North Era Beach and the Dharawal People

In Aboriginal culture, there are many sites that are considered significant and
important to their cultural heritage, with each kinship group having different
areas considered sacred or important to them for different reasons, including
traditions and culture or modern events that have significantly impacted the
local Aboriginals. In the case of the Dharawal people, their sacred grounds that
were once a respected reburial site have lost its meaning in the wider, whiter
community.
The Dharawal people live on the land between the south of Botany Bay, out west
to Campbeltown and down to Port Hacking in the northern region of the
Shoalhaven river. The Dharawal people have lived in the region since time
immemorial. According to the 2011 census 8952 reported to speaking the
Dharawal language at home (ABS 2011). Furthermore, the census also reported a
total of 11,555 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in the
Shoalhaven and Illawarra regions (ABS 2011)
North Era beach is a traditional reburial site for the Aboriginal people of the
Dharawal kinship group, making it a site of significance for the Dharawal people.
It is located in the Royal National Park in the South Sydney region. Like many
reburial sites, the issue of conservation and protection is a concern.
A reburial ground in traditional Aboriginal culture is a site of tremendous cultural
significance as its role is to reconnect the Aboriginal people with the land their
came from. Reburial sites are commonly used in communities when the
skeletons of Aboriginal people are found in order to connect them with the most
spiritual site possible.
Andrew Chalk, a lawyer for Aboriginal land rights, wrote an article discussing the
importance of protecting burial sites. In the article, Aboriginal Heritage:
Protecting Burial Sites, he focuses on the burial sites located at Lake Victoria,
and the issues that were being faced in order to protect a site of extreme cultural
importance to the local Aboriginal group, the Barkandji people. The article
focuses on how the corporate need for money has cause Aboriginal land rights to
be ignored, specifically the rights the Barkandji elders were campaigning for;
recognition of the possible damage and destruction that could be caused to a
site of great importance to their community.
Chalks article highlights the many issues faced with the significance of
Aboriginal sites being recognised as important to the culture and heritage of
Aboriginal people. Specifically, it focuses on the struggle between corporations
and Aboriginal people as greed motivates corporations to seek ways to make
more money, regardless of the cost to others. In this scenario, the cost is the risk
of permanent damage and destruction to a site of significance.
The Lake Victoria burial site issue is a more famous example of the problems
faced when protecting these sites. What does not assist the situation is the lack
of Aboriginal voices regarding this issue. Whilst this is a topic that is highly

relevant to Aboriginal culture, there is a distinct lack of credible sources which

discuss the implication and significance of these sites. Often, reliable sources
regarding these issues will barely mention anything other than a sentence
regarding the Aboriginal view on the issue. This is seen in Chalks article where
the Aboriginal view on the issue is stated in two sentences. In the latter half of
1994, Barkandji elders began campaigning for the protection of the area.They
were concerned about both the physical damage occurring to the sites from
erosion as well as the desecration of the burials through their artificial
inundation (Chalk, 1995; p. 34).
While there could be a myriad of reasons for this, I believe that the reasons are
very similar to those presented in Chalks article; that the only times sites of
significance such as burial and reburial sites become relevant to the majority in
power are the times when they wish to develop the land and ignore the cultural
significance of the area. It is summarised well in Kim Elizabeth Doohans thesis
Making Things Come Good in which she states Other connections are based
on the place of death and burial of ancestral kin and the seniority and gender of
those with a deep knowledge and understanding of the Dreaming, the country
and associated ritual practices. (Doohan, 2006; P.199) This highlights the depth
of connection between Aboriginal people and sites of significance. Furthermore,
it also demonstrates the significant connection between the people and their
land; a connection which goes back to time immemorial.
Development threats are not a major concern for the reburial ground at North
Era beach. This is due to the beach being located in part of the Royal National
Park, which in part was set up by the Tharawal Local Aboriginal Land Council to
expand the national park. This achieved in getting the burial site considered to
be part of Australian protected land.
However, there are some limitations and compromises as a result of being a part
of the national park land. North Era has turned into a campground, albeit with
strict rules to monitor and attempt to control the site and minimise risk of
damage. This is not always smooth though as extended pedestrian activity can
easily damage sites over long periods of time, such as Mulkas cave in Western
Australia (Rossi, 2007). The strict rules therefore are aimed at damage
containment to prevent significant amounts of damage taking place, such as
limiting the number of people allowed to stay overnight. These restrictions help
to protect the site whilst still allowing them to be accessed by the Aboriginal
people to whom the land is connected to.
There are also benefits to the community in this protected site being part of the
National Park. The controlled access means that the site can be visited and
Aboriginal guides of the land can be organised in order to allow visitors to learn
more about the reburial place of the Dharawal people, and the significance this
site plays culturally.
As such, it is clear to see how the community outside the Dharawal people and
other Aboriginal peoples are unaware of the significance of the site of North Era
Beach as a burial site, but through education this is slowly being rectified so that

despite the lack of Aboriginal voice being shown through scholarly research, the
Aboriginal voice can still speak into the issue through cultural education
opportunities. It is disappointing that this voice must come at the cost of risking
their sites of significance to destruction in order for people to listen.

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