Vic bushfires reveal archaeological treasures

Updated May 01, 2013 11:22:00

Devastating fires and floods in recent years have scoured the landscape in one of Victoria's most popular national parks, Wilson's Promontory. But they also uncovered 40 new Aboriginal cultural heritage sites. Some of the sites contain aboriginal artefacts that are thought to be thousands of years old.

Source: AM | Duration: 3min 30sec

Topics: sacred-sites, history, aboriginal, vic


TONY EASTLEY: The fires and floods in Victoria burnt the bush and scoured the landscape in one of the state's most popular national parks, Wilson's Promontory, but they also uncovered 40 new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage sites.

Some of the sites which contain Aboriginal artefacts are considered to be thousands of years old.

With more, here's Jenni Henderson.

JENNI HENDERSON: The scars of bushfires in 2005 and 2009 are still visible in Wilsons Promontory National Park, where dead and blackened trees rise out of the new green undergrowth. The fires burnt about two-thirds of the park.

By 2011 the recovery process was only just underway when a downpour of 370 millimetres of rain fell in 24 hours. The path of landslides down the park's mountains can be seen from the beaches where debris from the bushfires has washed up.

BRETT MITCHELL: I think the flood to me was the major one. It was just completely overwhelming.

JENNI HENDERSON: Brett Mitchell is a ranger in charge at Wilsons Promontory and has led the recovery process.

BRETT MITCHELL: Obviously Tidal River itself had major impacts. All the cabins, our office and other things were all flooded. Parts of Tidal River, some of the infrastructure there went two metres under water.

So we lost a lot of assets, a lot of our walking tracks were completely damaged. It probably took us around two months to actually get our heads around what had actually occurred in the park. It was really overwhelming.

JENNI HENDERSON: But the devastating fire and flood also uncovered some hidden treasures in the form of 40 new Aboriginal cultural heritage sites.

BRETT MITCHELL: So we've worked really closely with the traditional owners, the Gunai Kurnai, Bunurong and Boonerwrung, had a number of different field trips doing site inspections to make sure that the cultural sites didn't have impacts. Where they did, we have done some stabilisation works in some areas to protect those sites.

JENNI HENDERSON: Some of the sites contain artefacts such as middens and stone tools. Carbon dating undertaken as part of Parks Victoria's flood recovery research shows the oldest sites date back 6,500 years.

BRETT MITCHELL: We're at Whisky Bay now. This area was affected by the 2009 fire. There was a number of assets burnt in the fire here - a bridge as well as a viewing platform. And then in 2011 with the flood we had another major impact through here that destroyed a retaining wall and bridge and other assets here and probably about 300 metres of walking track.

It's a really sensitive area to the traditional owners as well. Connection to country with the traditional owners - doing some of the week-long field trips - has really been a positive experience for not only Parks Victoria but the traditional owners.

JENNI HENDERSON: Lloyd Hood* (see editor's note) is a Gunai Kurnai man. He says the discovery shows his people have been using the Prom for thousands of years.

LLOYD HOOD: Those stone tools, it was a tool of survival. Perhaps if they never had those tools, perhaps I wouldn't be here. But they were resilient people and they were craftsmen. They knew how to make the tools.

So they probably camped there when the season... the warmer season and then moved up, moved on further around, because they led a nomadic life and they never really stayed in one place for too long.

JENNI HENDERSON: The artefacts discovered at the site will play a vital role in educating future generations of Gunai Kurnai and tourists about the cultural heritage of the park.

LLOYD HOOD: In a way, well, they'll be a marking perhaps to say look, this is the land of the Gunai Kurnai, they need protecting for generations of young Aboriginal men and women.

We have a lot of people now who say, yeah, there were always, our people told us about that earlier on, the old people. This proves it, they were right, yeah. And so that connects them with that part of the country again.

TONY EASTLEY: Lloyd Hood, a Gunai Kurnai man, ending that report by Jenni Henderson.

* EDITOR'S NOTE (13 May 2013): The original report incorrectly named one of the people interviewed. The transcript has been corrected.