Raiders Of The Rock Art
By Debra Jopson September 13, 2013
Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has a greenlight to explore a huge swath of Cape York, home to ancient Aboriginal rock art — and minerals. The indigenous custodians are not happy.
“I feel I’ve been kicked in the guts,” says Stephen Doughboy, as he meets with more than 30 fellow Aboriginal clan members in the tiny remote Queensland town of Laura. The group is discussing how it might fend off the interest shown by Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, in mining their land.
Doughboy’s Banjo clan is the custodian of an area which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has named as one of the world’s great rock-art precincts.
As home to the ethereal Quinkan figures, along with ancient images of animals and birds and of newcomers from colonial times (including a horse), this remote part of Queensland attracts tourists from all over the globe. The region is currently being considered for World Heritage nomination.
In June, Rinehart’s mining subsidiary Jacaranda Minerals was given permission by the Queensland Government to explore the region for minerals. Prospecting has not yet begun.
Click for the full story in the Sydney based website, The Global Mail.