Bathurst sacred site bid blocked by Federal govt

An application to have a key part of the famous Bathurst race track in NSW declared a sacred site has been blocked by the Federal Government.

Last year the Wiradyuri Traditional Owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation had sought to register an area in McPhillamy Park, on Mount Panorama’s peak, as a heritage site.

The claim could have seen the end of the Bathurst 1000 race was raised under an emergency application under Section 9 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.

The application was made after the organisation scattered the ashes of a former member Uncle Brian Grant on Mount Panorama in 2022.

Application did not meet requirements

The Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System registers the peak as a ‘burial site and ceremonial site for Wiradjuri Lore Man Mallyan Merriganoury, Grant’s Wiradjuri name.

But Minister for the environment and water, Senator Murray Watt, was not satisfied the application had met the purposes of the Act.

The former Chair of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council Roy Ah-See told Sydney’s 2GB radio the only authority to make an application could be Bathurst’s Local Aboriginal Land Council, not the Wiradyuri group.

‘When are these people going to understand that if you want to put a claim to a piece of land, go through the Commonwealth Native Title Act and legislation and put a claim on it. Be legitimate,’ he said.

After Senator Watt’s decision Mr Ah-See said: “Common sense has prevailed here.”