Heritage Surveys

Aboriginal sites are defined under Section 5 of the Western Australian amended Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 (the Act), “as any place of importance and significance to Aboriginal people”. Aboriginal sites are also a significant part of the cultural heritage of Western Australia.

In essence there are two main types of Aboriginal sites: ethnographic sites and archaeological sites.

• Ethnographic sites are places known to Traditional Owners as part of their cultural traditions – places typically with mythological or ceremonial meaning.

• Archaeological sites are places where evidence of the past activities of Aboriginal groups or people has been preserved. Archaeological sites typically comprise artefacts and/or features.

Under Section 17 of the Act, it is an offence to knowingly disturb an Aboriginal site in any way without authorisation from the Registrar of the Department of Indigenous Affairs (under Section 16) or the Minister (under Section 18).  In this context then, for any development or similar ground disturbing project, it is advisable to first establish if there are Aboriginal sites within the development scope before these sites are inadvertently disturbed.

Finding sites and recording them is what Big Island does.

You can use the DPLH’s Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Inquiry System to check if there is Aboriginal Cultural Heritage already recorded on or near your project area here. If no sites are listed, it is likely that either no previous heritage survey work has been undertaken or that sites that have been found have not been reported to the DPLH. There are very few parts of Western Australia where you wouldn’t expect to find Aboriginal sites.

If sites are listed, Big Island can advise if the existing site records and mapping are adequate for your requirements. You may find that only part of the area you are interested in has been surveyed.  We may know of, or find, other heritage work that has been done in the area and whether other reports may be available to you. Many sites on the Site Register were recorded years ago before the use of GPS and identifying their location on the ground is sometimes very difficult. Other sites may be inadequately recorded. Getting it right before you start a project can save a lot of time and expense later!  

There are, of course, different ways of doing surveys and different ways of recording sites. Methodologies for conducting heritage surveys are discussed, in general terms, on the DPLH website here. At Big Island we typically recommend the following approach:

Work Program Heritage Assessment

For discrete areas such as tracks and drill holes we will likely recommend a Work Program Heritage Assessment. This is a targeted survey that will inspect the areas you have nominated for your tracks or drill lines or small camp areas. Depending on the size of the survey area the archaeological survey team will typically include one or two archaeologists and up to four Indigenous people. We will walk in transects – straight lines some 30-40 m apart depending on the dimensions and topography of the survey area – looking for archaeological material and sites. Any sites found will be recorded in the first instance to Site Avoidance level.

Ethnographic sites will be recorded by an Anthropologist typically working with older or more senior Aboriginal people. While both teams may choose to work together, more typically the Anthropologist and senior Aboriginal people drive to recognised points in the landscape to discuss and record the ethnographic values of the country. 

Work Area Heritage Assessment

A similar approach can be taken over bigger work areas. But remember, survey work is time consuming and labour intensive. To be cost effective you should think carefully about the extent of the area you want to investigate. In many instances Traditional Owners are reluctant to survey broad work areas and a more well-defined approach is often more successful.

If sites are found within your development and cannot be avoided, you will need to apply under Section 18 of the Act for permission to disturb the land on which the sites are located. For your application to be considered, sites that will be impacted by your proposed development need to be comprehensively recorded first. 

Site Avoidance Recording

The principle behind site avoidance recording is that you can establish the location of sites so that they can be avoided by project development. Site Avoidance recording means that we will tell you where a site is, we will map its boundaries and also record details of its location and what type of site it is, sufficient to map and register it as a site on the DPLH Register if requested. We will also record a sample of the types of artefacts or features found.

Having a company representative available during the survey means that decisions about avoiding sites can be made on the ground and alternative routes or locations investigated.

 Section 18 or Site Identification Recording

Section 18 or Site Identification recording provides a comprehensive documentation of sites that you wish to apply to disturb. As with survey work there are a number of ways to record sites to Section 18/Site ID level.  An important component of Section 18 or Site Identification recording is significance assessment.

Ethnographic Sites:    Ethnographic site recording to Section 18 or Site Identification standard involves considered discussion with relevant Aboriginal people and groups to record the site’s story. Sites may be significant to Aboriginal people for spiritual, social, aesthetic or historical reasons.

Archaeological Sites.    Big Island uses a sensible and structured approach to Section 18 or Site Identification recording to ensure that archaeological sites are well recorded and an adequate sample of archaeological material is documented. Comprehensive site mapping and photography is undertaken. Full metrics are recorded on a sample of stone artefacts and features.  Archaeological significance is considered in relation to a series of criteria and research questions that essentially evaluate the uniqueness of a site and its capacity to contribute new knowledge. The social or other significance of archaeological sites to Aboriginal people is also considered.

Big Island is happy to talk to you about your development plans. We can advise where we think it is most likely that sites will occur in your project area and can provide background research and impact modeling to identify areas that are probably best to avoid.

Getting started

To get started, and for us to understand what you’ll require, we need you to provide us with a geo-referenced map, showing the location of your project area, proposed development or work program and associated infrastructure. On the basis of the information you give us we will provide you with a time and cost estimate for the work to be done or, if issues are identified, advice on how we think the heritage survey work you require might be more effectively managed.

How are Aboriginal people involved?

Aboriginal people participate in all heritage work undertaken by Big Island. Big Island is typically engaged through Aboriginal Representative Bodies or other groups and provided with a project brief/scope of work, negotiated with a developer, and which will detail where and when a heritage assessment is required. As part of the field survey and site assessment a team of typically 2-4 Aboriginal people selected by their rep body will walk with archaeologists and/or anthropologists through the nominated survey area identifying and assisting in the recording of heritage sites. Discussions held with Aboriginal representatives will clarify their concerns about sites and provide recommendations to manage the sites in the context of the proposed development.