In May, local bird photographer Tim Bergen made headlines with an item he found beneath a tree on Mount Panorama, which he thought could have been a stone axe used by Aboriginal people.

Mr Bergen sought further advice from the Wiradyuri Traditional Owners Central West Aboriginal Corporation, who told him they believed the find was a stone axe weapon.

The Traditional Owners had a site card registered with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage as verification.

However, further assessment of the item by the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) disproved the claims.

Bathurst Regional Council received confirmation from the DPIE in late November that the item was not an Aboriginal object.

"DPIE have come back to us and have advised that the stone is not an Aboriginal stone axe, nor any other type of artefact," general manager David Sherley said.

Council had contacted DPIE about the item after seeing an article in the Western Advocate, which showed the item had been removed from Mount Panorama.

"We got in contact with DPIE because the newspaper ran a front page story that said an Aboriginal artefact had been found at Mount Panorama, and it appeared the item had been removed from the site," Mr Sherley said.

"Given the requirements under the legislation, we wanted to ensure that the artefact was treated appropriately, and also wanted to confirm it was an artefact."

ALSO MAKING NEWS:

It is illegal to remove or harm an Aboriginal object.

If a person finds, or believes they have found, an Aboriginal object, they must leave it where it is and report the object and its location.

Even if they believe the object is in danger of being damaged or harmed, Heritage NSW said it is very important to leave it in place and report it immediately.

A spokesperson outlined what takes place when an item is found.

"Heritage NSW provides expert advice to assist DPIE compliance investigations on Aboriginal cultural heritage matters," they said.

"Heritage NSW examines potential Aboriginal objects for physical signs of human modification and use.

"If an object showed signs of human modification and/or use, it would be recorded as an Aboriginal object and a site card would be submitted to AHIMS (Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System), recording its features and location."

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