Price Merrett Consulting Pty

CanaIly Orchards Lot 6857 DP48114

Junction Park Irrigation Dam, CanaIly Orchards Aborignal Cultural Heritage Assessment

Report to Price Merrett Consulting on behalf of Canally Orchards Landskape 26 September 2019 a dIVISIOa of NIL Cupper Pty Ltd ABN 48 107 932 918 PO Box 1068 Carlton 3053 e mail: [email protected] tel: 0408 006 690 Canally Orchards

Junction Park Irrigation Dam, CanaIly Orchards Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Assessment

Report to Price Merrett Consulting on behalf of CanaIly Orchards

Landskape

Natural and Cultural Heritage Management

a division or ML. Capper Ply Ltd

ABN: 48 107 932 918

Author: Dr Matt Cupper Date: 26 September 2019

PO Box 1068 Carlton 3053 e mail: [email protected] tel: 0408 006 690 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

Executive Summary

CanaIly Orchards proposes to construct a 420 ML earthen irrigation water storage dam at their Junction Park horticultural planting at Lot 6857 DP48114 at Weimby-Kyalite Road, near Balranald, southwestern NSW. The purpose of the proposed dam is to store water to irrigate nut groves.

In order to investigate the potential impact on Aboriginal cultural heritage resulting from irrigation dam construction, Landskape was engaged by Price Merrett Consulting on behalf of CanaIly Orchards to complete an Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment of the proposed work area in accordance with the Code of practice for the archaeological investigation of Aboriginal objects in NSW (DECCW 2010) and Guide to investigation, assessing and reporting on Aboriginal cultural heritage in NSW (OEH 2011).

The specific objectives of the Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment were to:

Locate and record any Aboriginal cultural heritage places or objects within the vicinity of the proposed irrigation dam in consultation with the local Aboriginal community;

Identify the nature and extent of potential impacts of the proposed works on Aboriginal cultural heritage; and,

Devise options in consultation with the local Aboriginal community to avoid or mitigate potential impacts of the proposed irrigation dam construction on Aboriginal cultural heritage places or objects.

No Aboriginal cultural heritage places or objects have previously been identified in or near the proposed work area and no Aboriginal cultural heritage places or objects were identified during the current assessment.

Based on the results of this Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment and consultation with the local Aboriginal community it is concluded that:

The proposed irrigation dam construction be allowed to proceed because the works will not harm Aboriginal cultural heritage.

Landskape Cannily Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

Notify OEH as soon as practical on 131555, providing any details of the Aboriginal object and its location Not recommence any work at the location unless authorised in writing by OEH.

If skeletal remains are unexpectedly encountered during the activity, work must stop immediately, the area secured to prevent unauthorised access and contact made with NSW Police and OEH.

Landskape CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ii CONTENTS iv 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Aims of the Investigation 1 2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION 3 2.1 Project Objectives 3 2.2 Proposed Activities 3 2.3 Potential Disturbance 3 2.4 Flexibility of Design 3 3 LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT 4 3.1 National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 4 3.2 Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 5 3.3 Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance (Burra Charter) 5 4 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING 7 5 CULTURAL HERITAGE CONTEXT 8 5.1 Introduction 8 5.2 Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Sites 9 5.2.1 Stone Artefact Scatters 10 5.2.2 Hearths 10 5.2.3 Freshwater Shell Middens 11 5.2.4 Quarry Sites 11 5.2.5 Modified Trees 11 5.2.6 Stone Arrangements, Ceremonial Rings and Ceremony and Dreaming Sites 11 5.2.7 Burials 12 5.3 Aboriginal Cultural Heritage in the Project Area 12 6 PROJECT DESIGN AND SURVEY METHODOLOGY 13 6.1 Site Predictive Model 13 6.2 Field Methodology 14 6.2.1 Logistics 14 6.2.2 Survey Methods 14 6.3 Survey Coverage Data 15 6.3.1 Conditions of Visibility 15 6.3.2 Coverage Analysis 15 7 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 21 8 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 22 9 REFERENCES 23 ATTACHMENT A 26 ATTACHMENT B 27

Landskape iv CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

List of Figures

Figure 1. Location of the proposed dam work area. 2 Figure 2. Location of the proposed dam work area in a cleared and cultivated wheat field. 7 Figure 3. Location of the proposed dam work area depicting the excellent visibility... 16 Figure 4. Location of the proposed dam work area depicting the excellent visibility... 16 Figure 5. Location of the proposed dam work area depicting the excellent visibility... 17 Figure 6. Location of the proposed dam work area depicting the excellent visibility... 17 Figure 7. Location of the proposed dam work area depicting the excellent visibility... 18 Figure 8. Location of the proposed dam work area depicting the excellent visibility... 18 Figure 9. Location of the proposed dam work area depicting the excellent visibility... 19 Figure 10. Location of the proposed dam work area depicting the excellent visibility. 19

List of Tables

Table 1. Desktop predictive model of encountering Aboriginal cultural heritage sites in the proposed dam work area 14 Table 2. Visibility conditions of the proposed dam work area 15 Table 3. Effective coverage of the proposed dam work area. 20

Landskape CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

1 Introduction

CanaIly Orchards proposes to construct a 420 ML earthen irrigation water storage dam at their Junction Park horticultural planting at Lot 6857 DP48114 at Weimby-Kyalite Road, near Balranald, southwestern NSW (Figure 1). The purpose of the proposed dam is to store water to irrigate nut groves.

