Sacred Area Given Highest Protection After Getting Damaged First, As Is Tradition

EAST KIMBERLEY – Western Australia has declared Darrajayin an Aboriginal Protected Area, offering the strongest legal protections available and confirming it is unlawful to disturb the ground or damage vegetation inside the boundary.

Traditional Owners welcomed the step, describing it as hard-won. Government representatives also welcomed it, describing it as “always the intention”, which is a bold claim considering the intention took several years, multiple meetings and one very serious bout of selective hearing.

A spokesperson said the declaration reflects the site’s cultural significance and will prevent future harm. The spokesperson then confirmed the prevention model is simple: wait for harm, then prevent it from happening again by naming the harm “historic” and moving forward with a fresh media backdrop.

Community advocates noted the site holds burial grounds and sacred storylines and should never have been disturbed in the first place. The system responded by unveiling a new method of respecting Country called Proactive Retrospect, where protection is applied once everyone agrees the damage was “regrettable”.

To mark the declaration, officials announced a “heritage awareness package”, including signage, a leaflet and a compulsory training module titled Sacred Sites: Not A Suggestion.

At the celebratory presser, one invented official quote was provided for the occasion: “We’re proud to stand here today and confirm we absolutely support cultural protections, especially once they’ve been formatted correctly.”