TMR assure Gympie Pyramid won’t be destroyed by Bypass

The Transport Department has defended its consultation with Native Title holders as the stalemate over the controversial site continues, promising that most of it won’t be disturbed by the Gympie Bypass and repeating its finding that a purported artefact at the site was just seven months old

Queensland’s Transport Department says there is no expert evidence a bora ring at the “Gympie Pyrmaid” site claimed to be under threat from the bypass is any older than seven months, and most of the site will be bypassed by construction.

Queensland’s Transport Department has reiterated there is no expert evidence a bora ring at the “Gympie Pyramid” has any significant Aboriginal cultural heritage despite claims otherwise.

A TMR spokesman said this week re the department’s position was that “no tangible evidence of Aboriginal cultural heritage” had been found at the Rocky Ridge site following questions about the ring.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said in February a bora ring at the site had been examined and declared to be a recent addition to the site.

The ring had reportedly been highlighted by activists campaigning for the preservation of the site, also call Djaki Kundu, as under threat from construction work on the $1 billion Gympie Bypass.

“There are claims on social media that there are sites and items of cultural heritage significance at the Rocky Ridge/Gympie Pyramid site,” the spokesman said.

“These claims have included that there is a bora ring in danger of destruction.

“The purported bora ring was not found during previous cultural heritage investigations with the Kabi Kabi First Nations and appeared as recently as October 2020.

Wit-Boooka says the State Government needs to move the planned route of the Gympie Bypass more than it has already been shifted by TMR. Photo: Kristen Camp

“There is no expert evidence to support this is an Aboriginal cultural heritage artefact.”

The site has been at the centre of a dispute between Indigenous protesters, the Queensland State Government and the Greens over its future.

An attempt to gain an injunction to halt Bypass work there failed in the Supreme Court last November.

An application for preservation under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act was made to Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley at the start of 2021; the department has not yet ruled on the matter.

The State Government has fenced off the majority of the site for preservation.

The history of the site, in bushland between Gympie Connection and Rocky Ridge Roads, has been subject of debate, curiosity and speculation for decades.

Claims about its origin have included those of ancient Aboriginal cultural heritage, that it was built by Chinese miners or Egyptian explorers, or (as suggested by Queensland State Archaeology member Professor Michael Morwood in 1976) as a construction by Italian migrants for growing grapes.

The site has been investigated numerous times, including by international anthropology professor Dr Sam Osmanagich.

Mr Morwood’s conclusion has come under fire from archaeologist Gregg Jefferys, who pointed towards a Polynesian history.

The TMR spokesman said even without proof of cultural heritage the highway’s design had been changed due to “community concerns”.

“The ramp design for the Gympie interchange now avoids the majority of the site,” he said.

“A large portion of the site is fenced off so the area can be preserved during construction.”

However, the chief proponent of the site’s preservation, Wit-Boooka (aka Gary Tomlinson), said in April they needed to move it “a bit more”.

“All they need to do is move it 100m over and they can come along Ascot Rd and it jumps into Connection Road and then straight across the road is Old Goomboorian Road,” he said.

Minister Mark Bailey said in a February letter to a Greens MP that claims for protection of the Pyramid site had expanded in scope over the years.

The TMR spokesman defended the department’s process and investigations into the site, and made its own submissions to Mrs Ley’s office about the protection application.

“We have consulted extensively with the registered native title claimants for the area, the Kabi Kabi First Nation Traditional Owner group, in accordance with the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003,’ they said.

“This group has been nominated by the Kabi Kabi people to represent them.

“The Cultural Heritage Management Plan (CHMP) for C2CD has been endorsed by the Kabi Kabi First Nation Traditional Owner group.

“The CHMP has been registered with the Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and included on the Cultural Heritage Register for Queensland.”