Axe grinding grooves in the Sandstone Caves.
Aboriginal heritage was the theme of our most recent meeting at Coonabarabran. Many thanks to the Warrumbungle Shire Council who hosted the meeting. The two day format was a great success judging from the feedback, it gave us a chance to relax a bit more than usual and have some extended time in the field. This was a new format for us and hopefully one which we will have an opportunity to repeat at a future time.
Coonabarabran is a friendly town with a lot to recommend it. The time we spent in the surrounding shire was so visually rich that I have included as many photos as I can - these will tell the story of our visit better than any description so scroll down and see how our time was spent. To avoid over indulgence I have refrained from posting the many, many photos taken at the Sandstone Caves. As a sometime artist, I was beyond sensible advice when it came to taking photo after photo of the absolute magnificence of the caves - the scale, colour and striation of rock formations were overwhelming in their beauty - so just a few indulgent inclusions but I intend to set up a photo gallery on this blog soon so all the photos from everyone can be published.
Here are a few photos of Coonabarabran’s main thoroughfare, John Street.
The clock tower and war memorial,
John Street Coonabarabran looking south
and the restored 1870s Court House.
Our session on day one, after welcoming speeches by Uncle Bill Robinson of the Burra Bee Dee Aboriginal Elders Group and Mr Peter Shinton, Mayor of Warrumbungle Shire, started with a presentation by Ray Christison and Bill Robinson on preserving and interpreting the Burra Bee Dee Mission.
However, first a few quick snaps during afternoon tea, day one.
Rebecca Ryan, Director of Community Services, Warrumbungle Shire Council, Peter Shinton, Mayor, Warrumbungle Shire Council and Carol Dawson, Councillor, Warrumbungle Shire Council
Ron Van Katwyck, Director Environmental Services, Warrumbungle Shire Council and Ron Sullivan, Councillor, Warrumbungle Shire Council
Rebecca Ryan, presenter Ray Christison, architect and heritage consultant Barbara Hickson and Sinclair Croft, Bathurst Council.
The first afternoon session was followed by an outline of cultural strategies for raising awareness of local Aboriginal heritage by Bob Sutherland and Brad Trindall, Dept of Environment and Climate Change, Cultural Heritage Division. Both sessions presented positive and innovative ways of managing, sustaining and educating about Aboriginal Heritage and got us looking forward to the following day’s field trip.
Brad Trindall and Bob Sutherland
Prue Thompson of the Coolah Development Group also gave us an overview and slide presentation of the rebirth of the Coolah Shire Hall which had been transformed through local imagination and initiative into a showpiece of adaptive reuse. In its current form as a library and exhibition space the old shire hall is buzzing with activity. The retention of original architectural detail shows that new uses can adapt to an original building fabric without loss of integrity. Unfortunately the opposite is so often the case and the original building is compromised in order to accommodate new uses. Congratulations to the Coolah Development Group on such an excellent outcome.
Kids playing at being little monkeys out the front of the Coolah Shire Hall - the library is a magnet for local school children and has been set up with their needs well catered for.
The library’s interior showing original art deco motifs, windows and ceiling. At the back, the old stage has been converted to a technology centre which, on the day I was there, was being fully utilised by local school pupils.
Next day on our field trip the first stop was a breakfast barbeque at the Burra Bee Dee Mission site. Although now without houses and buildings it has an almost tangible presence of earlier days. The people, their activities, pride and ownership can still be felt through the remnants of its past.
Uncle Bill Robinson guided the network on our tour of Burra Bee Dee.
There are many stories and memories, some of which have been captured in the book ‘The Sun Dancin. People and Place in Coonabarabran’, a compilation of oral histories centred around five pivotal Aboriginal women of the Mission all descended from Mary Jane Cain, matriarch and founder. Mary Jane envisaged a place where Aboriginal people could come and live in safety and harmony. This sense of caring for each other can still be felt in the site’s enveloping peace and tranquility. As recounted by Mission Elders, Bill Robinson and Maureen Sulter, the place welcomes you and takes you in from the moment you enter.
Mary Jane Cain’s grave in the Burra Bee Dee Cemetery. The cemetery is a protected Aboriginal burial ground.
