It is just over 12 months ago that an application was made by Robert Lester and Scott Franks as representatives of the Plains Clan of the Wonnarua People (PCWP) for the preservation and protection of a specified area described as 'Ravensworth Estate', and including Bowmans Creek and Glennies Creek, near Singleton.
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Mr Lester is the Chairperson of the Plains Clan of the Wonnarua People Aboriginal Corporation and is seeking the long-term preservation and protection of a 'significant Aboriginal area' under the Federal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984.
Under section 10 of the Act the Federal Minister for Environment Sussan Ley can protect and preserve that area which includes Glencore's Glendell Continuation Project.
As part of a campaign to raise public awareness of the Section 10 application Greens MP David Shoebridge with the support of the PCWP have prepared videos on the site and the Frontier Wars.
"We want these videos to tell one small part of the truth about the Frontier Wars in this country around the Ravensworth Homestead in the Hunter Valley," Mr Shoebridge said.
"We are tracking just one month of frontier violence in the Hinter Valley from 1 August 1826 to 1 September 1826 during which the Wonnarua people faced appalling violence including murders and massacres.
"These facts are all recorded in detail in the colonial records and the oral histories of First Nations peoples, but so few people know what happened.
"It's essential we learn this history now because one of the world' biggest multinational coalminers, Glencore, has an application in to extend their Glendell open cut coal mine to literally wipe this history from the map.
"The Wonnarua people have an application before the Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley to protect the Ravensworth Homestead, and the land that surrounds it, from destruction. I support their demands because this is their land and their history.
"The truth is the land was taken from First Nations people through violence in the mid 1820's, the question is have we become a more just nation in 2021? We will only know the answer to this when the Federal Environment Minister finally delivers her decision."