On a scorching day, in front of a pristine waterhole, Parks Australia has accepted it was criminally liable for building a walkway over sacred rock art along Gunlom Falls in Kakadu National Park.
Parks Australia on Tuesday pleaded guilty to criminal liability after damaging a men's sacred site under the NT Sacred Site Act after building a walkway over the sacred rock art in 2019.
Before NT Chief Judge Elizabeth Morris, custodians and traditional owners sat beneath a marquee listening to the plea before sharing their own pain over the five-year long battle.
Parks Australia had claimed as a Commonwealth entity it was not subject to the territory's laws but in May, a High Court appellant bench ruled in favour of Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority, Jawoyn custodians and traditional owners.
Junggayi (traditional police man) Joseph Markham shared how Gunlom Falls sits at the bottom of Buladjang (Sickness Country), where the Bula creation spirit sleeps.
He explained the men's site under Jawoyn law is forbidden for women but when the walkway was built over it, not only did it disturb Bula, it risked making women and children sick when they visited Gunlom Falls.
Wurrkbarbar man and traditional owner Joshua Hunter's voice broke as he spoke about his ancestors and family who have cared for Gunlom.
"Gunlom is where I saw my mother carry out traditional duties, cooking bush tucker, barramundi, fish for guests," he said.
"It's a place where I saw my mother happy, and now that she's passed, I guess there's a strong connection with my mother and Gunlom herself."
He wrote in his victim impact statement that Gunlom is a "place of pride" where many who live in abject poverty "can forget that" and live by the abundance of life that the falls offer.
Mr Hunter, who is a law man for the site, said he had believed Parks Australia would honour its plans to build the site around and above the sacred site but was angered that their knowledge was ignored.
"It's better to have nothing to do with it than have something to do with it, and then it goes wrong when you're not present,"
The pathway was originally planned in consultation with Wurrkbarbar and Bolmo people, who jointly manage Kakadu National Park with five other clan groups.
During construction the route for the walkway was moved by a female project manager who claimed she did not understand the significance of its route.
Wurrkbarbar and Matjba woman Bernadette Calma who sits on the Kakadu management board told the courts she first heard the path had been moved by Jawoyn people "who had seen" it rather than heard it from Parks Australia.
After the struggles of the past five years, and the sites closure to the public, she says her people struggle to trust balanda law.
Bolmo traditional owner Rachael Willika said Parks Australia should pay a "big price" for the harm they have caused to people and country.
"It shattered my spirit," she said.
"I was I was all broken down like something's gonna happen, because this place is very important for us to carry on and and look after this country.
Ms Willika said she wants her spirit and that of her ancestors to be happy.
"So that place we need it to be healed. This place needs to be healed. This country need to be healed," she told the court.
Parks Australia has since applied for an authority certificate from the sacred-site watchdog, the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority, to work near the sacred site in order to restore the pathway.
Judge Morris will hand down her sentence to Parks Australia on Wednesday at a second day of on-country hearings.
