White supremacists said to hail from southern Queensland took a trip across the border into the Northern Rivers region in order to display their ignorance & racism to the world

 

ABC News, 5 November 2024:

The white supremacist group said they had travelled from Queensland to the mountain. (Supplied)

Police are investigating after a group of white supremacists posted on social media that they had staged a rally at a sacred Indigenous site in northern New South Wales.

Warning: This story may be offensive to some readers.

More than a dozen members of the balaclava-wearing group posted images on social media platform X on October 31, which they suggested were taken on a weekend at Wollumbin Mountain, formerly known as Mount Warning.

The site, which includes a summit track, is regarded as sacred to the Aboriginal community and remains closed to the public.

The group carried a flag consistent with the neo-Nazi National Socialist Network and held a banner which read, "Mt Warning for the White Man".

The men erected a sign with white supremacist messaging up at Wollumbin Mountain. (Supplied)

"Members of the National Socialist Network in Queensland travelled to climb Mount Warning last weekend," the post on X, formerly known as Twitter, said.

"White Australians established and maintained the trail for nearly a century and White Australians will decide who climbs it.

"Mt Warning for the White man!"

'Vile demonstration not welcome'

NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe described the actions as "vile" and "utterly disgusting", with National Parks referring the matter to police.

"I condemn those involved," the minister said in a statement.

"It is not acceptable anywhere in NSW, whether it be a sacred Indigenous site or on our city streets.

"To these far-right extremists and neo-Nazis, who are reportedly from Queensland, you and your vile demonstration are not welcome in NSW.

"Any attempts to spread hate are taken extremely seriously. I ask anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers," she said....

On the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service website, Wollumbin is described as "highly significant to Aboriginal people, particularly the Bundjalung nation, as a place of sacred ceremonies linked to traditional law and custom".

"Wollumbin (Mount Warning) summit track and Aboriginal Place remains closed. Decisions about the future of the summit track will be made by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service in accordance with the wishes of the Aboriginal custodians," it said.

This is not the first time this year that people have deliberately chosen to give offence and inflict hurt on the Aboriginal custodians of this sacred mountain.

In August 2024, former Young Liberal and 27 year member of the Liberal Party of Australia before being elected to the NSW Legislative Assembly as a member of the Libertarian Party, John Riddick and his Libertarian mate Marc Hendrickx, in an ignorant act of defiance and self-promotion climbed Wollumbin.

IMAGE: The Daily Mail, 3 August 2024

National Parks & Wildlife consulting over future of Wollumbin summit track

 

Wollumbin
IMAGE: Visit North Coast NSW

Echo NetDaily, 22 January 2021:

A number of traditional custodians of the sacred site have called for non-Indigenous people to refrain from undertaking the five-hour trek.

Up to 100,000 people climb the mountain each year, according to tourism data. However, some leave rubbish such as soiled toilet paper by the side of the track and at the stunning peak.

The track has been closed for much of the past year owing to COVID-19, and it now appears it may stay that way.

A safety audit and an engineering assessment conducted during the closure have identified significant safety issues with the final climb to the Wollumbin summit.

These include an ‘extreme risk of landslide, rockfall and failure of the chain section of the track’.

A spokesperson from the National Parks and Wildlife Service said the current closure had been extended, at least until May.

Tellingly, the spokesperson also said that the future of the summit track was now under consideration.

This was being done in consultation with various key stakeholders, including the traditional owners of the site.

‘We understand that locals and visitors may be disappointed by the extended closure, however our main priority must always be to ensure the safety of visitors and staff,’ the spokesperson said.

‘We will now consider the future of the Summit track, in consultation with key community and tourism stakeholders, including Aboriginal Elders and knowledge holders.’

Wollumbin, which means ‘cloud catcher’ in some Aboriginal languages, is a traditional place of cultural law, initiation and spiritual education for the people of the Bundjalung Nation.

Under Bundjalung law, only certain people can climb the summit.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service asks visitors to respect the wishes of the local Indigenous mob and ‘avoid climbing this very difficult track’.