Castlemaine residents were among up to 60 protesters arrested last week at a controversial highway upgrade site in Western Victoria, after emotions ran high amid claims a culturally significant tree had been felled.
Castlemaine’s Gabe Lillington, 21, was arrested and bailed late last week after spending several days and two nights up a tree as part of actions to protect numerous trees from proposed roadworks to duplicate the Western Highway between Ararat and Buangor.
The former Castlemaine Secondary College student is also one of about 30 Castlemaine residents who have been on site in recent days supporting efforts by the Djab Wurrung Aboriginal Embassy and others to halt the highway duplication and protect roadside trees they say hold immense cultural significance for traditional owners.
Aged in her 70s, Castlemaine great grandmother, Spring Blossom (Janet Tough), also last week spent several hours in a tree protesters said had considerable cultural significance.
Spring Blossom last week became one of the protestors arrested and bailed to appear at Ararat Court at a later date, with part of the area involved in the dispute fenced off and a significant police presence on site earlier last week.
Castlemaine’s Gabe Lillington 21, spent all of last Tuesday and Wednesday nights far above ground level in a large eucalypt.
Gabe’s father Ian Lillington said his son came down from the tree late on Thursday afternoon after learning that ongoing Supreme Court action aimed at protecting the trees and the area’s Indigenous cultural heritage had resulted in a stay on work at the site – at least until mid-November.
Djab Wurrung Embassy’s Zellanach Djab Mara said a tree removed earlier last week was a culturally significant Directions Tree.
The state government has disputed this, with transport infrastructure minister, Jacinta Allan, last week quoted as saying no trees had been, or would be, removed as a part of the Western Highway work without consent of representatives of the 12 families that made up the Djab Wurrung people.
“It’s been quite a horrendous time. It’s been quite tough,” Zellanach Djab Mara told the Express.
“There’s a stop works in some particular areas of the landscape until November 19.
“There’s a number of culturally significant trees along that particular area. There are hundreds of culturally sensitive trees.
“The whole landscape in itself is very important. There are some very, very sacred stone formations also within the land.”
Those objecting to the proposed duplication route, like Castlemaine’s Lucy Young who has also been on site, say there are workable alternatives that could make the highway safer without destroying the trees, including an alternative route or reducing speed limits.
“There’s a perfectly good highway there that they could upgrade,” Zellanach Djab Mara said.
“It also goes through the town of Ararat to help the economy.”
Gabe’s father, Castlemaine resident Ian Lillington, said he was extremely proud of his son’s efforts to protect the trees and the area’s Indigenous cultural heritage.
“I have a real concern that we, as a nation, are losing this beautiful landscape that has immense ecological and tourist value as well,” he told the Express.
