Traditional owners reopen Gunlom Falls in Kakadu after six-year closure
Gunlom Falls, located about 4 hours' drive south-east of Darwin, is one of the most popular spots in the World Heritage-listed national park, famed for its panoramic views.
The return of visitors marks the final chapter in a years-long dispute over the disturbance of a sacred men's site near the falls, for which Parks Australia was fined a record amount for breaching NT laws.
The reopening has been hotly anticipated by tourists and comes at the peak of the territory's tourism season.
A previous planned reopening in May was cancelled at the last minute after unseasonably heavy rain flooded the site.
The Gunlom Falls campground and top pool will be open from 8am this morning, but the bottom pool will remain fenced off for now as rangers continue searching for a saltwater crocodile believed to be inhabiting the area — suspected to be at least 4 metres long.
Traditional dances will be performed later in the morning to celebrate the reopening and a jumping castle will be set up for kids.
"Come enjoy yourself, just have respect for the country itself and respect that the bottom pool is closed for safety reasons until further notice," Bernie Calma, a ranger and traditional owner of the Jawoyn people's Matjba clan, said.
Rangers have carried out extensive crocodile survey work in the lead-up to the reopening and had removed one 2-metre crocodile, Ms Calma confirmed.
But she said a second, bigger crocodile believed to be more than 4 metres long was still unaccounted for.
Jawoyn traditional owners camped out at the site on the day before the waterfall's reopening, in a gathering Ms Calma said was "pretty overwhelming" for many who had not been on-country for some time.
Gunlom Falls has been closed since 2019, when damage to a sacred site triggered a protracted legal dispute that ultimately reached the High Court.
That year, Parks Australia built a walking track to help visitors reach the top pools more safely.
The route went against the wishes of traditional owners and exposed a sacred men's site.
Parks Australia was initially successful in arguing it was immune from the Northern Territory's sacred site laws, but the High Court later overturned that ruling, finding the agency could be held criminally liable.
Parks Australia then pleaded guilty to disturbing the site and carrying out the works without an authority certificate from the NT's sacred site watchdog.
At an on-country hearing last year, Judge Elizabeth Morris said the public expected "conduct of the highest order" from the federal agency and issued it with a $200,000 fine, the largest ever under the NT's sacred site laws.
Ms Calma said the reopening was a moment of closure for traditional owners.
"When we won the court case we all felt really good about it — we were really happy that the ancestors and our old people believed in us, [that we] would fight for country."
The dispute over Gunlom occurred during a period of strain in the relationship between Indigenous custodians and park management.
Ms Calma said that relationship had since been "mended really well" and was now on the right track.
"We're looking forward to working with Parks Australia more on other sacred sites within the park as well," she said.
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