Friends of Minnamurra River (FOMR) is voicing concerns about the way an archaeological dig is being conducted in the grounds of Dunmore House, prior to work starting on the approved sandmining site.

They have appealed to Boral to conduct full archaeological investigations at the two sites near the Minnamurra River estuary classified as highly to moderately significant for Aboriginal heritage.

While NSW regulations on archaeological and cultural heritage assessment allow for the ‘salvage’ of potential archaeological site using the flushing method being employed, FOMR contends that method results in artifacts that tell little about Aboriginal cultural heritage as they are not dated.

“Flushing with water leaves only a jumble of undated stone artefacts of very little scientific or educational use,” says FMOR Chair, Will Chyra.

“It destroys practically all other material which could otherwise be used to scientifically determine the age of the site, the richness and change of Aboriginal lifestyle and culture through time, as well as climate and other local and regional environmental changes over many thousands of years.

“This tragic wastage of our human cultural heritage and knowledge of prehistory is worsened by the fact that the government regulations require the stone artefacts recovered, probably many thousands to hundreds of years old, to be bundled together and sent to the Australian Museum in Sydney just for storage.”

FOMR says stratified and accurately dated archaeological sites in the Illawarra region and along the NSW coast are relatively rare and the sites near the Minnamurra River estuary are “likely to be potentially unique” in telling the prehistory of the Illawarra and possibly other areas of the NSW coast.

As part of the approval process, Boral’s archaeological consultants, Kelleher Nightingale, classified two of the larger sites to be salvaged as “sites of high to moderate archaeological significance” with their “intactness the most important variable for determining archaeological significance in this instance”.

In response, Boral has told The Bugle that the salvage work in the current location is due to be completed next week, and that the current field work involves Registered Aboriginal Parties as part of the cultural heritage assessment.

“Boral places great importance and value on Aboriginal and archaeological heritage,” says a Boral spokesperson. 

“The current activities being undertaken at Dunmore are following strict compliance conditions in relation to cultural heritage salvage work. Boral has been engaging with Aboriginal stakeholders on this site since 2018 and we continue to work with them through this process.

“The use of water for wet sieving is standard archaeological practice and enhances the ability to retrieve Aboriginal objects. Our current process involves collecting samples for dating purposes. The results of the work will inform future management, provide educational opportunities and allow for a greater understanding of local Aboriginal heritage.”