The Victorian Government's Indigenous representative body Aboriginal Victoria has travelled to the site of the Kooyang (Kuyang) eel stone arrangement near Lake Bolac to inspect damage caused to the ancient location and to meet with the landowners whose land Kooyang was on.
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The stone arrangement was significantly damaged and potentially destroyed over Easter.
Landowner Adrian McMaster said he moved the stones to accommodate a boom sprayer for thistle reduction and fire control.
ORIGINAL STORY: Significant Indigenous site destroyed over Easter Break
The Courier understands the stone arrangement, while a significant and sacred site for the Djab Wurrung people, was not accessible to members of the Djab Wurrung as it was on private property.
The Kooyang Stone Arrangement was first recorded and included on the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Register in 1975, Aboriginal Victoria said, and significant penalties for causing harm to Aboriginal cultural heritage without authorisation were available under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006.
It is an offence under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 to cause harm to Aboriginal cultural heritage without authorisation and there are significant penalties for non-compliance, including penalties of up to $297,396 for individuals and up to $1,652,000 for corporations.
- Aboriginal Victoria
An Aboriginal Victoria spokesperson said they were investigating allegations of harm to the arrangement.
"Authorised Officers from Aboriginal Victoria have been to the Kooyang Stone Arrangement today and met with the landowner and the Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP) for the area, the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation," they said.
"Aboriginal Victoria will continue to work with the landowner and RAP to determine what has occurred and what further steps may need to be taken. An Authorised Officer has issued a stop order under the Aboriginal Heritage Act to prevent any further harm to Aboriginal cultural heritage."
Aboriginal stone arrangements are places where Aboriginal people have positioned stones deliberately to form shapes or patterns, said Aboriginal Victoria.
OTHER NEWS:
The stone arrangement is a contiguous line of deliberately placed boulders several hundred metres in length in a semi-circle formation. Its shape has been likened to that of a juvenile eel, also known as 'Kooyang' in South West Victorian Aboriginal Languages.
Surviving stone arrangements are rare in Victoria, and most are in the western part of the State.
The Kooyang Stone Arrangement is one of the most well-known Aboriginal stone arrangements in Victoria and is of immense cultural significance to its Traditional Owners, who are represented by the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation.
The age of stone arrangements is difficult to determine, however some may be many thousands of years old.
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