Convener’s have many roles, this time as a sign-post holding up a print of the proposed sign. I do a lot of heritage interpretation, but this is a new innovation. Hope it doesn’t catch on. However, to the right is the frame for the signs when they are installed. As you can see the structure is very simple and appropriate to the context of the place, which is how interpretation should be approached.
Remnants of inhabitation at Burra Bee Dee - above and below
Oh No!!! The Heritage Mafia! Nah…it’s Ray Christison, Extreme Heritage Advisor. No site too remote, no access too risky, no council too scary.
After Burra Bee Dee, we drove off through the Pilliga National Park to Baradine.
I thought we needed a ‘road’ photo somewhere in the blog - this is Craig our driver taking us along the No 1 Break Road in the Pilliga. He took us boldly where no coach has been before.
This connected to the presentation by Bob Sutherland and Brad Trindall regarding the terrain of the ‘Gamilaroi Gallop’. From Bob’s talk -
‘the Gamilaroi Gallop is a concept originally raised in the 2002 Brigalow Belt South negotiations at Dubbo. Since then it has been discussed extensively with the Aboriginal communities of Narrabri, Pilliga, Baradine and Coonabarabran with the pivotal point of discussions being interaction between Elders and young people with the view of some cultural exchange occurring. It aims to develop leadership with young Aboriginal people through an increased awareness of cultural understanding and identity. The Gamilaroi Gallop is to be undertaken on horseback in partnership with Narrabri, Pilliga, Baradine and Coonabarabran Aboriginal communities. The Gamilaroi Gallop will involve Elders and young people from the respective communities listed above. The Gamilaroi Gallop is all about taking on a personal and group challenge. The Gamilaroi Gallop challenges participant to set personal goals and achieve them. Along the way, they learn about themselves, their culture and about qualities like responsibility, respect, trust and leadership.’
At Baradine - we were warmly welcomed by Sonny Trindall at the Aboriginal Land Council which has a prominent place in the main street.
Below are some general shots of buildings around Baradine, a typical small town of its era whose traditional industries are now falling/fallen away. The architectural styles tell a history where the most viable period of the town was early in the twentieth century until around WWII.
Baradine Memorial Hall - built after the First World War. Note its Classical Revival facade.
An old banking chamber - banks have long since left country towns, but they leave behind a legacy of substantial building stock. This one, probably built around the turn of the century, adds a certain grandeur to the streetscape.
Early 20th century commercial building with beautiful weathered detail.
Above is the Forestry Commission building, built around 1950 and reputedly designed by a New Zealand architect. As you would expect it showcases local timbers, particularly inside which is spectacularly paneled throughout.
Onwards to the Sandstone Caves, which is managed by DECC.
Signage at the start of the track has been developed utilising Gamilaroi language and knowledge of the site.
Above shows the scale of the cliff face and caves.
This shows the typical formation of the cave interiors
and this is the view out from the caves.
This photo was taken along the track where conservation methods were being employed to prevent further degradation of the surface. Rosanne Paskin of Rose Deco Planning & Design has written the following explanation.
The technique used here is commonly referred to as brush matting. It is a low impact method of revegetating exposed soil, especially where the site is not sloping. Seed-bearing branches are cut and laid in a mish-mash pattern to cover the ground. Tea-tree (Leptospermum species) are an especially effective choice as they have a generous amount of seed which is released as the branches dry out. The dry leaves and branchlets become an in situ mulch to help with plant establishment. Using adjacent (endemic) growing species continues the local site-specific flora spectrum. Coverage of the bare ground stops, or at least reduces, splash and wind erosion. Fragile soil profiles are not disturbed by digging to plant tubestock. The brush matting is a visual clue that there is revegetation/rehabilitation work taking place (so signage “Do not use this track!” should not be needed).
If the site is sloping or exposed to wind (e.g. the brush moves and collects at a perimeter) and seed would become concentrated in one spot, instead of being spread over a larger area, the plant material can be pegged down using either inverted V pieces from the branch forks which can be left to decompose or tent pegs that will have to collected later from the site. This is not really the easiest or most effective method for a sloping site - other revegetation methods would be better.
All in all, a fantastic experience. The generosity of the Burra Bee Dee Elders and the willingness of the Council to host the seminar combined with great service from local businesses and tourist information staff, the high quality of presentations and not least, the presence of our members, made the Warrumbungles Network Meeting a great success. We look forward to your company at the next meeting.
