Parks Victoria Proposes Amendment to Mount Arapiles-Tooan State Park Management Plan

Parks Victoria has announced a proposed amendment to the management plan at the Mount Arapiles-Tooan State Park that would move away from blanket climbing bans and voluntary closures.

The park near Horsham is home to a range of culturally significant sites, including ancient rock art, scar trees, quarries and artefacts linked to Wotjobaluk Traditional Owners, whose connection to the landscape has endured tens of thousands of years.

It is also a world-famous rock climbing destination.

The proposed draft amendment of the park management plan, first written in 1991, would close about 100 climbing routes, while more than 3,000 others would remain open.

Beyond the 100 closures, other routes would gain extra protection including buffer zones, rerouted access tracks and bolt restrictions.

The proposal scales back Parks Victoria's 2024 recommendation to close up to 2000 of the park's roughly 3300 rock climbing routes, to protect cultural heritage.

Currently, voluntary closures exist at five climbing areas of the park, each home to numerous climbing routes.

The public will have four weeks to provide feedback on the proposal.

'Deep consultation'

Parks Victoria CEO Lee Miezis said the new proposal was developed through "deep consultation" with Traditional Owners, Climbing Victoria and other local representatives through the Dyurrite Community Working Group.

"This is about shaping the future of Dyurrite by better protecting the significant cultural heritage values and creating more opportunities for people to connect with and enjoy this remarkable landscape," Mr Miezis said.

The Barengi Gadjin Land Council (BGLC), the official corporate body that represents and manages the Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergaia, and Jupagulk peoples, has been contacted for comment.

Working group tension

The proposal was the topic of tension within the working group last week after Climbing Victoria chair Mike Rockell publicly discussed the proposed amendment before it was finalised.

When asked about Mr Rockell's actions, Mr Miezis said: "I know Climbing Victoria has reached out to BGLC around those issues.

"It is a working group that's really spent 12 months building trust and strengthening collaboration.

"We've certainly revisited that issue as a working group, and we're working with Climbing Victoria."

Climbing Victoria said it "strongly endorses" the amendment, with a few aspects for improvement or clarification.

"We think it's a great outcome, it's been a very carefully worked through solutions that will provide for the protection of the cultural heritage there, but maximises the amount of climbing available," Mr Rockell said.

"In the greater scheme of things, [there are] over 3,300 climbs at Arapiles, [so] it's a small number.

"So, we are very pleased with the [amendment] and strongly support the approach and the outcomes that have been put up for public consultation."

Climbing Victoria said unlike the 2024 Draft Amendment proposal, significant areas would remain open.

It said about 70 climbs and 72 boulder problems would close, about 4.4 per cent of the 3,300 climbs and boulder problems at Arapiles.

"On that list of 70-100 plus, there's a handful of [climbs] that are sort of very popular ones, but the most iconic ones and the very popular ones are open," Mr Rockell said.

"So, from that point of view, there's a little bit of impact there but … it's nothing to be upset about.

"People will be able to start coming to Arapiles, making their travel plans knowing that they're going to have a pretty good smorgasbord of climbs available to them."

Question of bias

Parks Victoria had declined multiple interviews with the ABC this year in regards to climbing access in its western Victorian parks.

Last month, when asked for comments on a climbing access matter at Dyurrite, Parks Victoria referred the ABC to Mr Rockell, describing him as the best-placed person to do the interview.

ABC responded, saying it required an interview with Parks Victoria, the manager of the park, not a stakeholder from the working group.

ABC told Parks Victoria that BGLC echoed the sentiment that Parks Victoria should comment on the issue. Parks Victoria did not respond.

Last week, ABC asked Parks Victoria why it was delegating interviews to Mr Rockell, noting it was the primary authority responsible for park management, making it the official voice for such matters.

In response, Parks Victoria agreed to an interview, in which Mr Miezis doubled down on the decision to redirect the previous interview.

"If there were particulars on climbing and the sort, they're better answered by Climbing Victoria as the peak group for climbers."

He said it was not an indication of bias.

Mr Rockell has been contacted for comment.

Community sessions on the new amendment will be held in Horsham and Natimuk in August.