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| Register of Aboriginal Sites | |
|---|---|
| Name | Register of Aboriginal Sites |
| Type | Cultural heritage register |
Register of Aboriginal Sites
A Register of Aboriginal Sites is an official list recognizing Indigenous Aboriginal Australians' cultural heritage places maintained by state and territorial agencies such as the Department of Premier and Cabinet (Western Australia), the New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage, the Queensland Museum and the Australian Heritage Council. These registers intersect with legislation including the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (SA), the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 (WA), the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth), and the Heritage Act 1977 (NSW), and engage stakeholders like the National Native Title Tribunal, the National Trust of Australia, and Indigenous corporations such as the Aboriginal Land Council (NSW). The registers are situated within broader frameworks involving the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Commonwealth of Australia and state administrations.
Registers document Aboriginal places associated with people such as Eddie Mabo, Pauline Hanson-related controversies notwithstanding, and events like the Frontier Wars (Australia) and the Sydney Convict Era, and link to landscapes documented by explorers like James Cook and Matthew Flinders. They formalize recognition for sites tied to groups including the Noongar people, Yorta Yorta people, Wiradjuri, Gumbaynggirr, and Koori communities, and to institutions such as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. Registers often complement listings on the Commonwealth Heritage List and the State Heritage Register (NSW).
Statutory frameworks include instruments like the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 and state acts such as the Heritage Act 2018 (Victoria), and refer to judgments from courts including the High Court of Australia and decisions by the Federal Court of Australia. Purpose statements cite protection of places connected to figures such as Truganini and sites like Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre and Kakadu National Park through mechanisms coordinated with agencies like the Parks Australia and the Australian Heritage Commission. Registers enable recognition that can affect projects by corporations such as Rio Tinto (corporation), planners like the NSW Planning Minister, and infrastructure works involving Australian Rail Track Corporation.
Nomination procedures involve Indigenous land councils such as the Central Land Council, the Northern Land Council, and the Tiwi Land Council; assessments are performed by bodies like the Heritage Council of Victoria and the Queensland Heritage Council. Applications reference ethnographic work by researchers affiliated with universities such as the Australian National University, the University of Sydney, and the University of Melbourne, and often cite archaeological investigations by teams linked to the Australian Archaeological Association and museums such as the South Australian Museum. Decisions can be appealed to tribunals including the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales and administrative review by entities like the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Registers include rock art sites like those in the Burrup Peninsula, ritual junctions and songlines recognized by Eddie Koiki Mabo-era narratives, campsites such as those near Botany Bay, burial grounds comparable to Wolstoncroft, ceremonial grounds like those in the Top End adjacent to Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park, and archaeological assemblages comparable to discoveries at Lake Mungo. They encompass maritime heritage connected to voyages such as HMS Bounty-era accounts, industrial-era Aboriginal workplaces referenced in Australian gold rushes, and landscape-scale cultural estates akin to areas managed under Cape York Peninsula Heritage initiatives.
Protective measures are enforced through instruments managed by agencies including the Department of Environment and Energy (Australia) and the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (Australia), coordinated with Indigenous bodies like the Aboriginal Benefits Trust and native title representative bodies such as the Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission. Management plans often cite best practice from organizations like the International Council on Monuments and Sites and involve partnerships with institutions such as the Museums Victoria and the National Museum of Australia. Enforcement actions have involved police forces such as the New South Wales Police Force and compliance with directions from ministers such as the Minister for Indigenous Australians.
Controversies have arisen around developments impacting sites, as in the destruction of caves on the Burrup Peninsula and the 2020 blasting of the Juukan Gorge by Rio Tinto (corporation), prompting inquiries led by bodies like the Senate of Australia and reviews involving the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Tensions involve competing interests of proponents like Woodside Petroleum and advocates represented by the Australian Human Rights Commission, and legal complexity stemming from cases such as Mabo v Queensland (No 2) and Yorta Yorta v Victoria. Challenges also include underfunding noted by institutions such as the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and contested site interpretations by academics from the University of Western Australia and the University of Adelaide.
Notable site registers and case studies include listings managed by the Heritage Council of Western Australia for the Burrup Peninsula, entries connected to the Cooks River area overseen by the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, Lake Mungo recognition worked on by the Australian National University, and protections applied within Kakadu National Park administered by the Director of National Parks. Other prominent examples involve consultative models developed with the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands and dispute resolution approaches tested in matters before the National Native Title Tribunal and the Federal Court of Australia.
Category:Aboriginal culture in Australia