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| Les Bursill (Monika Heary, The Sutherland Shire Leader) |
What was the significance of Kurnell to the Dharawal and Gweagal peoples?
It’s not altogether clear that the Gweagal were the people who occupied the area in pre-colonial times. Some people have suggested that the Gweagal is a post-colonial clan. In other words they are people who came after Phillip.
Of course my aboriginal contemporaries demand that they are the people who have traditional ownership of the land, so there is some debate about that.
So the significance of Kurnell is that Gwea means place gal means people. So they associate themselves with the natural environment – with that part of the bay.
The natural features at Kurnell were a stream running through the area and native grasses, there were fruit trees we know from the accounts of Cook and Banks that the Aboriginal people fished a lot, as well as eating a diet of fruits and berries.
Something that isn’t really known is the spiritual significance of the area, is that right?
As far as spiritual significance goes, the area was a camp site, it was a good place to live. I don’t there was any particular spiritual reason for being there. Because it’s low and on the sea shore, it was mainly a family gathering place. The people there were all related. It was an occupation place, a campsite. Maybe there was dancing and corroborees, but they would have been social gatherings rather than spiritual or religious.
Since 1953 Industry has moved in on the peninsula. What impact has that had on the way the land has been used?
A lot of that change has taken place in my lifetime. I was 8 years old in 1953. I know that Aboriginal people preferred camping on the other side in the sandhills, they were camping there when I was young. When the Holts and the other bloodsuckers came in, layer upon layer of campsites were dug up and destroyed. They were just destroyed as they sucked the sand out of the place. I saw that myself. In the late 70s I was studying at university. I went there again 1985 and found evidence of animal bones and charcoal. The bones I found were inland marsupials. There were definitely campsites all through that area.
If you go to the internet and search Neermaps and type in Kurnell peninsula you can see what has happened there. Where they’ve taken the sand away there are now bodies of water. Some of the bones I found were in the area that has been mined.
Where the Shell refinery is now there were once lagoons and marshland that abounded in frogs and fish. It was a proper paradise. Everyone thinks of kurnell thinks of one side of the Peninsula. They just think of the grassy slope. Actually there are two sides to the peninsula.
The degradation of the sites means it would be useless for traditional purposes now. The water is polluted, the native species have been taken out. It is just scrubland, it’s pretty but it’s just a place. It’s not productive land any more.
Are there Aborginal people who have opposed turning the Kurnell peninsula into an industrial zone?
Yes, I have made many representations. The La Perouse community has made many representations. But they’re even mining the Burrup peninsula (in WA) I was up there just a few weeks ago. That is an area that is full of rock paintings and a highly significant area, but mining interests are more important.
When the Holts got that farm out there that was beautiful land. Holt logged the area, ran cattle and sheep over it and reduced the land to just to sandhills, even shooting the koalas out of the trees, because you know how dangerous they are! One of my ancestors – Timothy Bursill worked for Holt. Now, after sandmining the area they’ve sold it out. A lot of people think Holt's really wonderful, that he’s a pioneer. I think he’s just an environmental vandal. The last bit would be to say not to kill a dying man.
There are hundreds of middens out there. National Parks has commissioned digs. The digs were done well, but it was too late to save much.
Which of the industries do you think poses the biggest threat environmentally on the peninsula?
Well you’d have to say the oil refinery. But the biggest impact on bay would be the desalination plant. There’s also Carbon black, which has had a significant environmental impact.
The Oil refinery pumps fumes into the air, and there is also spillage on the ground and water contamination. The whole of the peninsula is pumping fumes into Sydney. Sutherland shire has the highest asthma rates in Sydney. Ask yourself why.
Is sectioning off a small area for National Park enough?
Well Alpha house in the National Park is built on the biggest midden, a very significant historical site. You could say that National Parks has contributed to the destruction of Aboriginal heritage. They have chosen the best spot to put a house, it also happens to be an old camping ground. All down the South Coast, churches are perched on the top of hills, which are often old Aboriginal camping grounds.
National parks won’t even let us go into our own sites. They have prescription against people going in there now. There is no continuity of connection with country itself. Our access to our own sites has been dramatically altered by National Parks.
Where do you see Kurnell heading, and what can be done?
There has been so much harm done in Botany Bay. The water is polluted. The airport is expanding. There are toxic chemicals leaching into the Bay. What could we possibly do to make it better? Except taking out the structures that already exist. National parks are attempting to restore the peninsula to something like it would have been, replanting native species. That’s the best we can hope for I think.
Is there anything else you would like to mention?
Well I think with the Gweagal people, my theory is that the Gweagal people came in after the original inhabitants were wiped out by disease. Around 1820 I think only one or two of the original aboriginal inhabitants were left alive. I think what happened is that the original inhabitants died out around 1820, and other groups moved in from further south. As an archeologist I know that what the Gweagal are saying doesn’t stack up, but it does stack up with the traditions of the aboriginal people from the south coast. The rock engravings don’t tell the same story as the Gweagal traditions. They tell a different story, an older story. I think this is one of the tales of extinctions of traditional peoples around Sydney. It has happened many times in history - small groups die out and others move in. People move around all the time, people come and go.
