40,000 yo Aboriginal rocks removed from sugar mill

    PHOTO: Bundaberg elder, Aunty Cheri, speaks to media as the crane waits to move the rocks. 

(Eliza Rogers)

Updated 11 Jul 2014

Four ancient sandstone rocks have been relocated from a sugar mill in Bundaberg, Queensland, to a nearby Indigenous centre in an act of reconciliation.

The rocks, bearing Aboriginal carvings dating back 40,000 years, were recently discovered by an Aboriginal elder more than 40 years after they were removed from the Burnett Riverbed and placed at Bingera Mill.

They've now been transported by mill workers to the Indigenous Wellbeing Centre in Bundaberg where they will form a cultural feature.

Bundaberg Aboriginal Elder Aunty Cheri wailed with happiness as the precious rocks were strapped up and winched onto a truck.

PHOTO: An etching of a bird foot on the "men's business" rock. (Eliza Rogers)

She says the rocks were used by three different tribes, and signify boundaries and ancient practices.

Two "men's business" rocks bear smooth surfaces where tools were made and sharpened, and an etching of a bird's foot, while a "women's business" rock displays deep indentations where women gave birth.

"Women would sit and give birth, and the women that were with her would rub her with soil to say to that child, 'this country owns you'," Aunty Cheri explained.

Any sensitivities about removing such sacred rocks from where they lay have been sidestepped, as they were moved to the mill, from their original place in the riverbed.

Aunty Cheri says the event, that's happened to fall in NAIDOC week, has been dignified and unifying.

"This is about reconciliation; they're handing back these significant objects back to the Traditional Owner peoples.... they're saying, 'let's move them together'," she said.

"Women would sit and give birth, and the women that were with her would rub her with soil to say to that child, 'this country owns you'."

Aunty Cheri, Bundaberg Aboriginal Elder

Mill workers, including very nervous loader and crane drivers, worked delicately to manoeuvre the rocks onto large tyre cushions on the back of the truck.

Simon Doyle from Bundaberg Sugar says the company wanted to help by providing equipment and labour free of charge.

He says the rocks have a special connection to a select group of mill staff.

"We've probably only got two or three people remaining here on our workforce, that were here when they [the rocks] were brought here 40 years ago," he said.

"I think now is a good time to move them into town to a site where they'll be appreciated by a lot more people."

The rocks, each weighing more than a tonne, were relocated under the guidance of Taribelang Bunda, Goreng, and Gurang Gurang Elders.

    PHOTO: An etching of a bird foot on the "men's business" rock. (Eliza Rogers)

    She says the rocks were used by three different tribes, and signify boundaries and ancient practices.

First posted 11 Jul 2014, More stories from Queensland