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 In the early part of the 1990s, 11 Aboriginal sites were rehabilitated between Gorge Point and Port Davey on the south-west coast of Tasmania. Monitoring of the sites has occurred since 1995. Over four years 11 Aboriginal sites were rehabilitated using minimal intrusive techniques. A team of Aboriginal Heritage Officers rehabilitated the majority of the sites. The rehabilitation was conducted as a partnership between the Tasmanian Aboriginal Land Council (TALC) and the Cultural Heritage Branch of DELM/ DPIWE (now Tasmanian Heritage Office, DTPHA). Biodegradable material and local scrub were used to reduce wind velocity and provide a microclimate conducive to vegetation growth. Minor follow up works and monitoring was undertaken over the last eight years. An inspection of the 11 sites was undertaken in March 2002. Five sites were considered to be rehabilitating well, three were failures, two were half working and one was destroyed due to four-wheel bike riders not following Parks and Wildlife Service vehicle access permit requirements. All of the 11 sites have been impacted predominantly by wind erosion. Sheet erosion has occurred on one or two of the sites but this is a minor impact. In March 2002 one rehabilitated Aboriginal site (TASI 5190) was identified as being destroyed by illegal four-wheel bike activity. The failed rehabilitated sites will be left and the successful and partially successful ones will be monitored. At this time no follow up work on the failed rehabilitated sites is proposed, the cost of a project like this is high as access is difficult. The Aboriginal sites on the south-west coast represent a relatively untouched resource for the Aboriginal community. This was one of the last areas where Aboriginal people were living a tradition that had been crafted over millennia. The south-west coast is an area that provides a cultural experience unavailable elsewhere in Tasmania. The lack of roads and other infrastructure allows Aboriginal people to experience a Tasmania that was a pre-settlement landscape. The intense impact created by a few years of minimal four-wheel bike activity is very high. Aboriginal heritage on the south-west coast is under extreme threat from four-wheel bike activity, as is the environment. If it is not stopped the cost to the environment and Aboriginal heritage on the south-west coast, including the World Heritage Area, will be significant. Caleb Pedder |