In order to investigate the potential impact on Aboriginal cultural heritage resulting from irrigation dam construction, Landskape was engaged by Price Merrell Consulting on behalf of CanaIly Orchards to complete an Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment of the proposed work area in accordance with the Code of practice for the archaeological investigation of Aboriginal objects in NSW (DECCW 2010) and Guide to investigation, assessing and reporting on Aboriginal cultural heritage in NSW (OEH 2011).

1.1 Aims of the Investigation

The specific objectives of the Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment were to:

Locate and record any Aboriginal cultural heritage places or objects within the vicinity of the proposed irrigation dam in consultation with the local Aboriginal community;

Identify the nature and extent of potential impacts of the proposed works on Aboriginal cultural heritage; and,

Any Aboriginal cultural heritage sites or objects recorded previously within the work area were identified by searching the Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System (AHIMS) site database maintained by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH).

General predictive models examining possible cultural heritage site locations within the water use licence area were formulated from these and other relevant archaeological and environmental data. Preparation of this model also involved the use of topographic and geological maps and aerial photographs to identify landscape features likely to contain archaeological sites.

Fieldwork was undertaken on 11 September 2019 by project archaeologist Dr Matt Cupper. Aboriginal community representative Traditional Owner/Elder Arthur Kirby also inspected the proposed dam work area with Price Merrett Consulting personnel Graeme Poole and Karin Heslop Heslop on 12 July 2016. Landskape 1 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

Figure 1. Location of the proposed darn work area Landskape 2 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

2 Project Description The proposed activities associated with the construction of the irrigation dam are summarized below.

2.1 Project Objectives Canally Orchards proposes to construct a 420 ML earthen irrigation water storage dam at their Junction Park horticultural planting at Lot 6857 DP48114 at Weimby- Kyalite Road, near Balranald, southwestern NSW (Figure 1). The purpose of the proposed dam is to store water to irrigate nut groves.

2.2 Proposed Activities

The proposed activities include soil stripping and stockpiling, basin excavation, earthen embankment construction, trimming and battering, and site rehabilitation.

Heavy earthmoving equipment (mechanical scrapers, excavators, front-end-loaders, etc) would be used to excavate the basin. Earthmoving equipment and support vehicles would utilize existing access roads and tracks.

2.3 Potential Disturbance

Activities to construct the proposed irrigation dam would occupy an area of 20 ha. The topsoil and subsoil would be removed to depths of up to 2.7 metres to form the basin.

2.4 Flexibility of Design

The area for the proposed irrigation dam is a preferred location, constrained by the presence of suitable substrate for basin construction but is relatively flexible. Its final location would be modified to avoid any potential harm to Aboriginal cultural heritage.

Landskape 3 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

3 Legislative Context

All Aboriginal cultural heritage in New South Wales is protected by the State National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 and Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. These Acts prohibit the wilful destruction or disturbance of any Aboriginal cultural heritage site, place or object, whether on private or public land. These places are considered to have significance according to the guidelines of the Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance (the Burra Charter).

The Office of Environment and Heritage is the NSW State Government agency that administers these Acts as they pertain to cultural heritage.

3.1 National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974

In NSW, the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 (as amended 2010) provides legislative protection for all Aboriginal cultural heritage places and objects.

Section 86 of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 sets out a number of offences about 'harm' or desecration to an Aboriginal place or object. Harm means any act or omission that:

Destroys, defaces or damages a place or object; Moves an object from the land on which it had been situated; or, Causes or permits a place or object to be harmed.

There are two types of offences for harming an Aboriginal place or object:

An offence of harming or desecrating an object which a person knows is an Aboriginal object (a 'knowing offence') An offence of harming a place or object whether or not a person knows it is an Aboriginal place or object (a 'strict liability offence').

The maximum penalty for the knowing offence is $550,000 or $275,000 (depending on whether there are aggravating circumstances) and 1 or 2 years' gaol for an individual. For a corporation the maximum penalty for the knowing offence is $1.1 million. The maximum penalty for the strict liability offence in the case of an Aboriginal object is $110,000 or $55,000 (depending whether there are aggravating circumstances) for an individual or $220,000 for a corporation. The maximum penalty for harming an Aboriginal place is $550,000 and 2 years' gaol for an individual and $1.1 million for a corporation.

