Australian Aboriginal sacred site

One notable example in recent times was the culturally and archaeologically significant rock shelter at Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara, destroyed by Rio Tinto's blasting in the course of mining exploration in May 2020.

The Aboriginal population of Australia is made up of hundreds of peoples or nations, each with their own sacred places, animal totems and other items in the geographic area known as their country,[1] or traditional lands.

It embraces past, present and future,[4] and some of the ancestor or spirit beings inhabiting the Dreamtime become one with parts of the landscape, such as rocks or trees.

They include: In May 2020, in order to expand an iron ore mine, Rio Tinto demolished a sacred cave in the Pilbara region of Western Australia that had evidence of 46,000 years of continual human occupation.

[53][54] The rock shelter known as Juukan 2 was the only inland site in Australia to show signs of continuous human occupation through the Ice Age,[55] and had been described as one of the "top five" most significant in the whole of the Pilbara region, and of "the highest archaeological significance in Australia", being "[the only] site of this age with faunal remains in unequivocal association with stone tools".

[62] On 11 September 2020, it was announced that, as a result of the destruction at Juukan Gorge, CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques and two other Rio Tinto executives would step down.

[63] The National Native Title Council (NNTC) welcomed the move, but said that there should be an independent review into the company's procedures and culture to ensure that such an incident could never happen again.

[64] Rio Tinto admitted their error, issued an apology via media[65] and on their website, and also committed to building relationships with the traditional owners as well as getting Indigenous people into leadership roles in the company.

[68] As of June 2020[update], the federal government has approved plans by a developer for a residential complex near Mount Ainslie in Canberra, on a site that has been deemed of Indigenous significance by archaeologists at the Geological Society of Australia and Geoheritage Australasia.

However, local Ngambri people say was used for sacred men's business; in addition, artefacts found there in 1933 are of enough significance to be displayed in the British Museum.

[69] Rous County Council, which is the authority responsible for the water supply for most of the Ballina, Byron, Lismore and Richmond Valley council areas, published its draft water strategy in June 2020, which includes a 50-gigalitre (1.8×109 cu ft) dam at Dunoon, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Lismore.

[70] As of September 2020[update], the walking track to the lookout and pools above the Gunlom Falls in Kakadu National Park is closed at the request of the Jawoyn traditional owners.