With the protection of sacred Wiradyuri sites a hot community topic in light of the ongoing go-kart track saga, a local naturalist has expressed concern for the future of preservation efforts.
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Local naturalist and proud Wiradyuri man Ian McArtney has spent decades identifying and recording locations of Wiradyuri sites, and said the desecration of sacred locations is an all too familiar story.
"I've had a hand in the preservation of a sacred site near Palmers Oaky, which was destroyed [probably unintentionally] by an explosive device fired from the Bathurst Army Camp in the 1940s," Mr McArtney said.
"The crater caused by the explosion is still there, and nothing has grown out of it."
"Some years ago, I took a metal detector to the site and found the nose cone of the explosive device, proving the damage was man-made."
Mr McArtney was first introduced to the site by revered Bathurst anthropologist Percy Gresser, who spent a lifetime researching Aboriginal culture and history.
According to Mr Gresser's findings, the arrangement of stones found at Palmers Oaky, purportedly marking a Wiradyuri burial ground, was once present at the McPhillamy Park site earmarked for a go-kart track.
"The Palmers Oaky site has since been fenced off by the Wiradyuri elders, and the site is difficult to find," Mr McArtney said.
"Sadly, I've taken people to other sacred sites in the past, only to return weeks later and find they've been desecrated."
"I know of other sites around Bathurst but given the current climate, I'd rather take the knowledge of these places to my grave."
Mr McArtney has stayed out of the go-kart debate so far out of his respect for both the Wiradyuri elders and the Bathurst Local Aboriginal Land Council [LALC].
But he feels Bathurst could lose vital components of its history to development if sacred sites aren't preserved.
"This is not just Wiradyuri history, this is our shared history," Mr McArtney said.
"But I do not have the cultural authority to speak for these sites, the Wiradyuri elders do, and we should heed what they have to say."
Last month, Bathurst Regional Council voted to keep the go-kart track in its planned location in McPhillamy Park atop Mount Panorama.
The decision was met with significant backlash from Bathurst's Wiradyuri elders, who claim the LALC "do not have any cultural authority to speak for Country" and that they weren't consulted when the development application was submitted in 2015.
Conversely, Bathurst Kart Club maintains the view that "the appropriate actions have been taken" by council and the LALC at all stages of the development.