Section 87 National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 provide several defences and exemptions for both types of offence. For example, a person who exercises due diligence in determining that their actions will not harm Aboriginal objects has a defence

Landskape 4 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT against prosecution for the strict liability offence if they later unknowingly harm an object. Accordingly, OEH has prepared a code of practice to assist individuals and organisations who choose to exercise due diligence. The present study conforms to this Due Diligence Code of Practice for the Protection of Aboriginal Objects in New South Wales (DECCW 2010a).

It is also a defence if a person holds a current Aboriginal Heritage Impact Permit (AHIP) under section 90 National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 and complies with the conditions of the AHIP.

In addition to the defences in the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, the general defence of 'honest and reasonable mistake' also applies to the strict liability offence.

3.2 Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979

The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 also recognizes the need to protect the cultural and natural heritage of New South Wales. It complements the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 in that it provides for planning before development and it obliges the developer to consult persons with relevant expertise or experience (Bowdler 1983:14). The heritage scope of this legislation is wider than that of the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 and it protects sites of significance to contemporary communities.

3.3 Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance (Berra Charter)

The Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance (Burra Charter) was adopted at a conference at the historic mining town of Burra, South Australia, in 1979 (latest update 2013). This charter defines the procedures and basic principles to be followed in the preservation of all types of sites, for example, Aboriginal shell middens, ancient camp sites represented by stone artefact scatters, or historic mining shafts. These places are considered to have cultural significance either to Aboriginal people or to Australians in general. Cultural significance is a term used to encompass all the meanings and values that a particular place may have to people, beyond its utilitarian value. It refers to 'aesthetic, historical, scientific or social value for past or present generations, or for its likely value to future generations' (Marquis-Kyle and Walker 1992: 73).

Under the guidelines of the Barra Charter, any Aboriginal sites found within the proposed dam work area would have social value. According to the charter, social value is defined as:

Landskape 5 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

...the qualities for which a place has become a focus of spiritual, political, national, or other cultural sentiment to a majority or minority group (Marquis-Kyle and Walker 1992: 73)

Any sites found within the proposed dam work area could also have scientific value. This is assessed according to each particular site's research or scientific potential to provide information about past Aboriginal or wider Australian culture, the environment, or human behaviour generally. According to the Burra Charter

The scientific or research value of a place will depend upon the importance of the data involved or its rarity, quality or representativeness and on the degree to which the place may contribute further substantial information (Marquis-Kyle and Walker 1992: 73).

While the scientific or research value of a place may vary, the Aboriginal community consider all Aboriginal archaeological sites to be significant. The Aboriginal people of the Balranald area have an ancient and unique traditional culture, which is still very much alive today. These sites are important to the local Aboriginal people, and others, because they are a link to their ancestral lands and help keep their traditional culture alive.

Landskape 6 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL. CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

4 Environmental Setting

The proposed dam work area is located 1 km north of the Murray River, and 25 km south of Balranald in southwestern New South Wales. The Murray Rivera regulated permanent stream course with associated lakes and wetland areas. This fluvio-lacustrine system lies within the Riverine Plain of the Murray Basin. Climate is semi-arid, receiving approximately 315 mm of rainfall per annum (Bureau of Meteorology 2019). The surface geology of the region is mostly aeolian (wind-lain) sediments, while underlying sequences within the basin were deposited by shallow seas and lakes over the past 60 million years (Brown and Stephenson 1991).

The proposed dam work area would occupy clay plain landforms of the Coonambidgal Formation approximately 1 km north of the Murray River (Figure 1). This area would have once supported a vegetation cover of Black Box eucalypts (Eucalyptus largiflorens) with a substorey of lignum (Muehlenbeckia florulenta) and blue bush (Maireana spp.) and saltbush (Atriplex spp.) understorey.

Overall, the environment of the proposed dam work area has been substantially modified by past European land use. This has included removal of all of the original vegetation, land levelling and ploughed cultivation for cereal crops and pasture for introduced livestock. Current land use is broad-acre agricultural cropping of cereals (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Location of the proposed dam work area in a cleared and cultivated wheat field. Landskape 7 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

5 Cultural Heritage Context

5.1 Introduction

Some of the earliest evidence of human occupation of Australia comes from southwestern NSW (Bowler et al. 1970, 2003, Thorne etal. 1999, Cupper and Duncan 2006, alley et a/. 2006). Stone artefacts found at Lake Mungo in the Willandra Lakes region, about 70 km to the north of the proposed dam work area, have been dated to between 46,000 to 50,000 years ago (Bowler at a/. 2003). The burials of a male and female at Lake Mungo are 42,000 years old (alley at at 2006, cf. Thorne et at 1999).

