A long-running dispute over land surrounding a former Anglican Church on the NSW south coast is intensifying, as the land owner seeks to clarify whether Aboriginal graves lie beneath the proposed development site.
The Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council has lodged an emergency federal protection application to try and stop ground scraping of suspected graves on the site in the town of Huskisson, in Jervis Bay.
Archaeological scraping, or carrying out a surface excavation using a digger to penetrate the top soil, is a way to expose the tops of potential graves.
Ground penetrating radar studies last year concluded there were at least seven Aboriginal graves on the site and further studies revealed there could be many more.
But Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council chief executive Alfred Wellington is against an approval granted by Heritage NSW to proceed with the dig.
"The whole idea of verifying graves on the site by doing excavation is highly, highly, I can't even find the words for it, it's so disrespectful and entirely insulting," he said.
"We view this as a desperate attempt to disprove the existence of burials.
"A leading grave detection expert has already examined the site using ground penetrating radar and concluded there are 73 likely unmarked graves on this site, and in fact recommended further searching of nature strips and under existing buildings.
"What they call verification we call desecration."
Land owner following experts
The local Shoalhaven Council does not support the scraping, but the owner of the land Steven Bartlett went over their head to obtain approval from the state heritage office.
He said he was simply following the views of qualified experts.
"The scrapings are recommended by two Aboriginal heritage experts, the Department of Environment and the NSW Heritage Council, it doesn't matter what I think," he said.
"It is to address this report that is materially flawed which has been latched onto.
"People are claiming there are 74 graves on the site but they haven't read the report."
The ABC understands the report identified more than 70 objects underground, many of which could be graves, but could not definitively say how many.
Ground penetrating radar studies last year concluded there were at least seven Aboriginal graves on the site.
Mr Bartlett said he had tried to consult directly with the land council but so far that hadn't happened.
"We sent our response into the Commonwealth [environment] department with an undertaking we won't be undertaking the works in the next little while," he said.
"Their preference is for further community consultation basically with the Jerrinja Aboriginal Land Council and so far everyone has refused to consult with us."
Shoalhaven's mayor Amanda Findley said a mayoral minute was passed at the most recent council meeting in support of the Jerrinja Aboriginal Land Council.
"It's really offensive to our Jerrinja people that there is scraping going to happen on the graves of their ancestors," she said.
"Something like this is a positive action in my mind that says very clearly to our Jerrinja people that we support their position when it comes to leaving the spirits of their ancestors alone."
The mayor said at the moment she could not see a clear way forward but it would help if the land owner was willing to sit down and talk not just to the Jerrinja people but also the wider community of Huskisson.
"It's a minefield for the developer," she said.
"It's not council's position to be assisting in this because council has given a very clear set of instructions that there was no scraping for graves to be undertaken.
"It's a proceed with caution for the developer."
The land owner previously submitted a development application for a conference centre with accommodation for the site, but that application has since been withdrawn.
