General News
19 February, 2026
Readers write on issues important to them
Letters to the editor on speed and scar trees
Tree relocation insensitive
Sir, Lake Boort is not just another wetland. It is one of the most culturally significant Aboriginal landscapes in Australia, containing the largest known concentration of scarred trees in the world, along with cooking mounds, burial sites and artefacts that speak to tens of thousands of years of continuous occupation.
Recent suggestions that culturally significant scar trees could simply be cut down and relocated are deeply insensitive and fundamentally misunderstand what cultural heritage protection means.
These trees are not museum objects. Their meaning comes from place—from their connection to Country, to water, to surrounding oven mounds and burial sites. Removing them does not protect culture; it fragments and diminishes it.
One has to ask: if scar trees are removed “for protection,” how exactly does that protect the cooking mounds, middens and burial sites that remain in situ? It doesn’t. You cannot relocate an entire cultural landscape.
We would never suggest dismantling and relocating St Paul’s Cathedral to protect it from inappropriate use.
Nor would we move war memorials, historic cemeteries or heritage homesteads and claim their meaning was preserved. Aboriginal cultural heritage deserves the same respect.
I have worked in wetland restoration across Victoria, including RAMSAR-listed sites and wetlands on private property.
I have seen excellent work done by groups such as the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia, including the installation of nesting boxes around Hird Swamp. That work deserves recognition.
However, I have also seen first-hand the aftermath of duck opening at wetlands: damage to sensitive sites, rubbish, human waste, camping on Aboriginal cooking mounds, and the illegal killing of protected species including swans, ibis, cormorants and protected ducks.
Around Big Lake Boort and nearby wetlands, I have not seen duck shooters undertaking protection or restoration works. What I have seen is the damage left behind.
The only consistent on-ground protection and restoration I have observed around Lake Boort has been carried out by local conservationists and Traditional Owners.
Lake Boort should be a place of cultural respect and environmental care, not a sacrifice zone once a year. Supporting the application to protect it from duck hunting is not anti-community or anti-tradition—it is about recognising that some places are simply too important to keep damaging.
If we truly value Lake Boort’s cultural and environmental significance, we must protect the whole landscape, not just move the evidence out of the way.
James Nelsson
President
Wedderburn Conservation Management Network
Put Smiling Sams in every town
Sir, The community of Wedderburn are asking why we are in need of a Smiling Sam speed sign like our sister town Inglewood .
This sign would be beneficial to all towns within the shire.
These signs are such a fantastic idea to slow traffic and encourage speed limits. We are asking the Council to purchase to save lives and increase safety 10 fold!
Cheryl Fowler
Wedderburn
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