TREE carvings at the base of Alum Mountain are the start of a much bigger project planned for the area.
The carvings, depicting dolphins and a whale at the heads, were recently completed by a team of young people from Karuah Aboriginal Mission.
“Some of the boys are just so natural and unbelievably gifted,” Karuah Local Land Council CEO, Len Roberts, said.
“The idea is that we will have carvings going all the way along the trail, as well as some interpretive signage concerning the history of the area.”
Len said the poles will be replicas of original carvings that were in NSW before the 1900s.
Karuah Local Land Council has been actively working on plans over the last few months to develop Alum Mountain into a culturally significant tourist site.
This has included working with NSW Forestry Corporation to improve road access to the Mountain.
Len said although the mountain has been deemed an Aboriginal Place, “it is still Bulahdelah and it is still community”.
“Being an Aboriginal Place means that you have an Aboriginal management plan of how you will look after it and enhance its cultural values,” Len said.
“It is not sacred, it is special, and that means that we can share it with everyone.”
Len said future plans include running cultural tours and corroborees to showcase “the beauty and heritage of the area”.
“What you see up there, you appreciate and value,” Len told News Of The Area.
“We want Bulahdelah to be part of an Aboriginal tourism trail that will run from Tea Gardens up to Forster and Gloucester.”
The Land Council is also working closely with MidCoast Council and community groups on the skate park project, which will add another premium attraction to the area.
Len said the work to develop Alum Mountain will be undertaken by teams from the Aboriginal Land Council.
“We have to celebrate our culture, we have to celebrate our heritage, and hopefully we can do it,” Len said.
By John SAHYOUN
