Victory. The Butterfly Cave & Bushland is saved.
In June 2024, the NSW Labor Government announced it would be protecting the Butterfly Cave on Awabakal land, acquiring a pocket of culturally significant bushland in the Hunter.
After 13 hard years of campaigning, we are overjoyed to declare a victory.
The NSW Labor Government has listened to us, respected our voices and acquired the 25 hectares of land that encompasses the Awabakal Butterfly Cave.
There will be no roads. No houses. No desecration.
It is finally safe.
The purchase means the Cave and cultural bushland will be protected in perpetuity under the auspices of National Parks and Wildlife. It will be cared for by Aboriginal women of today, and tomorrow. The flora and fauna can flourish. It will be in the safest of hands.
Quote:
This investment by the NSW Government delivers on Labor’s election promise to protect heritage places, including the Butterfly Cave, from threats such as development and environmental neglect.
After meeting with and listening to the voices of the Aboriginal community, the Minns Labor Government is proud to be ensuring this site will be protected in-perpetuity, honouring the deep connections and ancestral knowledge of the Awabakal people.
The acquisition is the result of a long campaign led by Awabakal women and supported by members of the broader community to recognise and protect this sacred land.
The 25.74-hectare plot, purchased by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) protects the Cave and the surrounding cultural landscape, including vital elements such as aquifers, stone arrangements, traditional journey paths, creeks and food source areas.
The land will be managed by NPWS and permanently protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.
The NSW Government will consult with the local Aboriginal community on future management of the site and protection of the surrounding cultural landscape.
After 13 hard years of campaigning, we are overjoyed to declare a victory.
The NSW Labor Government has listened to us, respected our voices and acquired the 25 hectares of land that encompasses the Awabakal Butterfly Cave.
There will be no roads. No houses. No desecration.
It is finally safe.
The purchase means the Cave and cultural bushland will be protected in perpetuity under the auspices of National Parks and Wildlife. It will be cared for by Aboriginal women of today, and tomorrow. The flora and fauna can flourish. It will be in the safest of hands.
Quote:
This investment by the NSW Government delivers on Labor’s election promise to protect heritage places, including the Butterfly Cave, from threats such as development and environmental neglect.
After meeting with and listening to the voices of the Aboriginal community, the Minns Labor Government is proud to be ensuring this site will be protected in-perpetuity, honouring the deep connections and ancestral knowledge of the Awabakal people.
The acquisition is the result of a long campaign led by Awabakal women and supported by members of the broader community to recognise and protect this sacred land.
The 25.74-hectare plot, purchased by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) protects the Cave and the surrounding cultural landscape, including vital elements such as aquifers, stone arrangements, traditional journey paths, creeks and food source areas.
The land will be managed by NPWS and permanently protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.
The NSW Government will consult with the local Aboriginal community on future management of the site and protection of the surrounding cultural landscape.
So many people to thank for this victory.
Over the course of this 13-year battle, we have been supported by so many wonderful individuals, groups, and organisations. It is simply not possible to name you all. But, to everyone who stopped for a moment to learn about this fight for Aboriginal culture, everyone who kept the conversation going, everybody that offered support, guidance or encouragement: we thank you.
We would like to acknowledge every single person who signed and supported our change.org campaign. Without you, this battle would have been so much harder. The petition accumulated over 180,000 signatures – it is one of the biggest online petitions ever created in Australia. We want to recognise each and every person who so generously donated to our campaign and propelled it further than we could ever have imagined.
Our Facebook page was joined by over 15,000 people and groups and further pushed the case for the site to be saved. Every post, share, and interaction ensured the issue remained alive. Likewise we recognise the inexorable push made by our followers on X (Twitter) and Instagram.
Our GoFundMe fundraiser raised over $30K which allowed us to obtain specialised legal advice and engage consultants to provide professional reports (eg. hydrology, audiology, Aboriginal culture). This advice and expert evidence was instrumental in our push to save our beautiful and irreplaceable women's site.
We want to thank our extraordinary legal team at the NSW Environmental Defenders Office. We could not have asked for stronger women to guide us. Sensitive to culture, they were always available, exceptionally professional, and determined to ensure the site was saved. We valued their expertise, and now value their friendship. Awesome women from an exceptional organisation.
Our local State member, Clayton Barr, has been our most dogged ally for over ten years. From speaking up in Parliament, organising countless meetings with politicians, proactively seeking out ways for the fight to remain relevant, listening to us whenever we needed advice: Clayton never took a backwards step. Not once. And he never let the naysayers and mudslingers veer him off course. He had our back every step of the way. The journey was made survivable via his complete professionalism and dedication to our cause.
To the Minns Labor Government, and particularly Minister Penny Sharpe, we say thank you for finally saving the Butterfly Cave in perpetuity. By acknowledging the site’s significance AND protecting it, you have restored our faith in the systems of government.
Over the past ten years we met with numerous Coalition ministers who failed to support us. To them we say, thank you for your time. However, we urge you to consider the intrinsic importance of Aboriginal culture and wellbeing, and hope in the future you will listen to us with ears more attuned to culture than big business.
Finally, we have some honourable mentions – women who supported us above and beyond:
Leesa C, Julie B, Jodie E, Melinda M, Jennifer VG, Janine VG, Arabella S, Deb G.
This win for Aboriginal culture will resonate through time. It is a victory for us all to celebrate. But we must remain mindful that, until State and Federal legislation for Aboriginal Heritage is revised, the fight for the Butterfly Cave may not be the final battle ground between timeless indigenous heritage, and big business.
Stay strong.
The Save the Butterfly Cave Campaign Team.
