The Sisters of Mercy in Bathurst are supporting their Wiradyuri Aboriginal friends and other local concerned citizens in a campaign to protect a sacred women’s site at the top of Mount Panorama/Wahluu from being turned into a go-kart track.
Since the days of the Mercy and Justice Centre, followed by the Rahamim Ecology Centre, the Sisters of Mercy in the Bathurst region have forged great bonds with the local Wiradyuri Elders, learning about sacred and endangered ecological communities, while advocating for their recognition and conservation.
The Sisters of Mercy have been part of communitiy protests to stop a go-kart track from being built on a culturally sensitive site at the top of Mt Panorama. PHOTO: Sisters of Mercy.
Sally Neaves and Patricial Powell RSM (Institute of Sisters of Mercy Australia and PNG) continue this tradition, now supporting their Wiradyuri friends and the Friends of McPhillamy Park, Bathurst, in their campaign to protect this sacred site.
“Mount Panorama/Wahluu has an iconic place in the physical environment and cultural heritage of Bathurst and the surrounding region. It holds a commanding position within the Bathurst Macquarie Valley and has been of significance for thousands of years,” Sally says in a briefing she prepared on the campaign.
“The Bathurst Wiradjuri Elders have identified and informed the broader community about the importance of Wahluu/Mt Panorama as a site of significant cultural importance, both in the past and continuing today.
“It is a significant site in the cultural songlines of the region that are at the core of Aboriginal cultural practice and the particular location of the proposed track is sacred to Wiradyuri women. The site is also home to a critically endangered Grassy Box Woodland community.”
Bathurst Regional Council had planned to start building a go-kart track on Monday, March 8 at the summit of the New South Wales mountain, which is widely referred to as the home of Australian motorsport, despite the Wiradyuri Traditional Owners having submitted a ‘Section 10’ claim under Commonwealth legislation, to be determined by the Environment Minister.
However, on Friday, March 6, federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley took emergency action to stop the construction going ahead for 30 days.
Senator Ley was to visit Bathurst on Friday, March 12 to meet with stakeholders prior to her determination of the ‘Section 10” claim.
Sally says the significant community opposition to the current proposal is about the location of the go-kart circuit on top of Mt Panorma/Wahluu, not the development of a go-kart track per se.
“There is community dispute about where the go-kart track should be located, who pays for it and how the public open space can be protected and our Aboriginal cultural heritage of Wahluu/Mt Panorama respected and protected. Once gone, forever lost. Our heritage legacy of thousands of years.”