European explorers, settlers and government officials including Major Thomas Mitchell (1839), Edward John Eyre (1838, 1845), Gerard Krefft (1865), George Augustus Robinson (cited in Clark 1990) and Alfred William Howitt (1904) kept journals and published written accounts, which are the chief source of information about the Aborigines who lived in southwestern NSW at the time of first contact with European observers. Comprehensive secondary sources include the study of Clark (1990). These sources provide accounts of Aboriginal life during the early contact period including insights into Aboriginal social organization. Below is a summary of the relevant information.

At the time of first contact with Europeans, Aboriginal people of the Muthi Muthi language group occupied the area encompassed by the activity area (Clark 1990). Mitchell (1839), Eyre (1845), Krefft (1865), Robinson (cited in Clark 1990) and Howitt (1904) made early historical accounts of the Muthi Muthi and their immediate neighbours, who included peoples of the related Latje Latje, Kurinji and Tati Tati language groups. These language groups shared similar language and kinship systems. In particular, Muthi Muthi divided members into matrilineal moieties (two-part social classification) termed 'Kailpara' (emu) and 'Makwara' (hawk) (Clark 1990).

The availability of water was an important factor in the Aboriginal occupation of southwestern NSW, with the main permanent water sources on the fringes of the region along the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers. Ethnographic accounts suggest that the Muthi Muthi probably resided at the lakes and rivers during the warmest months of the year, with people moving into the sandplains to collect food after winter rains (Kreffi 1865).

Within the sandplains, people were likely to camp near small rock wells, soaks, clay pans and other depressions, which retain surface water for several days or weeks after heavy rainfall events (Ross 1981, 1984). Peak occupation is likely to have corresponded to when these transient water supplies were available. Water could also be procured all

Landskape 8 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT year round in the sandplains from the roots of some tall shrubs such as Dumosa mallee or Silver Needlewood, or carried using skin bags (Massola 1966).

The lakes were important inter-clan meeting places during summer (Howitt 1904, Mathews 1904, Massola 1966). People of various neighbouring language groups also journeyed to places to exchange raw materials and for ceremonial purposes. It is recorded that people travelled to barter reeds for spears, red ochre for pigment, freshwater mussel shells for knives, Murray lobster claws for necklaces, and possum fur for armlets (Howitt 1904, Massola 1966, Allen 1974, McBryde 1984).

Lerp, an important seasonal food derived from insects, was collected in large quantities during summer by the Muthi Muthi and their visiting neighbours (Massola 1966, 1973, Allen 1974). The Aboriginal people of southwestern NSW also gathered, hunted and fished a wide variety of plant and animal foods including kangaroo, emu, possums, bandicoots, echidnas, fish, tortoises, mussels, yabbies, reptiles, birds and bird eggs, insects, larvae, tubers, bulbs, roots, sedges, rushes, grass seeds and fruits (Massola 1966, Gott 1983).

Aspects of the initial interaction between Europeans and the Tati Tati and Wadi Wadi led to violent conflict. Aborigines were shot, poisoned and displaced from their land by pastoral settlers and, in retaliation, sheep were speared and settlers threatened (Hardy 1976, Clark 1990).

Within a decade of the first contact with Europeans many of the Tati Tati and Wadi Wadi were living adjacent to pastoral homesteads, often working as shepherds or engaged in other labouring activities (McLennan 1994, Clark 1990). Those Aboriginal people who resided on pastoral holdings continued to live a semi-traditional existence right up until the late nineteenth century (Clark 1990). This included collecting plant and animal foods to supplement station rations.

Grants of land were set aside for church and government Aboriginal reserves during the mid-nineteenth century. One of the earliest was Lake Boga Mission operated by the Moravian Brethren from 1851 at Lake Boga, southeast of the activity area (Stone 1911). The mission closed within a few years and the missionaries moved to Ebenezer Mission on the Wimmera River at Antwerp, which operated between 1859 and 1905 (Werner 1959, Massola 1970, Rhodes 1998, Lydon 2009).

Descendants of the language groups and clans are part of the region's contemporary Aboriginal community.

5.2 Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Sites

The material record of past Aboriginal occupation is preserved in the archaeological sites Landskape 9 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT of southwestern NSW, most of which date to the period since the last Ice Age (after around 18,000 years ago). All that remains at many of these sites are flakes of stone debris from the making and resharpening of stone tools. These were made both at Aboriginal open habitation areas (campsites) or special activity areas such as stone knapping sites. As well as being the sites of manufacture and maintenance of stone implements, open habitation areas usually contain evidence of domestic and other activities such as cooking and food preparation. Campfires or oven hearths are common, marked by heat retaining stones or hearthstones and charcoal. Organic remains consist of burnt animal bones, emu and aquatic bird eggshell and freshwater mussel shell. Aboriginal people often made containers from the bark of nearby trees, which may retain scars from this past resource use.

Based on the results and analytical conclusions of previous archaeological surveys in similar landscape contexts in southwestern NSW it is possible to predict the types and topographic contexts of Aboriginal cultural heritage sites in the project area. The occurrence and survival of archaeological sites is, however, dependent on many factors including micro-topography and the degree of land surface disturbance.

