By Chris Thomson | posted on September 6, 2018
LISTING of Lake Mullocullup as the latest of 41 registered Aboriginal sites in Albany will have no impact on whether water skiing, now banned on the pristine waterway near Green Range, will again be permitted.
Following an application by Traditional Custodian Carol Pettersen (‘City clears muddy waters’, May 10), the lake was on August 14 registered as an Aboriginal site.
A spokesperson for the State Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage said skiing could still occur without approval under the Aboriginal Heritage Act.
“For example, the Swan River is recognised as an Aboriginal site and there are a range of activities, such as boating and water skiing, which do not require approval under the Act,” the spokesperson told The Weekender.
“If any Aboriginal site is to be altered, destroyed or damaged, the department will review the proposal to ensure there is no breach of the Act and provide advice to the relevant parties.
“Consent from the minister may be required.”
For 35 years, until the City of Albany stopped turning a blind eye, skiers skimmed across the lake’s surface, a practice city officials now acknowledge was illegal.
Skiing is now banned.
But a report by the City’s reserves manager Jacqui Freeman ahead of a council meeting in May said a report on whether to seek Department of Transport gazettal of the lake for skiing would be drafted once the outcome of the lake’s heritage registration was known.
An anthropologist’s report commissioned by the City after City Councillor Ray Hammond described consultation with Noongar people to that point as “a mess” (‘The sacred and the profane’, November 30), noted the council’s chief engineer Matthew Thomson had conceded staff did not do well in their initial consultation with Noongar people.
This week, Diane Evers, the Greens (WA) MLC for the South West Region, which includes Albany and the lake, said she supported moves from some local landholders and several Minang Noongar people to maintain the ban on motor boats at Mullocullup.
“I am supportive of the people who would like to see that water skiing does not go ahead,” said Ms Evers who, like Mrs Pettersen, is a former City of Albany councillor.
“It’s got too many things against it.”
Ms Evers said she would take the matter up with Minister for Transport, Planning and Lands Rita Saffioti.
In response to a letter from Mrs Pettersen to Ms Saffioti, departmental policy officer David McFerran on December 11 acknowledged comments by the Noongar Elder about the potential
impact of skiing on the cultural and conservation values of the area.
“I encourage you to work with the City in seeking appropriate management arrangements which can limit the impact on those values while enabling the ongoing use and enjoyment of the reserve by the community,” Mr McFerran wrote.
Mrs Pettersen, whose mother was born at the lake 100 years ago, said she was happy with the heritage listing but was aware it would have no impact on whether skiing would again be allowed.
She and fellow Elder Eugene Eades will launch a documentary by Frank Rijavec on the lake at Albany Public Library at 5.30pm on September 13.
“We’re wanting as many people to understand how important this place is,” she said.
“It is the only place that we Noongar people can access that has fresh water, and the stories and the abundance of cultural resources there to be able to pass on this knowledge to our children.
“All the other fresh water places we’ve had access to, and fresh water places are so important to Aboriginal people, have been disturbed and gone saline thanks to agriculture and other activities.
“This one is still lovely and there are quokkas nearby – I think my mother used to say ‘kwarkas’, or something like that.”
Bookings to see the documentary ‘Sacred swamps’ can be made at https://albany.spydus.com/Events
Image: Carol Pettersen at the lake. Photo: Chris Thomson
