For years tourists have ridden boats through this sacred Australian natural wonder. A new ban will stop them in their tracks
For years tourists have ridden boats through this sacred Australian natural wonder. A new ban will stop them in their tracks
Tour boats will soon be banned from passing through what naturalist David Attenborough has described as “Australia’s most unusual natural wonder,” a move that has received both applause and criticism from those affected by the upcoming restrictions.
The Horizontal Falls are one of Australia’s strangest natural attractions, a unique blend of coastal geography and powerful tidal forces that visitors pay big money to see up close.
But all that is about to change.
Located at Talbot Bay, a remote spot on the country’s northwestern coastline, the falls are created when surges of seawater pour between two narrow cliff gaps, creating a swell of up to four meters that resembles a waterfall.
For decades, tours have pierced these gaps on powerful boats, much to the dismay of the area’s Indigenous Traditional Owners, who say the site is sacred.
It’s not the only reason the boat tours are controversial. In May 2022 one boat hit the rocks resulting in passenger injuries and triggering a major rescue operation. The incident led to calls to halt the tours for safety reasons.
Although the boat trips have continued, the concerns of the Indigenous Traditional Owners have now been heeded, with Western Australia, the state in which the falls are situated, saying they will be banned in 2028 out of respect.
I am a non-Aboriginal Australian who lived in a remote community for many years and I can tell you that when white people go somewhere where we are not the dominant culture we struggle. People being told they need to ask permission to go to the beach, or go camping in a certain spot really rubbed so many people the wrong way. Yet if a kid walked into their yard, that kid would get scalded. What if this were compared to a farmer who has a popular waterfall on their property and they stop letting the public go there. They wouldn't need a reason to give, but they would probably say safety or disrespectful behaviour, because there would be backlash from people who felt they had the right to go there. This will outrage white people because it inconveniences them.
Aboriginal Australians had their land stolen and have had to unfairly use the systems of the culture that stole that land to try and reclaim it. It is taking time with court cases and education, and sometimes, they have a small win. So many people only want Aboriginal cultures to be seen and not heard. Respect means saying an acknowledgement of country, and dusting your hands of that. So much pearl clutching when a genuine concession is made. If you want to go anywhere on someone else's property then open your house to the public.
I love this line:
Critics fear ban will reduce visitor numbers
It's sort of like...yes, that's the point. You don't want stinking tourists at a holy site.
Remote doesn't even approach it.
I thought to myself, I been in Western Australia. Let me see how far is away from Perth it is, result is about 2200 km or 24h of non stop driving to get in the vicinity.
Nearest road is more than 30 km away
Good news!! Not everything needs milked for profit.
Safety? Sure, I'll bite.
It being "sacred"? C'mon. Any place that looks unique and had ancient folks living by it is probably going to be considered sacred to them, from Everest to Niagara Falls to the Giant's Causeway.
I don’t understand your point, it makes perfect sense for ancient cultures to have spaces considered sacred around them.
Are you casually suggesting that a culture that has lived in an area far longer than anyone else doesn’t have the right to consider parts of the landscape around them sacred?
Just because the land was stolen from indigenous cultures doesn’t mean they don’t still rightfully have a claim on it. At a bare minimum they should be able to demand preservation of the sacred places among the land stolen from them.
If you want to come after “people trying to make everything into sacred spaces” or something, sure, let’s talk about the way churches can completely dodge taxes and other laws that the rest of us have to adhere to (at least in the US), why waste your breath saying “c’mon” about a devastated indigenous population protecting a beautiful and highly unusual natural feature?
As a last point, do you honestly NOT understand how this place or Everest or Niagra Falls or the Giants Causeway are sacred places? You don’t have to subscribe to spirituality of that culture or even believe in god at all to understand when a place is sacred. Do you look at a place like Niagra and think “meh, just another place who cares”? Do you think the tallest mountain in the world should have so many tourists shuffling along to climb to the top that the mountain is inundated with trash?
When an indigenous culture identifies a place as sacred, those are the people that know that land better than anyone else and have passed down a culture of stories born out of that landscape, we should listen.
I don’t understand your point
Maybe I was too subtle then. To spell it out more clearly: I don't think the majority of places that any ancient culture considers sacred should be blocked from the public. I can understand not wanting folks traipsing over burial mounds that were actually built by their ancestors, but if someone is going to say "No you can't go to Niagara falls!", because their 35th great grandpa thought the view was divinely inspired, that's just dumb.