The types of Aboriginal cultural heritage sites previously recorded in southwestern NSW are described below.

5.2.1 Stone Artefact Scatters

Scatters of stone artefacts exposed at the ground surface are one of the most commonly occurring types of archaeological site in the region (Hope 1982). The remains of fire hearths may also be associated with the artefacts. In rare instances, sites that were used over a long period of time may accumulate sediments and become stratified. That is, there may be several layers of occupation buried one on top of another.

Stone artefact scatters are almost invariably located near permanent or semi-permanent water sources. Local topography is also important in that open campsites tend to occur on level, well-drained ground elevated above the local water source. In southwestern NSW they are commonly located around the margins of lakes and swamps, on river terraces, along creek-lines and also on claypans.

5.2.2 Hearths

Hearths consist of lumps of burnt clay or stone cobble hearthstones. Sometimes ash and charcoal are preserved. Other materials found in hearths include animal bone, freshwater mussel shell, emu eggshell and stone artefacts. Hearths probably represent the remains of cooking ovens, similar to those described in ethnographic accounts by Mitchell (1839)

Landskape 10 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTUFtAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT and early settler Peter Beveridge (1869). These were lined with baked clay nodules and stone cobbles, possibly to retain heat.

Hearths may be isolated or occur in clusters and may be associated with open campsites or middens. They are often located in dune swales, particularly on claypans, near soaks and on floodplain terraces.

5.2.3 Freshwater Shell Middens

Shell middens are deposits of shell and other food remains accumulated by Aboriginal people as food refuse. In inland NSW these middens typically comprise shells of the freshwater lacustrine mussel Velesunio ambiguus or the freshwater riverine mussel Alathyria jacksont Freshwater middens are most frequently found as thin layers or small patches of shell and often contain stone or bone artefacts and evidence of cooking. Such sites are relatively common along the Murray River and associated lakes and wetlands.

5.2.4 Quarry Sites

Quarries are locations where Aboriginal people obtained raw material for their stone tools or ochre for their art and decoration. Materials commonly used for making flaked stone tools include chert, silcrete, quartz and quartzite. There are few stone sources on the plains, but lithic materials were readily sourced from adjacent outcrops in the low bedrock hills of the north.

5.2.5 Modified Trees

Slabs of bark were cut from trees by Aboriginal people and used for a variety of purposes including roofing shelters and constructing canoes, shields and containers. Scars also resulted from the cutting of toeholds for climbing trees to obtain honey or to capture animals such as possums. In southwestern NSW, River Red Gums and Black Box are the most commonly scarred species.

5.2.6 Stone Arrangements, Ceremonial Rings and Ceremony and Dreaming Sites

Stone arrangements range from cairns or piles of rock to more elaborate arrangements such as stone circles or standing slabs of rock held upright by stones around the base. Some stone arrangements were used in ceremonial activities whilst others may represent sacred or totemic sites. Other features associated with the spiritual aspects of Aboriginal life are those now called 'ceremony and dreaming' sites. These can be either stone arrangements or natural features such as rock outcrops.

Landskape 11 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

5.2.7 Burials

Aboriginal burial grounds may consist of a single interment or a suite of burials. Burials tend to be in areas of sandy soil that were easy to dig and above floodwaters. Burials are frequently located in source-bordering sand dunes, sand ridges, lunettes and levees along watercourses (Bonhomme 1990, Hope 1993). Knowledge of Aboriginal burial grounds is best sought from local Aboriginal communities.

5.3 Aboriginal Cultural Heritage in the Project Area

According to the NSW OEH Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System (AHIMS) database, accessed on 20 September 2019 (Search number 451218; Attachment A), there are no registered Aboriginal cultural heritage places within the proposed dam work area.

Landskape 12 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL FIERRAGE ASSESSMENT

6 Project Design and Survey Methodology

In accordance with standard archaeological practice, the Guide to Investigating, Assessing and Reporting on Aboriginal Cultural Heritage in New South Wales (OEH, 2011) and Code of Practice for Archaeological Investigation of Aboriginal Objects in New South Wales (DECCW 2010) a project design and survey methodology was prepared as a key component of the Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment.

6.1 Site Predictive Model

Previous archaeological studies indicate that the most frequently recorded Aboriginal cultural heritage sites on the Murray River are open habitation areas represented by middens, stone artefact scatters, scarred trees and hearths (NSW OEM AHIMS site database; Allen 1974, 1980, 1990, 1998, Johnston and Clark 1998, Martin 2008). Burials are also represented in the archaeological record. Based on these observations of archaeological site types and their distribution and landscape setting, the following predictive model of site locations within the proposed dam work area can be proposed. Table 1 contains a summary of the predictive model.

