Image: Deebing Creek Justice - Jarjumbah Protection Site
A protest camp near the site of a former Aboriginal mission in south east Queensland has been removed.
At the request of developers, Queensland police moved in early this morning to the Deebing Creek site near Ipswich, removing protestors who’d been protecting the site since development was first flagged.
A development application for a proposed childcare centre at the Grampian Drive address was met with widespread community backlash over the history of the nearby former Aboriginal mission and burial grounds.
The Deebing Creek Mission operated between 1887 and 1915 before relocating to nearby Purga.
Several developments are proposed for the land, but protectors say it’s their cultural duty is to safeguard songlines, birthing trees, artefacts and other culturally significant items.
Ipswich Mayor, Teresa Harding says there are two Indigenous groups who both have different accounts of the cultural history of the site which makes it “difficult’ for the council to navigate.
She says councillors have engaged with both groups to hear all views on the application and to “better understand the cultural heritage matters that exist in and around the development site”.
Construction company Stockland has also proposed a housing estate at Deebing Heights after reaching an agreement in March with the Yuggera and Ugarapul peoples, who are separate from the protector group.
