Arkaroo Rock Upgrade Project

Update: Arkaroo Rock Upgrade Project 

The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs has authorised the proposal below considering feedback received during consultation.  See the update for more details.

Are you a Traditional Owner or Aboriginal party with an interest in Arkaroo Rock in the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park? 

What's being decided?

We want to hear from you about the Department for Environment and Water’s (Applicant’s) proposal to upgrade the tourism infrastructure at Arkaroo Rock, an important Adnyamathanha rock shelter and art site about 10 km south of the Wilpena Pound Resort.

Your views will help the Premier decide whether to authorise potential excavation, damage, disturbance or interference with Aboriginal heritage that may occur as a result of this proposal.

Proposed works would involve the following activities within the Application Area:

• removing the existing steel barrier attached to the rock shelter
• removing the existing viewing deck around the rock shelter
• installing a new interpretive screen over the face of the rock shelter, which would include drilling into the rock shelter’s dripline
• constructing a new decking/bridge and viewing platform, which would include excavation for footings
• cleaning the artwork (i.e. dust removal only).

Some ground disturbance would also be expected during the removal of the existing viewing deck.

For further information regarding this application, refer to the Applicant’s Project Overview and Activities document.

Background

The Premier of South Australia, who administers the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988 (SA) (Act), has received an application for authorisations under sections 21 and 23 of the Act from the Applicant to enable the Project.

Section 21 of the Act makes it an offence to excavate land to uncover any Aboriginal site, object or remains (Aboriginal heritage) without the Premier’s authorisation, while section 23 of the Act makes it an offence to damage, disturb or interfere with Aboriginal heritage without the Premier’s authorisation.

Prior to considering whether to grant the authorisations, section 13 of the Act requires the Premier to consult with Traditional Owners, the State Aboriginal Heritage Committee (Committee), and other Aboriginal parties that he thinks may have an interest in the matter.

Get involved

If you are a Traditional Owner or an Aboriginal party with an interest in the Application Area, please read the Project Overview and Activities document and consider the following 3 questions:

1. Should the authorisations be granted to the Applicant? Why or why not?
2. If granted, what conditions, if any, should be put on the authorisations?
3. Are there any other matters that the Premier should consider in this application?

If you wish to learn more about this application, or lodge a submission, please contact:

Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation

• T: (08) 8226 8900
• E: DPC-AAR.CIR@sa.gov.au
• P: GPO Box 2343, ADELAIDE SA 5001

See the Project Overview and Activities document for further details on how to lodge a verbal or written submission.

What are the next steps?

Unless otherwise requested, consultee submissions will be forwarded to the Applicant for comment. Once the public consultation period has closed, submissions and the Applicant’s comments about them will be forwarded to the Committee. The Committee’s own views about the application will then be sought. AAR will collate consultee submissions, the Applicant’s responses to them, the Committee’s advice, and its own recommendations to the Premier within a single brief to assist him to make a final decision about the application.