Past Aboriginal occupation of the proposed dam work area would have been heavily focussed on the Murray River because this corridor offered a rich resource zone in an otherwise arid landscape. Consequently, most archaeological sites can be expected adjacent to this water source. Therefore, the margins of the Murray River near the proposed dam work area have a relatively high potential for containing Aboriginal cultural heritage places and items.

The landscape setting of the proposed dam work area precludes the possibility of encountering some site types, however. For example, stone features will definitely not occur because suitable rock outcrop is absent. Burials are also improbable, given most occur in sandy deposits near the river. Shell middens are rarely encountered more than 100 m from the riverbank.

The potential for encountering Aboriginal cultural heritage in the proposed dam work area is also mitigated to large extent by the degree of previous disturbance of the area. For example, modification of the original land surface during past land use including previous land clearing and ploughed cultivation is likely to have destroyed some features, had they previously existed in these areas. Culturally modified (scarred) trees would also not occur because all trees have been previously cleared.

Landskape 13 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

Table 1. Desktop predictive model of encountering Aboriginal cultural heritage sites in the proposed dam work area.

Site Type Predicted Probability of Occurrence in Project Area Stone artefacts Low Shell middens Low Hearths Low Stone arrangements and other stone Negligible features Burials Negligible Culturally modified trees Negligible

6.2 Field Methodology

6.2.1 Logistics

Fieldwork was undertaken on 11 September 2019 by archaeologist Dr Matt Cupper. Additionally, Aboriginal community representative Traditional Owner/Elder Arthur Kirby also inspected the proposed dam work area with Price Merrett Consulting personnel Graeme Poole and Karin Heslop on 12 July 2016.

6.2.2 Survey Methods

The area surveyed was based on maps provided by Price Merrett Consulting prior to the survey. The methods employed were consistent with standard archaeological practice and OEH's Guide to Investigating, Assessing and Repotting on Aboriginal Cultural Heritage in New South Wales (OEH 2011) and Code of Practice for Archaeological Investigation of Aboriginal Objects in New South Wales (DECCW 2010).

The archaeologist examined the ground surface of the proposed work area for archaeological traces such as stone artefacts, hearths, heat retainers, shells and mounds (Figures 3-10). The proposed work area was inspected with a pedestrian survey whereby the project archaeologist walked across the area in a series of transects. Transects were distributed evenly over the proposed work area and approximately 10 m apart. Due to the openness of the landscape it was possible to identify likely site locations from at least 10 m and deviate from the transects to make closer inspections (survey transects are depicted on the map in Appendix 2).

Particular attention was paid to areas with high ground surface visibility such as in scalds and deflation hollows and along graded fencelines and vehicle tracks. Surface visibility was particularly high across the study area due to wind, water, vehicular and stock erosion.

Landskape 14 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

6.3 Survey Coverage Data

6.3.1 Conditions of Visibility

Conditions of ground surface visibility will affect how many sites are located. Visibility may also skew the results of a survey. If, for example, conditions of ground surface visibility vary dramatically between different environments, then this in turn will be reflected in the numbers of sites reported for each area. The area with the best visibility may be reported as having the most sites (because they are visible on the ground) while another area with less visibility but perhaps more sites will be reported as having very little occupation. It is important therefore to consider the nature of ground surface visibility as part of any archaeological investigation. Conditions of ground surface visibility were typically around 60 % (Table 2, Figures 3- 10). These excellent conditions of visibility were mainly due to the fact that the ground surface was widely exposed by erosion by scalding and stock and vehicular traffic and grass and herbaceous plant growth was sparse.

Table 2. Visibility conditions of the proposed dam work area.

Survey Landform Vegetation Visibility Exposure Exposures Unit (/o) (%) 1 Alluvial plain Wheatfield 80 80 Vehicle tracks, scalds

6.3.2 Coverage Analysis

Coverage analysis is a useful measurement to allow cultural resource managers to assess surveys from adjacent areas and it also allows some meaningful calculation of the actual sample size surveyed. The actual or effective area surveyed by a study depends on the conditions of ground surface visibility. Conditions of surface visibility are affected by vegetation cover, geomorphic processes such as sedimentation and erosion rates and the abundance of natural rock that may obscure the remains of cultural activities. The entire surface area of the proposed work area was inspected on foot, with an effective coverage of 80 % (Table 3). This is a high coverage and was due to the small size of the work area, the intensive nature of the investigation and the excellent conditions of surface visibility.

Landskape 15 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

Figure 3. Location of the proposed darn work area depicting the excellent visibility.

Figure 4. Location of the proposed dam work area depicting the excellent visibility.

Landskape 16 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

Figure 5. Location of the proposed dam work area depicting the excellent visibility.

Figure 6. Location of the proposed dam work area depicting the excellent visibility.

Landskape 17 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

Figure 7. Location of the proposed dam work area depicting the excellent visibility.

Figure 8. Location of the proposed dam work area depicting the excellent visibility.

