Queensland
As of June 2024, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage database (database) recorded 59,912 site locations in Queensland.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage database
The database is a repository of information established under Part 5 of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2003 and the Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage Act 2003 (the Cultural Heritage Acts) to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parties, researchers, and other people, such as land users, assess the cultural heritage values of an area. The placing of information on the database is not intended to be conclusive about whether the information is up-to-date, comprehensive, or otherwise accurate. There is no statutory protection of sites recorded on the database beyond the Duty of Care provisions set out in Part 3 of the Cultural Heritage Acts.
New site locations
Since April 2020, 7,106 new locations have been recorded on the database. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parties have submitted most of these locations from cultural heritage surveys carried out with land users for various land use activities. The constant rate and volume of submissions to the database show that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural heritage is impacted by land use activities daily in Queensland.
Many locations on the database contain more than one attribute. For example, an art site may have an artefact scatter and be an important story place. Consequently, the total number of site attributes recorded on the database is more than the total number of site locations.
There are no legislative requirements to report cultural heritage site locations. So, the number of new locations recorded on the database does not represent the number of new cultural heritage site locations recorded in Queensland. Many more sites have likely been identified during cultural heritage surveys and heritage management activities.
Artefact scatters
About 77% of new locations include stone artefact scatters. These scatters range from single artefacts and small scatters of a few stone flakes to extensive scatters containing thousands of artefacts and many different stone tools.
The widespread prevalence of stone artefacts in cultural heritage surveys across the state is a tangible expression of the long-term occupation of Queensland by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies over many thousands of years.
Scarred trees
The second most prevalent type added to the database is scarred trees, with about 11% of new locations. Scarred trees have been modified by cultural activities, such as removing bark to make objects like shields or canoes. Many of these locations are recorded in the database as potential or possible scarred trees, suggesting further assessment is necessary to determine if the scars are cultural or natural.
Cultural places
The third most prevalent type is cultural places, with about 6% of new locations. Cultural places include significant geographical features, story places, waterways, bush tucker plants, medicine plants, old-growth trees, totemic animal habitats and other spiritual and cultural connections to Country that may be inherent in the physical landscape. The rise in the number of cultural places recorded on the database reflects the increased participation of Traditional Owners in assessing the cultural values of landscapes across the state.