Main photo: Mutawintji (Mootwingee) Rock Engravings - This "pecked" type of rock art is mainly found in Western NSW. Photo courtesy NPWS 1. Sandstone Engraving Sites at West Head - Scattered around the Sydney Basin, sandstone made a great canvas for these stories. Photo courtesy NPWS 2. Brewarrina Fish traps - A Stone arrangement that is used to capture fish on the low tide by entrapment. - Photo courtesy NPWS 3. Scarred Tree - Scarred Tree at Kinchega National Park. These trees give us information about early sea travel - Photo courtesy NPWS 4. Hand Stencils - formed by spraying ochre/charcoal and water mix from the mouth over an object. Common around NSW these examples are from the NSW South Coast. Photo courtesy NPWS 5. Aboriginal Middens - found all around the coast of NSW these midden sites allow us to examine early Aboriginal diet and sea life. In some areas of NSW they were also part of the burial ritual. Photo courtesy NPWS

In this article, Evelyn Maher, Heritage Council member and Manager of the Aboriginal Heritage Division at the NSW Parks & Wildlife Service and Vince Scarcella, the Aboriginal Heritage specialist at the Heritage Office discuss how the task of coordinating Aboriginal heritage conservation efforts across the State is progressing. Formal acknowledgement of the role of the Heritage Act in relation to Aboriginal heritage was strengthened in 1996 with Minister Craig Knowles announcement that the State Government would broaden its heritage brief to include items of significance to the Aboriginal people. Defining Aboriginal heritage has been the first step in that process.

The immense spiritual attachment to the land that Aboriginal people hold is the cornerstone of Aboriginal heritage. Engraving sites, midden deposits, axe sharpening grooves and stone tools as well as natural features such as mountains and creeks are just some of the items being defined as having Aboriginal cultural heritage significance. Other more contemporary sites such as Aboriginal missions and contemporary buildings of cultural importance are also being included. But Aboriginal heritage doesn't end in physical places or items. The culture and customs of Aboriginal peoples, most strongly evoked through the traditions of story-telling, initiation rites and other ceremonies are also being painstakingly recorded and catalogued.

As Evelyn Maher sees it, the important steps in the process have been practical initiatives by the State Government to assist Aboriginal people to manage their own heritage. "We now have myself as a member of the Heritage Council, Vince Scarcella as a specialist officer at the Heritage Office and an Aboriginal Heritage committee made up of community members to advise the Government", she said. "As well as this, local Aboriginal communities are receiving grants through the Heritage Assistance Program for conservation projects on a scale which has never been seen before".

Vince agrees. "To date, 68 local and regional Aboriginal heritage studies have been funded through the Heritage Assistance Program alone. These studies are a vital way of involving the local community in the protection, management and future use of items of Aboriginal heritage. They also provide a link between the community and local government so that Aboriginal people are included in any planning decisions at a local level regarding their heritage."

Vince points out that the Heritage Assistance Program has also funded over 200 conservation projects:

• Kurnell Peninsula Study & Conservation - the recording of 30 archeological sites and three stone artefacts and work on conserving and interpreting the sites in consultation with the local Aboriginal community;

• Cobar Aboriginal Sites Management - Training in rock art conservation for local people and other management techniques for four rock art complexes - Mount Gunderbooka, Neckarboo, Mount Manara and Wuntergoona;

• Moonacullah Mission Cemetery Study - Conservation and protection of the cemetery site including fencing, revegetation and oral history recordings to name unmarked graves;

• Aboriginal Carved Tree Conservation Study - Of the 700-1000 carved trees located throughout New South Wales in 1945, only 74 now exist, with their loss attributable to agricultural expansion, bushfires and natural decay. The study established a conservation and monitoring program for the remaining trees;

• Wallaga Lake Oral History Project - Recordings of the oral histories of the Wallaga Lake people to hand down to future generations and assist in the management of local Aboriginal sites.

Evelyn Maher is positive about the future of Aboriginal heritage conservation. 'I really do feel there is a commitment by the government and out there in the community to recognise the worth of Aboriginal heritage and this is a reflection of the wider process of reconciliation'.

Mutawintji National Park - under traditional ownership once more

In what must rate as one of the most significant arrangements for Aboriginal ownership and management of land in NSW, Environment Minister Pam Allen has formally handed the Mutawintji or Mootwingee National Park in far western NSW to the care of a board of management which includes its traditional owners, the Mutawintji people. The handover took place in September this year in a formal ceremony attended by the Minister, members of the Mutawintji Aboriginal Land Council, the National Parks & Wildlife Service and representatives from the local shire council and adjoining landowners, all of whom make up the board of management. Speaking at the handover, Ms. Allen said that the Park, dominated by the fiery red Bynguano Ranges, 'is a special place for all Australians to enjoy, particularly as it now acknowledges the traditional owners'. The Mutawintji National Park, located 130 km north of Broken Hill, is one of State's most significant cultural sites, containing the main ceremonial place for Aboriginal people in far western NSW and includes rock art, scattered remains of fire places, stone flakes and grinding stones, which date back at least 8,000 years. Above: Mutawintji (Mootwingee) Rock Engravings - This "pecked" type of rock art is mainly found in Western NSW. Photo courtesy NPWS