Lands ape 18 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

IiMa- ... _

Figure 9. Location of the proposed dam work area depicting the excellent visibility.

Figure 10. Location of the proposed dam work area depicting the excellent visibility.

Landskape 19 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

Table 3. Effective coverage of the proposed dam work area.

Landscape Area Visibility Coverage Effective Sites setting coverage (m2) (%) (m2) (yo (m2) (%) area) 1 Alluvial 200,000 80 200,000 100 160,000 80 plain Total 200,000 200,000 (100 %) 160,000 (80 %) -

Landform Landform Area Effective coverage (m2) (m2) (%) 1 Alluvial plain 200,000 160,000 80 Total 200,000 160,000 80

Landskape 20 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

7 Results and Discussion

No Aboriginal cultural heritage sites were identified in the proposed work area for the irrigation dam, despite the intensive nature of the survey.

This negative result is despite the generally excellent conditions of surface visibility and high survey coverage. It is largely attributable to past land use of the work area, including pastoralism, agriculture and channel construction, as such previous land clearing and earthworks are likely to have destroyed Aboriginal cultural heritage sites, had they previously existed in this area. In particular, culturally modified (scarred) trees were not encountered because all trees have been previously cleared.

Quarry sites are also definitely not represented in the work area as rock outcrop is lacking. Landforms such as lunettes or source-bordering sand dunes that might contain sensitive sub-surface archaeological material such as burials do not occur in the work area. The sediments of the work area had been well enough exposed by pastoral and agricultural activities and vehicular traffic and wind and water erosion to determine that no archaeological material was present on the surface nor is likely to be buried beneath the soil.

Additionally, the local Aboriginal community representative who inspected the activity area did not identify any specific locations within the work area as being of cultural significance.

Landskape 21 CanaHy Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

8 Conclusions and Recommendations

Based on the results of this Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment and consultation with the local Aboriginal community it is concluded that:

The proposed irrigation dam construction be allowed to proceed because the works will not harm Aboriginal cultural heritage.

If any Aboriginal object is discovered and/or harmed in, or under the land, while undertaking development activities, the proponent must: Not further harm the object Immediately cease all work at the location Secure the area to avoid further harm to the Aboriginal object Notify OEH as soon as practical on 131555, providing any details of the Aboriginal object and its location Not recommence any work at the location unless authorised in writing by OEH.

If skeletal remains are unexpectedly encountered during the activity, work must stop immediately, the area secured to prevent unauthorised access and contact made with NSW Police and OEM.

Landskape 22 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

9 References

Allen, T.G. (1974). Wotjobaluk: Aborigines of the Wimmera River system. Wimmera Regional Library Service, Horsham.

Beveridge, P. (1869). On Aboriginals ovens. Journal of the Anthropological Society of London 7, 187-189.

Bonhomme, T. (1990). Aboriginal burials and sand mining on the Riverine Plain, NSW. Report to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Bawdier, S. (1983). Aboriginal sites on the Crown-timber lands of New South Wales. Report to the Forestry Commission of New South Wales.

Bowler, J.M., Jones, R., Allen, H. and Thome, A.G. (1970). Pleistocene human remains from Australia: a living site and human cremation from Lake Mungo, western New South Wales. World Archaeology 2, 39-60.

Bowler, J.M., Johnston, H., 011ey, J.M., Prescott, JR., Roberts, R.G., Shawcross, W. and Spooner, N.A. (2003). New ages for human occupation and climatic change at Lake Mungo, Australia. Nature 421, 837-840.

Brown, C.M. and Stephenson, A.E. (1991). Geology of the Murray Basin, southeastern Australia. Bureau of Mineral Resources Bulletin 235.

Bureau of Meteorology (2019). Climate statistics for Australian locations — Balranald. (online: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averaaes/tables/cw 049002.shtml) Clark, I.D. (1990). Aboriginal languages and clans: an historical atlas of western and central Victoria 1800-1900. Monash University, Clayton.

Clark, P. and Hope, J. (1985). Aboriginal burials and shell middens at Snaggy Bend and other sites on the Central Murray River. Australian Archaeology 20: 68-89.

Cupper, M.L. and Duncan, J. (2006). Last glacial megafaunal death assemblage and early human occupation at Lake Menindee, southeastern Australia. Quaternary Research 66, 332-341.

Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) (2010). Code of Practice for Archaeological Investigation of Aboriginal Objects in New South Wales. NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, Sydney.

Eyre, E.J. (1838). Letter to the Editor. South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register 14 July 1838, 3-4.

Eyre, E.J. (1845). Manners and customs of the Aborigines and the state of their relations with Europeans. T. and W. Boone, London.

Landskape 23 CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

Gott, B. (1983). Murnong — Microseris scapigera: a study of a staple food of Victorian Aborigines. Australian Aboriginal Studies 2, 2-18.

Hardy, M.E. (1976). Lament for the Barkindk The vanished tribes of the Darling River region. Rigby, Adelaide.

