descendant of the true traditional owners of Adjahdura Land (Yorke Peninsula, SA).
Head Senior Monitor for the Narungga Heritage Committee (NHC).
Cultural and Heritage Officer for Goreta Aboriginal Corporation (GAC).
Narungga Culture and Heritage Consultant.
46 Maitland Rd, Point Pearce SA 5573
Mobile: 0429367121