Ban Ban Springs, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Ban Ban Springs is the formally approved and current name given by the Minister for Natural Resources on the 24 September 1999 to a small community in Queensland
, Australia
, located at the junction of the Burnett
and Isis
highways.
On the southern side of the road junction are the springs
from which the community gets its name, being rare springs from which waters flow into the nearby Barambah Creek.
The name, "Ban Ban Springs", finds its source in the name originally used by H. Herbert when, in 1846, he first leased the pastoral run encompassing the springs It is reported H. Herbert borrowed the words "Ban Ban" (meaning grass) from the local Wakka Wakka and/or Kabi Kabi
languages.
place of great significance to the Wakka Wakka people.
After the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines had sponsored a formal study to which the Wakka Wakka Jinda were a party, the high significance of the place to the Wakka Wakka people was confirmed, and by 2005 the springs were entered on to the State's Aboriginal Cultural Heritage register for the following reasons
Unfortunately, in September 2006 the then Shire of Gayndah
, more concerned about noxious weeds (including Chinese elm
) and improving visitors' experience of the area, sought to re-vegetate and beautify the place (e.g. planting out up to 30 or more bottlebrushes) by engaging contractors to promptly clear the existing vegetation from in and around the springs, with the following effect:
By 8 May 2007 the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Water had issued summons under the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 (Qld)
, threatening prosecution and effectively initiating discussions between the local council and the Wakka Wakka people to somehow rehabilitate the springs, better manage the Aboriginal cultural heritage area, and settle the whole matter by agreement. One year later the council for the new North Burnett Region appointed an officer to liaise with local Wakka Wakka people about the future of the Aboriginal cultural heritage area, and agreed to issue a press release formally expressing regret for the harm done.
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, located at the junction of the Burnett
Burnett Highway
The Burnett Highway is an inland rural highway located in Queensland, Australia. The highway runs generally north - south, from its junction with the Bruce Highway, just south of Rockhampton, to Nanango. Length is approximately 550 kilometres...
and Isis
Isis Highway
The Isis Highway is a state highway in southern Queensland, Australia. The highway is relatively short, and runs for 142 kilometres in a north-east direction from its junction with the Burnett Highway at Ban Ban Springs to Bundaberg...
highways.
On the southern side of the road junction are the springs
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
from which the community gets its name, being rare springs from which waters flow into the nearby Barambah Creek.
The name, "Ban Ban Springs", finds its source in the name originally used by H. Herbert when, in 1846, he first leased the pastoral run encompassing the springs It is reported H. Herbert borrowed the words "Ban Ban" (meaning grass) from the local Wakka Wakka and/or Kabi Kabi
Kabi
The Kabi people are an Aboriginal Goori people of Australia, and corresponding language group of the South East Queensland coast, stretching from Brisbane up to Bundaberg. In their language, "Kabi" means "No"....
languages.
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage
The springs (rather than the community) are the first place in Queensland to have been formally registered as an Aboriginal cultural heritage place - being a DreamingAustralian Aboriginal mythology
Australian Aboriginal myths are the stories traditionally performed by Aboriginal peoples within each of the language groups across Australia....
place of great significance to the Wakka Wakka people.
After the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines had sponsored a formal study to which the Wakka Wakka Jinda were a party, the high significance of the place to the Wakka Wakka people was confirmed, and by 2005 the springs were entered on to the State's Aboriginal Cultural Heritage register for the following reasons
Ban Ban [Springs] is a sacred siteAboriginal sacred siteAboriginal sacred sites are areas or places in Australia of significant Aboriginal Australian meaning within the animist context of the localised indigenous belief system. Most are somehow related to Aboriginal mythology, known as 'The Dreaming, or The Dreamtime'. The Dreaming / Dreamtime is a term...
and has a DreamtimeAustralian Aboriginal mythologyAustralian Aboriginal myths are the stories traditionally performed by Aboriginal peoples within each of the language groups across Australia....
association with the Rainbow Serpent which is believed to have originated there.
It is the birth place of many elders of the Wakka Wakka people with elders of this group living in the town of GayndahGayndah, QueenslandGayndah is a town located on the Burnett River in Queensland, Australia. It is north of the state capital, Brisbane, and west of the regional city of Maryborough. The Burnett Highway passes through the town. At the 2006 census, Gayndah had a population of 1,745.-History:Exploration of the...
Ban Ban Springs is unique in Indigenous Heritage. It is sacred in men's Business and women's Business for separate and combined reasons.
Throughout time this area has been guarded by the Rainbow Serpent
Unfortunately, in September 2006 the then Shire of Gayndah
Shire of Gayndah
The Shire of Gayndah was a Local Government Area located in the northern catchment of the Burnett River, Queensland, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed as a local government area from 1866 until 2008, when it amalgamated with several other shires to form the North Burnett...
, more concerned about noxious weeds (including Chinese elm
Ulmus parvifolia
Ulmus parvifolia, commonly known as the Chinese Elm or Lacebark Elm, is a species native to China, Japan, North Korea and Vietnam...
) and improving visitors' experience of the area, sought to re-vegetate and beautify the place (e.g. planting out up to 30 or more bottlebrushes) by engaging contractors to promptly clear the existing vegetation from in and around the springs, with the following effect:
Cultural Heritage Destroyed: They've exposed the plant life to the summer heat, moved the rocks around, driven through the springs's pond .. They've bulldozed what Gayndah's Wakka Wakka [people] know as their cultural heritage..
By 8 May 2007 the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Water had issued summons under the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 (Qld)
Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 (Qld)
The Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 is legislation passed by Queensland Parliament, commencing in April 2004 to effectively recognize, protect and conserve Aboriginal cultural heritage in the State of Queensland...
, threatening prosecution and effectively initiating discussions between the local council and the Wakka Wakka people to somehow rehabilitate the springs, better manage the Aboriginal cultural heritage area, and settle the whole matter by agreement. One year later the council for the new North Burnett Region appointed an officer to liaise with local Wakka Wakka people about the future of the Aboriginal cultural heritage area, and agreed to issue a press release formally expressing regret for the harm done.
External links
- Map of Ban Ban Springs Aboriginal Cultural Heritage AreaAccessed 25 February 2009