Jinibara man wants Sunshine Coast’s Mt Beerwah climbing track closed

A Jinibara man has started a peaceful protest at the base of a Sunshine Coast mountain as local elders ask people not to climb the popular Glass House Mountains peak.

Following multiple tragic incidents on a Sunshine Coast mountain including the death of Breanna Foley, Aboriginal man BJ Murphy has begun a peaceful protest encouraging hikers and climbers to walk elsewhere.

Indigenous leaders are calling for the closure of a popular peak in the Glass House Mountains after multiple tragedies.

Jinibara culture man BJ Murphy is calling for the Mt Beerwah summit climb to permanently close.

He said that in his culture, Mt Beerwah was considered a sacred place.

The mountain’s caves were used for ceremony, which culturally Mr Murphy cannot speak about, and he claimed the eastern side was culturally significant.

Since Sunday, April 16, Mr Murphy has set up at the base of the mountain and is “holding space” with climbers and hikers.

Jinibara culture man BJ Murphy is calling for the Mt Beerwah climb to permanently close. Picture: Contributed

“I’m respectfully asking them not to climb and being respectful in the sense that if they do choose to climb I ask them to be safe,” he said.

“When someone does get hurt or dies we have to do sorry business, it’s an inner responsibility that we feel.

The start of the track at Mt Beerwah. Picture: Letea Cavander

“Because we feel responsible for the death or the injury.”

Mr Murphy’s goal is to have the climb closed.

“I think it’s time, there’s been enough talk and enough deaths,” he said.

In this 2022-23 financial year, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services has attended 25 rescues in the Glass House Mountains, nine of which were high angle and vertical rescues.

In this 2022-23 financial year, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services has attended 25 rescues in the Glass House Mountains.

Mr Murphy’s mum and elder Aunty Zeitha Jalamala Murphy said she had “been on this bender for five years now” about stopping people climbing Mt Beerwah.

She said the reasoning behind not climbing the mountain was two-fold, to respect the spiritual and cultural aspect of the mountain and to respect personal safety.

“We respected the mountain for who she was,” Ms Murphy said.

“The other thing we respected was the danger in climbing the mountains, we would walk around them and admire them from a distance.”

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services operations duty manager Inspector David Woods has been involved in many rescues in the area over the years.

He declined to comment on whether the track should close and said instead that it was important for people to climb to their capability and have respect for the grading difficulties of the mountain.

“If someone is encouraging you to do something you don’t want to do, be strong,” he said.

The inspector said many climbers came unstuck on the descent of Mt Beerwah rather than going up because it was easier to wander off on paths branching off the main track or to slip on shale.

He said sticking to the main walking tracks was critical, as was taking water and food along with a fully charged phone and telling someone about plans to climb.

The inspector said, for climbers who got into trouble, it was important to call for help early and walk back to a main track if they could.

Inspector Woods also said that climbers should download the What3Words app and learn how to use it, or learn how to read co-ordinates via Google Maps or Apple Maps to give rescuers a precise location.

The inspector said it was also important to consider changing conditions on the mountain and rainfall especially made it dangerous.

He said only 30 people were fully trained in Glass House Mountains rescue.

Inspector Woods said his team had been tested the day Currimundi woman Breanna Foley tragically died, another hiker fell and a paraglider hit the side of the mountain, on March 25.

“It pays a toll on them physically and mentally, being faced with incidents that are death and serious injury,” he said.

Ms Foley’s death came after several tragedies on other popular peaks including Mt Ngungun and Mt Tibrogargan in recent years.

Currimundi woman Breanna Foley, 28, who tragically lost her life at Mt Beerwah on March 25. Picture: Supplied.

The inspector said drones were playing a role in rescues too because the team could use the devices to light up the side of a mountain “like daylight” to help rescuers climb, drop a phone to stuck hikers so paramedics could start talking to them earlier or use thermal imaging to help locate people.

Mr Murphy was encouraging people to hike elsewhere, like Kondalilla Falls on the Sunshine Coast, or get their climbing fix at Kangaroo Point in Brisbane.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service ranger Nat Smith said the Glass House Mountains meant different things to different people.

“These mountains are highly significant for local traditional owners, the Jinibara people and Kabi Kabi people,” he said.

“The Jinibara people and Kabi Kabi people request that visitors don’t climb these mountains out of respect for the mountains’ sacred values.”

A Department of Environment and Science spokeswoman said Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service recognised the cultural significance of the Glass House Mountains for local traditional owners, the Jinibara people and Kabi Kabi people.

“For the traditional owners, Beerwah and Tibrogargan are not summits to be conquered, but representations of their cultural heritage and their place in this land,” she said.

“The summit routes are also not walking tracks – they are very challenging and have resulted in recent serious incidents including fatalities.”