Two roadside signs begin to tell the story. The first tells of a car race most locals agree has put the town of Sea Lake, in north-west Victoria, on the map over the past 47 years.
Supporters of the race continue to vent their frustrations. “Some people associated with our event have much more of a spiritual connection to the land than, dare I say, the people from Melbourne that are the actual ones controlling what’s happening,” one person said in a post on The Sea Lake Off Road Club’s Facebook page in July.Dozens of other posts to the page shared similar sentiments before its administrators recently closed the comment section.
The area’s local member, Ali Cupper, an independent, has also expressed her support for the race’s return, pressing Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gabrielle Williams in parliament in 2021 on what assistance the government would provide to revive the event. “These are farming people who’ve endured drought and all sorts of things. They’re not going to give up. They don’t give up,” he says.At 20,860 hectares, Lake Tyrrell is Victoria’s largest inland saltwater lake and forms the centrepiece of the Direl cultural landscape. Occupation of the site by First Peoples has been dated to about 30,000 years ago, making it comparable to the nearby UNESCO World Heritage-listed Willandra Lakes Region in south-western NSW.
After a holiday snap of the lake’s reflection went viral on social media about eight years ago, the lake became a popular international tourist destination, particularly at its south-eastern shoreline, about seven kilometres outside Sea Lake.The first thing you notice about the lake at its northern end is the lack of wildlife. This area contains the lake’s only remnant native vegetation, but there are no waterfowl in sight, nor can a kangaroo or wallaby be spotted at dusk.
“The cultural significance of the lake is everywhere. It’s in the trees, it’s in the lake, it’s in the ground,” says Robby Wirramanda Knight, who considers it his duty to preserve the site.“There’s nothing positive that I can see that can come out of the Mallee Rally for the lake. Whether it is the cultural heritage or the environmental side of things, when you have super-powered vehicles tearing through, nothing stays here,” he says.
LatimoreJack Read that tweey out loud?
LatimoreJack Good account of the fight for lake Direl. It’s a beautiful place steeped in aboriginal history. The issues are complex and emotional, requiring more than sitting down together and taking a deep breath. But that would be a good start.
LatimoreJack 'Now, locals was not bring it back'. Do you even read what you type?
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