Lee has a website called "The Archaeology of the Dharawal People of NSW" http://www.lesbursill.com
He can be contacted at Les.bursill@gmail.com
Of course my aboriginal contemporaries demand that they are the people who have traditional ownership of the land, so there is some debate about that.
So the significance of Kurnell is that Gwea means place gal means people. So they associate themselves with the natural environment – with that part of the bay.
The natural features at Kurnell were a stream running through the area and native grasses, there were fruit trees we know from the accounts of Cook and Banks that the Aboriginal people fished a lot, as well as eating a diet of fruits and berries.
Something that isn’t really known is the spiritual significance of the area, is that right?
As far as spiritual significance goes, the area was a camp site, it was a good place to live. I don’t there was any particular spiritual reason for being there. Because it’s low and on the sea shore, it was mainly a family gathering place. The people there were all related. It was an occupation place, a campsite. Maybe there was dancing and corroborees, but they would have been social gatherings rather than spiritual or religious.
Since 1953 Industry has moved in on the peninsula. What impact has that had on the way the land has been used?
A lot of that change has taken place in my lifetime. I was 8 years old in 1953. I know that Aboriginal people preferred camping on the other side in the sandhills, they were camping there when I was young. When the Holts and the other bloodsuckers came in, layer upon layer of campsites were dug up and destroyed. They were just destroyed as they sucked the sand out of the place. I saw that myself. In the late 70s I was studying at university. I went there again 1985 and found evidence of animal bones and charcoal. The bones I found were inland marsupials. There were definitely campsites all through that area.
If you go to the internet and search Neermaps and type in Kurnell peninsula you can see what has happened there. Where they’ve taken the sand away there are now bodies of water. Some of the bones I found were in the area that has been mined.
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| A body of water on Kurnell Peninsula in an area that has been mined (Else Kennedy) |
Where the Shell refinery is now there were once lagoons and marshland that abounded in frogs and fish. It was a proper paradise. Everyone thinks of kurnell thinks of one side of the Peninsula. They just think of the grassy slope. Actually there are two sides to the peninsula.
The degradation of the sites means it would be useless for traditional purposes now. The water is polluted, the native species have been taken out. It is just scrubland, it’s pretty but it’s just a place. It’s not productive land any more.
Are there Aborginal people who have opposed turning the Kurnell peninsula into an industrial zone?
Yes, I have made many representations. The La Perouse community has made many representations. But they’re even mining the Burrup peninsula (in WA) I was up there just a few weeks ago. That is an area that is full of rock paintings and a highly significant area, but mining interests are more important.
When the Holts got that farm out there that was beautiful land. Holt logged the area, ran cattle and sheep over it and reduced the land to just to sandhills, even shooting the koalas out of the trees, because you know how dangerous they are! One of my ancestors – Timothy Bursill worked for Holt. Now, after sandmining the area they’ve sold it out. A lot of people think Holt's really wonderful, that he’s a pioneer. I think he’s just an environmental vandal. The last bit would be to say not to kill a dying man.
There are hundreds of middens out there. National Parks has commissioned digs. The digs were done well, but it was too late to save much.
Which of the industries do you think poses the biggest threat environmentally on the peninsula?
Well you’d have to say the oil refinery. But the biggest impact on bay would be the desalination plant. There’s also Carbon black, which has had a significant environmental impact.
The Oil refinery pumps fumes into the air, and there is also spillage on the ground and water contamination. The whole of the peninsula is pumping fumes into Sydney. Sutherland shire has the highest asthma rates in Sydney. Ask yourself why.
Is sectioning off a small area for National Park enough?
Well Alpha house in the National Park is built on the biggest midden, a very significant historical site. You could say that National Parks has contributed to the destruction of Aboriginal heritage. They have chosen the best spot to put a house, it also happens to be an old camping ground. All down the South Coast, churches are perched on the top of hills, which are often old Aboriginal camping grounds.
National parks won’t even let us go into our own sites. They have prescription against people going in there now. There is no continuity of connection with country itself. Our access to our own sites has been dramatically altered by National Parks.
Where do you see Kurnell heading, and what can be done?
There has been so much harm done in Botany Bay. The water is polluted. The airport is expanding. There are toxic chemicals leaching into the Bay. What could we possibly do to make it better? Except taking out the structures that already exist. National parks are attempting to restore the peninsula to something like it would have been, replanting native species. That’s the best we can hope for I think.
Is there anything else you would like to mention?
Well I think with the Gweagal people, my theory is that the Gweagal people came in after the original inhabitants were wiped out by disease. Around 1820 I think only one or two of the original aboriginal inhabitants were left alive. I think what happened is that the original inhabitants died out around 1820, and other groups moved in from further south. As an archeologist I know that what the Gweagal are saying doesn’t stack up, but it does stack up with the traditions of the aboriginal people from the south coast. The rock engravings don’t tell the same story as the Gweagal traditions. They tell a different story, an older story. I think this is one of the tales of extinctions of traditional peoples around Sydney. It has happened many times in history - small groups die out and others move in. People move around all the time, people come and go.
Lee has a website called "The Archaeology of the Dharawal People of NSW" http://www.lesbursill.com
He can be contacted at Les.bursill@gmail.com
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