Up coming changes to State, National and Regional Parks

There is a Big Push to change some areas to 6 Parks in the Central part of the Golden Triangle which will restrict, or stop all together, prospecting in some areas of these Parks. This is a big bush by the Dja Dja Wurrung Aboriginal Clan, who on March 2013 were classified by the State Government to be declared as the "Traditional Owners of the Land. And has now formed the Dhelkunya Dja Land Management Board in conjuction with Parks Victoria, DELWP, CSIRO, Conservation Management Board and the Dja Dja Wurrung Clan. The Parks involved are :- Greater Bendigo National Park (North & South), Hepburn Regional Park, Paddys Ranger State Park, Kara Kara National Park Kooyoora State Park &  Wehla Nature Conservation Reserve. All of these Parks will come under the control of the Dja Dja Wurrung Parks Management Board after Oct 2018 when it becomes Legislation by the Government.  The purpose of the joint Management Plan is to, look, fine and protect Dja Dja Wurrung Heritage sites within these Parks. Managing threatened species, recognition and utilisation of Dja Dja Wurrung knowledge and customs, manage weed control, control Very High, High, Medium and Low impact of the land. Providing quality education, recreational and other experiences for all park visitors where applicable.
These are some of the things that will be happening within these Parks. There will be some areas that will NO longer be open to prospecting as these are now recognised as sacred and heritage sites of the Wurrung People.
The 1st Draft of their proposal is out with maps showing the areas that have been restricted.  
The PMAV have been meeting with the Board of Management to show them our concerns and to let them know that we too have Heritage sites in the same areas, that we want to protect them as well. We have also put in submissions stating the same. They have knowledge our concerns and taken on board our statement that our hobby has a very low impact on the land and the environment. They have kept us informed and had scheduled meetings with us right through the whole process and have always informed us that they do NOT what to stop all prospecting in these Parks or restrict other Park users. They only want to have a better control of their lands under the Board of Management. This is a 15 year plan.  
There are public meetings being held right now by the Board of Management for anyone to go to, and show their concerns and to put in a submission. These meeting will be held at :-
Melb Friday 18th May, 8 Nicholson St. (up stairs of Cafe Ecco) 2.00 pm - 4.30 pm
Bendigo Sat 19th May Activity Room No.1, Bendigo Library 259 Hargreaves St. 10.00 am - 12.30 pm.
Inglewood Sat 19th. May Inglewood Town Hall Hub, 20 Verdon St. 2.00 pm - 4.30 pm.
Castlemaine Sun. 20th. May Ray Bradfield Rm. Forest St. Next to Victoria Park, Access from IGA car park.
10.00 am - 4.30 pm
Daylesford Sun 20th.May, Paddlock Neighborhood Centre. 2.00 pm - 4.30 pm

For online survey and submissions www.dhelkunyadja.org.au You have until 19th June to put in a submission.

For anyone who's reading this that do's not fill in their holes and is wondering why this is happening to our goldfields. Well pat your selves on the back as this is one of the reasons why this has come about.
wombat

I do not think that detecting will be outlawed in the areas mentioned but because they will come under the Dja Dja Wurrum parks management board that indigenous management will impose a monetary cost to any who want to detect those areas.. I feel sure it will be similar to what happened on an island off Brisbane which is very much controlled where once freedom existed... I hope no hornets nest is now stirred up... dundiggin

dundiggin wrote:I do not think that detecting will be outlawed in the areas mentioned but because they will come under the Dja Dja Wurrum parks management board  that indigenous management will impose a monetary cost to any who want to detect those areas.. I feel sure it will be similar to what happened on an island off Brisbane which is very much controlled where once freedom existed... I hope no hornets nest is now stirred up... dundiggin

Hi Dundigging
Sorry mate, but I can assure you that the areas that have been picked out will be closed to the public.
Last Tuesday night the PMAV had a public meeting with the Board at the Maryborough Highland Club where they informed us of their proposed Draft and showed us the areas that are going to be closed down.

wombat

These are some of the photos taken on the night.
wombat  

Hi Wombat,
I read your post and typed out a lengthy reply but when I was about to click on' send' the whole thing disappeared ... What a bummer!!! This has happened to me before and I have no solution.. Going back to bed now.. I'll repeat it another time.. dundiggin

dundiggin wrote:Hi Wombat,
                I read your post and typed out a lengthy reply but when I was about to click on' send' the whole thing disappeared ... What a bummer!!! This has happened to me before and I have no solution.. Going back to bed now.. I'll repeat it another time..   dundiggin

Sorry that had happened to you.