We would like to acknowledge every single person who signed and supported our change.org campaign. Without you, this battle would have been so much harder. The petition accumulated over 180,000 signatures – it is one of the biggest online petitions ever created in Australia. We want to recognise each and every person who so generously donated to our campaign and propelled it further than we could ever have imagined.
Our Facebook page was joined by over 15,000 people and groups and further pushed the case for the site to be saved. Every post, share, and interaction ensured the issue remained alive. Likewise we recognise the inexorable push made by our followers on X (Twitter) and Instagram.
Our GoFundMe fundraiser raised over $30K which allowed us to obtain specialised legal advice and engage consultants to provide professional reports (eg. hydrology, audiology, Aboriginal culture). This advice and expert evidence was instrumental in our push to save our beautiful and irreplaceable women's site.
We want to thank our extraordinary legal team at the NSW Environmental Defenders Office. We could not have asked for stronger women to guide us. Sensitive to culture, they were always available, exceptionally professional, and determined to ensure the site was saved. We valued their expertise, and now value their friendship. Awesome women from an exceptional organisation.
Our local State member, Clayton Barr, has been our most dogged ally for over ten years. From speaking up in Parliament, organising countless meetings with politicians, proactively seeking out ways for the fight to remain relevant, listening to us whenever we needed advice: Clayton never took a backwards step. Not once. And he never let the naysayers and mudslingers veer him off course. He had our back every step of the way. The journey was made survivable via his complete professionalism and dedication to our cause.
To the Minns Labor Government, and particularly Minister Penny Sharpe, we say thank you for finally saving the Butterfly Cave in perpetuity. By acknowledging the site’s significance AND protecting it, you have restored our faith in the systems of government.
Over the past ten years we met with numerous Coalition ministers who failed to support us. To them we say, thank you for your time. However, we urge you to consider the intrinsic importance of Aboriginal culture and wellbeing, and hope in the future you will listen to us with ears more attuned to culture than big business.
Finally, we have some honourable mentions – women who supported us above and beyond:
Leesa C, Julie B, Jodie E, Melinda M, Jennifer VG, Janine VG, Arabella S, Deb G.
This win for Aboriginal culture will resonate through time. It is a victory for us all to celebrate. But we must remain mindful that, until State and Federal legislation for Aboriginal Heritage is revised, the fight for the Butterfly Cave may not be the final battle ground between timeless indigenous heritage, and big business.
Stay strong.
The Save the Butterfly Cave Campaign Team.
The Awabakal women's Butterfly Cave - what is it?
The Butterfly Cave and surrounding bush land is a sacred Aboriginal women’s site used for generations by Awabakal women for cultural practices and sacred women’s business. The Butterfly Cave is part of a significant cultural landscape with tangible and intangible cultural values. An important feature of the Butterfly Cave is its privacy, which allows Aboriginal women to carry out their traditional practices and sacred women’s business free from disturbance.
The Butterfly Cave is also an important contemporary educational site. It is used as a place for educating Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal girls and women in cultural practices and allowing them to experience the cultural, spiritual and emotional connection to country. It continues to be an elemental part of Aboriginal women’s cultural wellbeing.
The Butterfly Cave is also an important contemporary educational site. It is used as a place for educating Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal girls and women in cultural practices and allowing them to experience the cultural, spiritual and emotional connection to country. It continues to be an elemental part of Aboriginal women’s cultural wellbeing.
Why were we fighting?
In 2001, Roche Group lodged an application with Lake Macquarie City Council to develop the Appletree Grove Estate. The development comprised nine stages. Six stages have been completed. Stage 7 and Stage 9 of the proposed development surrounded the Butterfly Cave. If allowed to proceed, these stages would have desecrated the Butterfly Cave. More information about this can be found here.
Women cultural knowledge holders could only access the site with the permission of the owner’s male representative, which has been refused in the past.
Women cultural knowledge holders could only access the site with the permission of the owner’s male representative, which has been refused in the past.
Legislation did not help us save the site.
We have been fighting to save the Butterfly Cave since 2011. As a result, the Butterfly Cave was declared an Aboriginal Place, and a Section 10 declaration has been made under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.
Neither piece of legislation protects the site. In fact, the provisions of both the AP and Section 10 Declaration allow for the Roche Group housing subdivision to proceed.
Neither piece of legislation protects the site. In fact, the provisions of both the AP and Section 10 Declaration allow for the Roche Group housing subdivision to proceed.
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The ongoing fight to save the Awabakal Women's Butterfly Cave has been co-ordinated by Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women working with the Sugarloaf and District Action Group.
Our fight has been sustained by the consistent support and advice from many individuals, groups and clubs.
We would particularly like to thank:
Environmental Defender's Office
Clayton Barr MP, Member for Cessnock
Our Facebook supporters
Our GoFundMe Supporters (we raised in excess of $30,000 to fund the legal campaign)
The 179,000+ people who have signed our ongoing petition on Change.org
Jennifer van Gessel
Leesa Colgan - Enough (Butterfly Cave)
Everyone who has acknowledged the significance of this precious women's site through art, tattooing, fundraising, rallying and just talking.
Our fight has been sustained by the consistent support and advice from many individuals, groups and clubs.
We would particularly like to thank:
Environmental Defender's Office
Clayton Barr MP, Member for Cessnock
Our Facebook supporters
Our GoFundMe Supporters (we raised in excess of $30,000 to fund the legal campaign)
The 179,000+ people who have signed our ongoing petition on Change.org
Jennifer van Gessel
Leesa Colgan - Enough (Butterfly Cave)
Everyone who has acknowledged the significance of this precious women's site through art, tattooing, fundraising, rallying and just talking.