Why does the Awabakal Butterfly Cave need to be protected?
Cultural
Aboriginal women continue to have a strong spiritual and emotional attachment to the Butterfly Cave and surrounding bushland.
The Cave is still used by women to connect with ancestors, to reflect on culture, to engage in women’s business.
The journey to the Cave is equally as important as the Cave itself. It is part of the story of the landscape as a whole and its significance must not be viewed in isolation.
Aboriginal women use the Butterfly Cave and surrounding bushland as a bush school room. It is a resource rich place where girls and women can learn from Elders about traditional practices, such as collecting and using the readily available bush foods and natural medicines in the area.
SistaSpeak - a program designed and presented through the AECG (Aboriginal Education Consultative Group) – regularly takes girls to the Butterfly Cave. This is a very important program that assists Aboriginal girls develop cultural understanding and to connect to country by ‘hands on learning’. The SistaSpeak program is run in partnership with schools and local communities across NSW. The pathway to the Cave is a learning journey and allows girls to imagine how it was for their ancestors.
If Stage 7 and Stage 9 proceed as planned, women will lose all privacy. They will be witnessed entering and leaving the Cave. They will be unable to engage in cultural practice. They will be exposed to scrutiny that may or may not be welcoming.
The Cave will also be exposed to:
The Burra Charter’s definition of “cultural significance"—that is social, historical, scientific and aesthetic values —demands that Aboriginal values be explained in a manner that fits a traditional Western analysis. The danger in this approach is that the intricacies of the connection between culture and landscape and how individual objects and places relate to this story are lost.
The Butterfly Cave, and the journey to and from, has a spiritual value that is not included in the Burra Charter definition. This does not make it any less valuable to Aboriginal women and should have been taken into consideration when OEH assessed the protection zone requirements.
The Cave is still used by women to connect with ancestors, to reflect on culture, to engage in women’s business.
The journey to the Cave is equally as important as the Cave itself. It is part of the story of the landscape as a whole and its significance must not be viewed in isolation.
Aboriginal women use the Butterfly Cave and surrounding bushland as a bush school room. It is a resource rich place where girls and women can learn from Elders about traditional practices, such as collecting and using the readily available bush foods and natural medicines in the area.
SistaSpeak - a program designed and presented through the AECG (Aboriginal Education Consultative Group) – regularly takes girls to the Butterfly Cave. This is a very important program that assists Aboriginal girls develop cultural understanding and to connect to country by ‘hands on learning’. The SistaSpeak program is run in partnership with schools and local communities across NSW. The pathway to the Cave is a learning journey and allows girls to imagine how it was for their ancestors.
If Stage 7 and Stage 9 proceed as planned, women will lose all privacy. They will be witnessed entering and leaving the Cave. They will be unable to engage in cultural practice. They will be exposed to scrutiny that may or may not be welcoming.
The Cave will also be exposed to:
- Human interference (eg. graffiti; inappropriate activity)
- Domestic animal interference
- Traffic vibration
- Is insufficient to ensure the safety of the public from the fall hazard the Cave presents
- Dumping garden refuse
The Burra Charter’s definition of “cultural significance"—that is social, historical, scientific and aesthetic values —demands that Aboriginal values be explained in a manner that fits a traditional Western analysis. The danger in this approach is that the intricacies of the connection between culture and landscape and how individual objects and places relate to this story are lost.
The Butterfly Cave, and the journey to and from, has a spiritual value that is not included in the Burra Charter definition. This does not make it any less valuable to Aboriginal women and should have been taken into consideration when OEH assessed the protection zone requirements.
The right to access the site without permission
Aboriginal women must seek the permission of Roche Group to access the Butterfly Cave. They may be prosecuted for trespass if they fail to do so. Acess to the site has been previously denied by Roche Group.
If the land is removed from private ownership and reserved under National Parks and Wildlife, the need to seek permission from a male landowner will be eliminated.
If the land is removed from private ownership and reserved under National Parks and Wildlife, the need to seek permission from a male landowner will be eliminated.
Structural
No standard guidelines exist to ensure construction vibration will not damage the Cave. If Stage 7 and Stage 9 of the housing development proceed there is no guarantee that the Cave will not sustain irreparable damage.
Environmental
Ecological damage caused by construction diminishes the spiritual context of the Butterfly Cave by removing vegetation that has grown, blossomed, and flowered since pre-settlement.
Damage to aquifers incurred during construction of Stage 7 and Stage 9 – in addition to the permanent modification of ground water hydrology of the site - will impact on the Cave and has the potential to cause long-term, catastrophic damage (should the Cave dry out).
There will be ongoing environmental harm arising from the internal roads. The construction of roads will enhance the growth of weeds from run-off and nutrient enrichment, which would result from weathering of the asphalt surface.
Damage to aquifers incurred during construction of Stage 7 and Stage 9 – in addition to the permanent modification of ground water hydrology of the site - will impact on the Cave and has the potential to cause long-term, catastrophic damage (should the Cave dry out).
There will be ongoing environmental harm arising from the internal roads. The construction of roads will enhance the growth of weeds from run-off and nutrient enrichment, which would result from weathering of the asphalt surface.
Why are Aboriginal women's sites so important?
While measureable outcomes for many Australian women have improved exponentially since settlement, there is still much work to be done on equality and social justice. This is particularly true for Aboriginal women who continue to be marginalised and suffer the consequences of discrimination and disadvantage.
When compared with other women in Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are considered the most socially and economically disadvantaged and have the poorest health status.
Contrary to the opinion of early anthropologists, Aboriginal women’s status was traditionally equal and complementary with that of men in most Aboriginal cultures. Women played significant roles as food providers, in nurturing and rearing children, caring for health and wellbeing, leading women's religion and ritual, transmitting knowledge down the generations of women and as custodians of country and sacred sites.
This status was altered during the 19th century by the destructive forces of colonisation; dispossession of land and resources and destruction of life and culture and colonists' prejudices looking at Aboriginal women through the prism of race and gender. As a consequence, women’s sites were frequently overlooked and unreported.
Awabakal and the wider Aboriginal community are fortunate that the Butterfly Cave has been acknowledged and, until recently, has been protected by tracts of bushland ensuring women can privately engage in cultural practice. The paucity of other recognised women’s sites in the local area increases the significance of the Butterfly Cave and provides another reason why it must be protected in perpetuity.
When compared with other women in Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are considered the most socially and economically disadvantaged and have the poorest health status.
Contrary to the opinion of early anthropologists, Aboriginal women’s status was traditionally equal and complementary with that of men in most Aboriginal cultures. Women played significant roles as food providers, in nurturing and rearing children, caring for health and wellbeing, leading women's religion and ritual, transmitting knowledge down the generations of women and as custodians of country and sacred sites.
This status was altered during the 19th century by the destructive forces of colonisation; dispossession of land and resources and destruction of life and culture and colonists' prejudices looking at Aboriginal women through the prism of race and gender. As a consequence, women’s sites were frequently overlooked and unreported.
Awabakal and the wider Aboriginal community are fortunate that the Butterfly Cave has been acknowledged and, until recently, has been protected by tracts of bushland ensuring women can privately engage in cultural practice. The paucity of other recognised women’s sites in the local area increases the significance of the Butterfly Cave and provides another reason why it must be protected in perpetuity.