The best thing to do is to type it up in a notepad on your computer or tablet
Then copy and paste it into here.
Or if you re-type it again here ... make sure you highlight all your text and click on copy, before sending..
then if you lose it, you can still re-paste it.

What happens is, even though you are typing up your reply, the forum doesnt sense you are here and times
Out. Spits you out.

Howdy Gen,
I want to thank you for your enlightening explanation as to why I lost my post..I am a bit slow in getting thoughts typed what with spelling mistakes, bad grammer, and crook sentence construction and not a puter whiz doing one finger typing and sometimes I get to thinking this machine hates me...
Management do a good job keeping things flowing in the right way... I will put your suggestions into practise and enjoy a more placid life ( I hope) Thank you Gen..... dundiggin

Sorry Jen -- it appears I don't know the difference between a 'G' and a 'J'..  Gorblimey...... dundiggin

The good doers will tell you it's all good and tell you "yes" to all your concerns and then turn everything around once they have control........................ Then it's all downhill from there.......... You will get excuse after excuse after excuse............. And that's when they will take everything away from us.

And that's it............ Everything is locked away, " no excuses "

dundiggin wrote:Sorry Jen -- it appears I don't know the difference between a 'G' and a 'J'..  Gorblimey...... dundiggin

Alls good, i will answer to almost any name

Hi Jen,
I know the feeling I also get other names -- some I won't repeat here...LOL,LOL... dundiggin

P.S. Thank you for the communication... dundiggin

UNCLE BOB wrote:The good doers will tell you it's all good and tell you "yes" to all your concerns and then turn everything around once they have control........................ Then it's all downhill from there.......... You will get excuse after excuse after excuse............. And that's when they will take everything away from us.

And that's it............ Everything is locked away, " no excuses "

Hi UNCLE BOB,

Perhaps this could occur, yet somehow I feel that we are all on the same team. We simply need to acquire and share accurate data. I can see technology being used which allows those in power to get the facts about how important allowing access to the forests is. There is need to find the perfect balance between protecting nature and cultural history and allowing the masses access, so that they may share the deep feeling of country we as prospectors feel.

Cheers

Hi all,just some general comments/observations on the proposed changes heading our way.
I live and prospect in central Victoria,I fill my holes and take my rubbish home with me as most prospectors do.
unfortunately there are the odd few who can't be bothered to do the right thing.
The bush is an amazing creature,it does regenerate and heal,unfilled holes do eventually fill with leaf litter,raked areas slowly get covered and disappear.
There are place I could take you that have been hammered for over 20 years and yet over time it's difficult to see the evidence of where detecting has occurred,in saying that it's no excuse to be slack.
Most days I venture out for a scratch and my observations on the people that use the bush are as such,most people I see are prospectors,then motor bike riders followed by the occasional push bike rider,then the odd walker,last of all are the tourists visiting the "goldfields".
During the week I'd guarantee you I could sit out at Garfield wheel in Castlemaine,eureka reef,quartz hill etc and see no one,weekends are very similar the odd tourist here and there.
Drive through the Whipstick on a weekend and who do you mainly see? the detectorist enjoying the land and their heritage.

I think it's baloney that the bush/goldfields draws in thousands upon thousands of tourist. Castlemaine, Daylesford, Maldon do pull in these numbers of tourist but it's mainly to the shops, cafes
and antique places,families mainly walk around the streets with their kids eating ice creams. They are not going out into the bush to take in the "cultural" experience,they're happy to experience the nostalgia of these towns.Bigger towns are similar like Bendigo and Ballarat, their major gold draw cards being the central Deborah mine and sovereign hill.

