Sunshine Coast indigenous elders call to close Queensland’s Glasshouse Mountains to climbers

Following the closure of Uluru, indigenous elders from the Sunshine Coast have called for similar action to be enforced on a “sacred” mountain.

In the days following the closure of the Uluru climb, an indigenous group of elders from the Sunshine Coast have called for a similar ban to be enforced at Mount Beerwah, the highest of the Glass House Mountains in Queensland.

The region’s Jinibara people, who have been trying to close the climb of the mountain since it reopened to climbing back in 2016, said it is a “sacred site” that shouldn’t allow tourists to scale.

Mount Coonowrin is silhouetted against Mount Beerwah, Glass House Mountains Sunshine Coast. Picture: Bob Fairless

In addition, Kabi Kabi people have called for Mount Coolum to also be closed, which sits one hour north of Mount Beerwah.

“I’m against people climbing up on the mountain,” elder Edna Lourey told 7NEWS.

“To us, it’s sacred and always will be.

“I would like to see it closed permanently.”

In response to the calls for the mountain closure, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told The Courier-Mailthey had no plans on following the same path as Uluru.

Some indigenous elders are calling for the Glasshouse Mountains on the Sunshine Coast to be closed to climbers.

“The Department of Environment and Science as land managers consult with traditional owners on a regular basis on the best way to protect culturally significant sites such as the Glasshouse Mountains,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“While traditional owners have raised concerns and suggested the possibility of closing the mountains to climbers, the department has no plans to do so.”

Tourists scrambled to be some of the last to climb Uluru before the ban. Picture: Saeed KHAN / AFP)

On Saturday, climbing Uluru became officially banned to anyone visiting the Red Centre. The decision to ban the climb has divided Australians and those around the world for months in the lead-up to its closure.

On Friday, there was a final scramble of visitors wanting to be among the last to climb the rock, after the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park board of management decided to take the option off the table.

The board has long stated it felt climbing Uluru was disrespectful to the spiritual significance of the landmark and the safety risks posed by the climb were too great. According to the ABC, in 2010, the board said that once the proportion of people climbing fell below 20 per cent of visitors to the park, they would push for a permanent closure.

Speaking to the Weekly Times Now,Senior elder of the Jinibara people Ken Murphy - who were granted native title determination in 2012 - said he’s been fighting with the Government for decades to stop climbing of Mt Beerwah in the Glass House Mountains.

“It’s the mother mountain. It is a sacred site. It’s where the birthing places were, that’s the main thing, not for people to climb and take videos up,” Mr Murphy said.

“You see the climbers with their lightweight gear drilling into her and scarring the mountain.

“People climb up her for photos and ‘yahoo and carry on’. A lot aren’t culturally aware and we can’t stop them.”