Rock climber says graffiti the real threat to Grampians sacred sites

After the Victorian government locked out rock climbers from 500sq km of the Grampians National Park over claims of damage to sacred sites, a local man says graffiti vandals are the real threat.

A climber has been quietly collecting evidence of where rock art has been directly vandalised by visitors and cases where the park has been compromised by tourism.

A local man, fighting for the rights of rock climbers banned from the Grampians, says graffiti vandals are the real threat to sacred sites.

Mark Wood, a climber from nearby Natimuk, has been quietly collecting evidence of where rock art has been directly vandalised by visitors and dozens of other cases where the park has been compromised by tourism.

Not by climbers, he says, but mainly young adults visiting the park and wanting to leave their mark.

Destinations such as The Pinnacle are being abused under Parks ­Victoria’s eyes.

The Victorian government has locked out rock climbers from 500sq km of the park over claims of damage to ­sacred sites.

But Dr Wood, like many other climbers, is bewildered by the attention given to their pursuit when destinations such as Beehive Falls and The Pinnacle, which are tourist trails rather than climbing hubs, are being abused under Parks ­Victoria’s eyes.

On a visit to a shelter by Beehive Falls, he points out faint rock art that could be thousands of years old, but it’s not easy to tell because vandals have been hard at work, scratching and writing their names on the roof and walls.

There are no signs warding off graffiti at Beehive Falls, no attempts to stop tourists further vandalising the site where the faint image of a hand can be seen on the wall.

“They (Parks Victoria) would have to know what’s going on here,’’ Dr Wood says.

“This is the kind of place that you find art.

“It was really obvious to find.

“It’s crazy to think that sort of thing is acceptable.”

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The damage is not isolated to Beehive Falls, about 260km west of Melbourne. Graffiti is ubiquitous along the The ­Pianncle trail.

The Friends of Grampians-Gariwerd were due to meet local Parks Victoria staff yesterday to discuss some of their concerns in the park, including this outbreak of graffiti.