I think politicians should get out into the bush a bit more instead of playing games with other political factions just to gain votes in other matters not related to the bush.
The law makers wanting to make changes should be supporting the people who love and respect the bush for it's culture and heritage, not ban us.

cheers

Moredeep, well said mate. It is true prospectors are the main bush users in these parts. And the tourists only come into the towns and cities just to see the Heritage buildings, part of the gold rush and not the goldfields them selves. Most of them would not even know what they were looking at even if they did adventure of the beaten track, so to speak.
wombat

thanks wombat,as prospectors and bush guardians we also have to keep putting the word out that we are part of the bigger picture

Hi,
   I concur with the sentiments and facts expressed by moredeep and wombat and would like to add that because there is the Dhelkunya Dja Land management Board as well as the Conservation Management Board and the Dja Dja Clan, I fail to see that with so many bodies interested in parks in prospecting areas that somewhere down the line their conservation rights doesn't ignite or awaken their "free entreprise" ideals which may see a fee imposed on detectorists ... After all,, Managements just love to have a black bottom line... Of course I could be very wrong in assuming that in the end the consumer (detectorists) pays.. dundiggin.

Not at all dundigging. Your assumption stands more than valid. Just how much of a change & to whom these changes will affect, through wanting to use the parks for recreation, is the unknown factor, of which only time will tell.
As for your average consumer, the a**e end of the stick (as I first call myself), don't we end up paying for everything anyway?

Cheers Kon.

Truer word(s) have not been spoken Kon61... dundiggin

They will regret if they close the bush for prospectors as if every prospector does what I do; not only take your own rubbish home but also the rubbish you find during prospecting like bullets, pallets, rusty nails etc etc, then all that stuff will be become more and more. I already now have sometimes tears in my eyes when I see what people leave behind and that are not the prospectors who do that!

Brigand, what seems to be the big problem now is that the 'townies' are dumping there rubbish where they think nobody will notice or care. And all because it is to expensive to take to the tip in there eyes. And councils will not accept a lot of this so called general rubbish in the waste bins. It is then us 'minority groups' that cop the blame and will lose out in the end. We can do all we can but I see inevitable we will be big losers.  And hit in the hip pocket as well.
Wombat, good on you for doing what you can, i would also join your facebook thingy but we are not on face book and will not be joining facebook. Like a lot we know cannot trust it. Not joining then does not allow to post either but we will live with that. Paper partitions is our way to go and will be destributing them around where we live.

Hi all,I've just joined up to the face book site. I would like to assume that all government departments peruse these forums for info and report the chatter back to their head poncho's.
I also assume that other government departments including the [Liberal party] and [dja dja wurrung] read these forums to get a info on the current climate.
I'M ASSUMING ALSO, if i was to say that "That as a life long labor voter I will not be voting for Mr Andrews because he and his government are kneeling in front of the greens groveling for their backing",THIS COMMENT WILL BE READ BY SOMEONE IN THE LABOR PARTY? This will hopefully will make them realize that there maybe some instability in their grass roots.
What I'm trying to say to everyone is voice your objection on this forum,it doesn't have to be on face book the message will get back to all government departments .
Just start posting your objections/thoughts to the planned proposals ,they'll be read don't you worry.

CHEERS MOREDEEP

As long as its kept in a civil manner, not exceeding the forums rules, I have no objection to freedom of speech moredeep.
As small or insignificant a forum consisting of members or followers on the web might be, you can bet your sweet boots, people such that of government officials/government bodies, are monitoring them, for its in their interest to, even more so now that terrorism laws have come into full effect.
Have no doubt that "Big Brother" is watching.     Now whether it's in their interest to do the right thing by us all who enjoy, look after the bush & leave it as we found it, is a whole new ball game.

Cheers Kon.  

no worries Kon,how did you know my middle name was civil?
mmm, big brother?? I might change it to "big sister watching" as my big brother was a steatorrhea.
Then again I shouldn't be gender specific these days,maybe I should be saying "MY BIG HERMAPHRODITE SIBLING IS WATCHING"

cheers,, moredeep