The State Government should get on with heritage listing the Bull Cave at Kentlyn, says the Labor opposition.
The Member for Campbelltown Greg Warren and Labor’s heritage spokesperson Penny Sharpe made the call yesterday after visiting the Bull Cave.
They called on heritage minister Gabrielle Upton to “stop sitting on her hands and get on with adding the Bull Cave to the State Heritage Register’’.
The Bull Cave is of cultural importance to the Dharawal Aboriginal people and features one of the earliest examples of “contact art”.
Located under a sandstone rock shelter near the Georges River, the cave contains a charcoal drawing drawn by an unknown artist from the Dharawal people depicting cattle soon after European colonisation.
On April 5 this year, the State Heritage Register Committee of the NSW Heritage Council formally recommended that Bull Cave be listed on the State Heritage Register.
The meeting minutes say that the cave was nominated by the Heritage Division from the minister’s own department.
The Bull Cave meets all seven of the Heritage Council criteria for state heritage listing, according to the minutes.
Under the Heritage Act 1977, the Minister is to make a decision on the listing after such a recommendation within 14 days.
It is now 112 days since the Government’s own expert body recommended heritage listing to protect the site.
The cave has been the victim of previous graffiti attacks, giving added urgency to the need for special heritage protection.
“This listing is a no brainer. The Minister needs to stop procrastinating and have the Bull Cave listed as soon as possible,’’ Ms Sharpe said.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“Listing gives the cave protection and will require conservation and management of this special place.”[/social_quote]
Mr Warren said that adding the Bull Cave to the State Heritage List would recognise “how important this place is to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Campbelltown’’.
“Listing has strong community support as well as the support of the Tharawal Local Aboriginal Land Council and Campbelltown Council,’’ he said.
“This listing is urgent as we have already seen the site vandalised.
“Given that the law requires the minister to make a decision in two weeks, 112 days is 98 days too long to wait.”
♦ Criteria required to be met for State Heritage Listing:
1. an item is important in the course, or pattern, of NSW’s cultural or natural history;
2. an item has strong or special association with the life or works of a person, or group of persons, of importance in NSW’s cultural or natural history;
3. an item is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in NSW;
4. an item has strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in NSW (or the local area) for social, cultural or spiritual reasons;
5. an item has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of NSW’s cultural or natural history;
6. an item possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of NSW’s cultural or natural history;
7. an item is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of NSW’s cultural or natural places; or cultural or natural environments.
Thank you Greg Warren