Irish person here: Giant's Causeway isn't a sacred place. It's a bunch of igneous rock. And, get this: nobody lives or ever lived on Everest. You know whose view is ruined by rubbish on Everest? The people paying to go there.
This is an utter waste of human energy.
Ancient folks? Indigenous people are still around, you just don't give a fuck about them, and you don't give a fuck about their most sacred places.
Wow people actually downvoted you over pointing out that they exist and have rights.
I feel the same way. If I'm going to be an atheist, I can't draw the line at which primitive superstition is nonsense. Either they all are or none are.
I get it, it's a natural wonder that nobody at the time could comprehend. That doesn't make it "sacred".
Banning it for safety? Sure. This is why we can't have nice things.
And beyond safety banning for obnoxious destruction of the peace.
This is literally their area(well 50% state gov). Just because you are atheist doesn't mean you can go into their place & do what you want. Would you do a burnout in a church? Would you break a foreign countries laws because they aren't yours? Being atheist doesn't absolve you from humanism or courtesy.
Yeah this is me too. Fuck all religion. You consider it sacred? Fine by me, but I will absolutely refuse to be bound by your faith.
{In reality I'm as far away as Australia as possible and nothing I say has any material effect I'm just saying this to support the notion that atheism is non discriminatory}
Our Abrahamic concept of “religion” bundles together a lot of tendencies that aren’t necessarily linked, anthropologically. If we translate another culture’s relationship with some natural phenomenon as “sacred”, that doesn’t mean it has the same specifically religious connotations for them that the term would imply in our culture. And it doesn’t mean that our attitude toward religion should carry over to their relationship with their environment.
So what you're really saying is that they don't deserve their history and to have sacred spots. That, it seems, is only for others to have.
I heard stories that whenever the Australia government want to do anything. Say they find aluminium and want to mine it. Aboriginals will come from all around and say that it's a burial ground, or it's sacred or something because then they can get more money because the government has a system for pay off the Aboriginals. I don't know how true that is but I can believe it.
I chatted to an elder and he said they was building something in town so they asked him to come and ceremony for it. He refused. He said that as far as he knows no one ever lived there. He said sure people lived there, pointing over there, and there. But no one lived here. It's no body's land how can I talk about my ancestors if my ancestors didn't live here. He then went on a rant about how he hates everyone saying they are aboriginal and getting free funding or money and stuff. Then there some black kid (they soemtimes described themselves as black or blackfellers in this part of Aus) not having access to a school or any funding for them.
It was really interesting.
But I got to admit there is a lot of shit the aboriginal get away with and they need both the government and the elders to treat people more like grown ups rather than as someone has been slighted and now has loads of excuses to act in shitty ways. Like recently seen a video of lot of damage done to Alice Springs, just because. So how sacred this thing is I don't know.
But also me and my girlfriend was talking about how our housemates judged us for going out and doing stuff on Easter Sunday. But you could easily argue from a Christian point of view enjoying God's creation is a form of worship. Wonder if they have different opinions like that in Australia.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The Horizontal Falls are one of Australia’s strangest natural attractions, a unique blend of coastal geography and powerful tidal forces that visitors pay big money to see up close.
Located in the Kimberley Region, 1,900 kilometers (1,180 miles) north of the state capital Perth, the Horizontal Falls are within Maiyalam, one of three protected marine parks created in 2022 that were co-designed, and now co-managed, by Traditional Owners and the WA Government.
After the ban takes effect, boats will still be allowed to cruise Talbot Bay, offering visitors a close-up view of the cascading spectacle that British naturalist David Attenborough has called “Australia’s most unusual natural attraction.”
“Respect the power of this place, and our cultural obligations to care for Country and keep you safe,” they asked of visitors, referring to their ancient role as custodians of Australia’s landscape.
In preparation for the Horizontal Falls ban, the Dambeemangaddee stated they have begun creating new videos and brochures that will explain their culture and spiritual connection to Talbot Bay.
However, the ban was supported by Kimberley Day Cruise CEO Sally Shaw, who told CNN the company’s Horizontal Falls tours only venture near, not between these cliff gaps.
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Religious bullshit is A-OK only if it's some obscure native religion otherwise go atheism!