‘Wow, that took a while’: After two-year delay, verdict reached on fate of 200-year-old landmark

NSW Heritage Minister Penny Sharpe has added the 200-year-old Hunter Valley sheep station Ravensworth to the state’s heritage list, despite opposition from its owner, the coal miner Glencore, and continuing debate about its contested Indigenous history.

In a statement, Sharpe acknowledged the decision had taken “much longer than the statutory deadline” of two weeks. The Heritage Council recommended the listing in late 2023.

“Sometimes decisions are complex, and it is appropriate that ministers take time to consider the many facets of an issue and talk to those involved,” she said.

“I note that [Glencore] do not support the listing, and they expressed this to me in person.”

Located between Singleton and Muswellbrook in the Upper Hunter, the 450-hectare site is surrounded by open-cut coal mine properties mostly owned by Glencore, including the controversial Glendell mine to the south.

Known as the Ravensworth Homestead Complex, it was settled by Dr James Bowman and his wife, Mary Macarthur Bowman. She had been given a generous dowry including 2000 sheep by her parents, John and Elizabeth Macarthur.

The listing said Ravensworth could provide rare insights into Aboriginal history and frontier conflict, colonial building techniques, farming practices and the working lives of convicts in a non-institutional setting.

As part of her deliberations, Sharpe visited Ravensworth, met with owners and local Aboriginal groups, and others. Submissions overwhelmingly favoured the listing.

Sharpe said Glencore, which opposed the listing on the grounds it would prevent mining operations, had also raised the possibility of expanding its nearby Glendell mine, though there were no applications or approvals so far.

The site was associated with the 1826 slaughter of Aboriginal people known as the Ravensworth Massacre, thought to be one of the worst in NSW in the frontier wars.

Yet, the exact location is contested.

Scott Franks, a Wonnarua elder, has been fighting for listing for years. Exhausted and happy, he said it was a critical step toward truth-telling and justice for Wonnarua people.

“This land is profoundly significant to my people, and we’ve fought long and hard against a billion-dollar mining company to have it recognised and protected,” Franks said.

“The massacres and resistance at Ravensworth Homestead are well-documented.”

He hopes the site will also be recognised as an Aboriginal place under the NSW’s Parks and Wildlife Act.

Laurie Perry, another local elder, believes the massacre happened 30 kilometres away.

When told of the listing, he said, “Wow, that took a while.”

A University of Newcastle database of colonial massacres says it happened near Ravensworth.

NSW’s Independent Planning Commission rejected Glencore’s 2022 application to continue operating Glendell, citing Indigenous cultural values and heritage impact.

Glencore also disputed the locations of the massacres. It previously offered to relocate the buildings, brick by brick.

A spokesperson for Glencore said the company had no comment at this time.

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