Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth)
Notice of an application for the protection of a ‘significant Aboriginal area’ on the grounds of the Randwick Stabling Yards in Sydney,
New South Wales
Invitation to make representations
I, Dr Susan McIntyre-Tamwoy hereby give notice as follows:
The Minister for the Environment and Energy, responsible for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth) (the Act), has received an application made under section 10 of the Act. The application is seeking to protect an area known as the grounds of 'The Randwick Stabling Yards' in Sydney, New South Wales and the Minister has appointed me to provide a report to him under section 10(1)(c) of the Act.
The Applicants
The application is made by Mr David Shoebridge MLC, Member of the NSW Legislative Council, on behalf of the following identified Aboriginal people: Uncle Des Dyer (Darug Elder), Scott Franks (Registered Native Title Claimant for the Plains Clan of the Wonnarua People), Uncle Gordon Workman (Darug Elder), Aunty Norma Simms and Aunty Yvonne Simms (Bidjigal Elders).
The purpose of the application
The application seeks the preservation or protection of the area specified in the application, and shown at Figure 1 below, from injury or desecration. Section 10 of the Act enables the Minister to decide whether to make a declaration to preserve and protect the specified area, if the Minister is satisfied that the area is a significant Aboriginal area and is under threat of injury or desecration. In the Act, the term ‘significant Aboriginal area’ refers to an area that is of particular significance to Aboriginal people in accordance with Aboriginal tradition. Section 3 of the Act provides definitions of ‘significant Aboriginal area’ and other relevant terms including ‘Aboriginal tradition’ and ‘injured or desecrated’. The area specified for protection, the claimed significance of the area, and the claimed nature of the threat of injury or desecration are set out below.
Matters the report is required to deal with
The Minister will consider my report under section 10 of the Act in relation to the area specified for protection before deciding whether to make a declaration. Under section 10(4) of the Act, the report is required to deal with the following matters:
(a) the particular significance of the area to Aboriginals;
(b) the nature and extent of the threat of injury to, or desecration of, the area;
(c) the extent of the area that should be protected;
(d) the prohibitions and restrictions to be made with respect to the area;
(e) the effects the making of a declaration may have on the proprietary or pecuniary interests of persons other than the Aboriginal or Aboriginals on whose behalf the application is made;
(f) the duration of any declaration;
(g) the extent to which the area is or may be protected by or under a law of the State of New South Wales, and the effectiveness of any remedies available under any such law; and
(h) such other matters (if any) as are prescribed.
The area sought to be protected (the 'specified area')
The Applicants seek protection over the 'specified area’ nominated in the application including any potential unknown archaeological deposits in the area known as the grounds of the Randwick Stabling Yards. This area is adjacent to the Royal Randwick Race Course and is shown on the map below.
Figure 1: Map showing the specified area known as the Randwick Stabling Yards, New South Wales.
Claimed nature of particular significance
The application indicates that the particular significance of the specified area arises predominately from its significance as (summarised version of the Applicants’ claims):
- A site where more than 21,000 stone artefacts have been excavated from a part of it with potential for many more.
- The Botany Bay Sands Soil landscape is poorly understood in archaeological terms and the cultural significance of this area to Aboriginal people is not well described.
- It is claimed the site contains items from the Lower Hunter Valley and that it may be the site of a large gathering. Further, the artefacts may be linked to one of the first sites of early Aboriginal resistance of colonisation and may be a meeting point for Aboriginal resistance and information sharing in response to colonisation.
- The site has historic potential based on early colonial records of expeditions by Captain Watkin Tench and his party, who camped at a freshwater swamp in the region. Contemporary maps suggest the only significant fresh water swamp in the region was the Lachlan Swamp.
- According to documentary records, Captain Tench and his party were camping in this area because they were seeking to capture and kill a number of Aboriginal men in the area in retribution of an earlier spearing of the Governor’s gamekeeper.
- It is claimed that the artefacts found at the site contain a very significant number of spear heads and material created in the making of spear heads.
Claimed threat of injury or desecration
The threat of injury or desecration to the specified area arises from the development of the Randwick Stabling Yards for the Sydney Light Rail Project. The application states that the site is being destroyed by excavation work being undertaken by both machine excavators and elements of hand excavation. The application attributes this to preparation for covering the entirety of the site with infrastructure, including concrete footings and rails for the Randwick Stabling Yards.
Invitation to make representations
Interested persons are invited to make representations on this matter to:
Dr Susan McIntyre-Tamwoy
Extent Heritage
Level 3
73 Union St
PYRMONT NSW 2009
Ph: 0428 673 112
Fax: 02 9555 7005
Email: submissions@extent.com.au
Representations must be made in writing by close of business by 23 February 2018 or within such further period as may be allowed. You should not send your representations directly to the Minister.
If you wish to claim confidentiality over any part of your representation, please identify why you are claiming confidentiality and how you want confidentiality to apply. All representations, whether or not they are provided in confidence, will be provided to the Minister for the Environment and Energy, and the Department of the Environment and Energy, along with the section 10 report. Representations, even those subject to confidentiality, may be disclosed where it is authorised or required by law, to meet procedural fairness requirements, and in response to a request by a House or Committee of the Parliament of the Commonwealth.