Hope, J. (1982). Archaeology and Environment of the Lower Darling Region of the Murray Basin, southwestern New South Wales: the potential impact of seismic survey. Report to ESSO Australia Ltd.

Hope, J. (1993). Aboriginal Burial Sites in the Murray-Darling Basin. Report to the Murray-Darling Basin Commission.

Howitt, A.W. (1904). The Native Tribes of South-East Australia. Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra.

Krefft, G. (1865). On the manners and customs of the Aborigines of the Lower Murray and Darling. Transactions of the Philosophical Society of New South Wales 1862-1865, 357-374.

Lydon, J. (2009). Fantastic Dreaming: The Archaeology of an Aboriginal Mission. AltaMira Press, Lanham, MY.

McBryde, I. (1984). Exchange in south eastern Australia: an ethnohistorical perspective. Aboriginal History 8, 132-153.

McLennan, V. (1994). Time, Tide and the Tyrrell: History of the Shire of Wycheproof. Hargreen Publishing Co., Melbourne.

Macumber, P.G. (1991). Interaction Between Groundwater and Surface Systems in Northern Victoria. Department of Conservation and Environment, East Melbourne.

Martin, S. (2008). Billa Downs, Dry Lake and Lake Benanee: Assessment of the cultural heritage and potential effects of a water regulator on Taila Creek. Report to the Murray Darling Basin Commission.

Marquis-Kyle, P. and Walker, M. (1992). The Illustrated Burra Charter. Australian ICOMOS, Sydney.

Massola, A. (1966). The Aborigines of the Mallee. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 79, 267-275.

Massola, A. (1970). Aboriginal mission stations in Victoria: Yelta, Ebenezer, Ramahyuck, Lake Condah. Hawthorn Press, Melbourne.

Mathews, R.H. (1904). Ethnographical notes on the Aboriginal tribes of New South Wales and Victoria. Journal of the Royal Society of New South Wales 38, 203-381.

Landskape 24 •

CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

Mitchell, T.L. (1839). Three expeditions into the interior of Eastern Australia. T. and W. Boone, London.

01ley, J.M., Roberts, R.G., Yoshida, H. and Bowler, J.M. (2006). Single-grain optical dating of grave-infill associated with human burials at Lake Mungo, Australia. Quaternary Science Reviews 25, 2469-2474.

Office of Environment and Heritage (2011). Guide to investigating, assessing and reporting on Aboriginal cultural heritage in NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, Sydney.

Rhodes, D. (1998). An archaeological report on the Ebenezer Mission Station. Aboriginal Affairs Victoria.

Ross, A.C. (1981). Holocene environments and prehistoric site patterning in the Victorian Mallee. Archaeology in Oceania 16, 145-154.

Ross, A.C. (1982). Absence of evidence: Reply to Keryn Kefous. Archaeology in Oceania 17, 99-101.

Ross, AC. (1984). If there were Water Prehistoric Settlement Patterns in the Victorian Mallee. Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Earth Sciences, Macquarie University.

Ross, A.C. (1985). Archaeological evidence for population change in the middle to late Holocene in southeastern Australia. Archaeology in Oceania 20, 81-89.

Stone, A.C. (1911). The Aborigines of Lake Boga, Victoria. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 23, 433-468.

Thorne, A., Grun, R., Mortimer, G., Simpson, J.J., McCulloch, M., Taylor, L. and Curnoe, D. (1999). Australia's oldest human remains: age of the Lake Mungo Skeleton. Journal of Human Evolution 36, 591-692.

Tindale, N.B. (1974). Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: their terrain, environmental controls, distribution, limits and proper names. University of California, Berkeley, CA.

Werner, A.B. (1959). Early Mission Work at Antwerp. August Bernard Werner, Arkona, Victoria.

Landskape 25 •

CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

Attachment A. AHIMS Search Results

Landskape 26

•

Office of Environment AHIMS Web Services (AWS) 8( Heritage Search Result Purchase Order/Reference : Junction Dam Client Service ID: 451218

LandSkape - Natural & Cultural Heritage Management Date: 20 September 2019 P 0 Box 246 Merbein Victoria 3505 Attention: Matt Cupper Email: [email protected] Dear Sir or Madam: AHIMS web Service search for the following area at Lot: 6857 DP:DP48114 with a Buffer of 1000 meters. conducted by Matt Cupper on 20 September 2019.

The context area of your search is shown in the map below. Please note that the map does not accurately display the exact boundaries of the search as defined in the paragraph above. The map is to be used for general reference purposes only.

A search of the Office of the Environment and Heritage AHIMS Web Services (Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System) has shown that: 0 Aboriginal sites are recorded in or near the above location. 0 Aboriginal places have been declared in or near the above location.* ..

CanaIly Orchards ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSESSMENT

Attachment B. Survey Transects

Landskape 27