Bachelor Pad known to rock climbers could still be saved from miners at White Rock Quarry, Horsnell Gully

Could the secret cave known to rock climbers be saved from mining at Horsnell Gully, with the help of the Kaurna people?

The plight of a rock shelter with unknown cultural heritage value that could be destroyed in the expansion of White Rock Quarry at Horsnell Gully remains up in the air.

Mining company Hanson Australia is still working on the final and amended development plans for the quarry, with the extended deadline of June 30 fast approaching.

In response to the state government’s request for “information about consultation with the

Traditional Owners to identify the nature and location of any Aboriginal heritage within the proposed development area”, Hanson has been meeting with Kaurna elder Jeffrey Newchurch and his team.

Mr Newchurch said the opportunity to sit down with Hanson mining came off the back of the community group’s concern about the quarry’s expansion and the threat to one site in particular, but it was difficult to assess heritage as an “un-resourced entity”.

He said cultural heritage management plans were never favourable to Kaurna Aboriginal people because they tended to focus on “dots on a map rather than the whole of an area”.

“Unless you find a burial site there, where you find artefacts and that, you know, you‘re got limited positioning around cultural heritage,” Mr Newchurch said.

“Because they’re about the find, you’ve got to find that evidence.”

Kaurna elder Jeffrey Newchurch outside the Adelaide Town Hall. Picture: Colin James

He has made the point that the whole of the Adelaide Hills has significance to Kaurna people and he hoped recent international recognition of Adelaide as a National Park City would help prosecute that argument.

When Residents Against White Rock Quarry group leader Demetrios (Jim) Bastiras of Skye studied the first expansion plan, he was shocked to discover that the “cave” known to climbers as the Bachelor Pad would be “completely destroyed”.

He said the top of the Bachelor Pad was at an altitude of about 350m, but the company’s plans clearly showed the “northern lip (of the hillside) will be reduced to an altitude of 299m, well below the top of the cave”.

After expansion: Map showing Phase 3a of the proposed expansion at White Rock Quarry at Horsnell Gully. Total disturbance area:160.7ha. Source: Hanson Australia WRQ Mine Operational Plan.

A spokesman for Hanson said the the company has “continued to assess and realign our operational footprint as part of the Mine Operations Plan review and taking into account community views and expectations.”

“We can confirm we will be retaining the features known as the Bachelor Pad and Pizey’s Knob,” he said.

Mr Bastiras said that would be another important victory for residents and the wider community, “but we’ll believe it when we see it”.

“We are yet to receive any commitment from the company that the Mine Operations Plan Revision will be available for public scrutiny,” he said.

A rock shelter with unknown cultural heritage value, known to climbers as the Bachelor Pad, near Horsnell Gully Conservation Park could be destroyed in the expansion of Hanson's White Rock Quarry. Residents group leader, Demetrios (Jim) Bastiras of Skye at the site. Picture: Clare Peddie