The Horizontal Falls are one of Australia’s strangest natural attractions, a unique blend of coastal geography and powerful tidal forces that visitors pay big money to see up close.
But all that is about to change.
Located at Talbot Bay, a remote spot on the country’s northwestern coastline, the falls are created when surges of seawater pour between two narrow cliff gaps, creating a swell of up to four meters that resembles a waterfall.
For decades, tours have pierced these gaps on powerful boats, much to the dismay of the area’s Indigenous Traditional Owners, who say the site is sacred.
It’s not the only reason the boat tours are controversial. In May 2022 one boat hit the rocks resulting in passenger injuries and triggering a major rescue operation. The incident led to calls to halt the tours for safety reasons.
Although the boat trips have continued, the concerns of the Indigenous Traditional Owners have now been heeded, with Western Australia, the state in which the falls are situated, saying they will be banned in 2028 out of respect.
It is the privilege of the oppressor to decide when history begins.
I’m paraphrasing a fictional character from a book, but the point stands.
You’re saying that their history and beliefs don’t matter because it infringes on a public good, but you leave out the context where these “public lands” were stolen from the indigenous people through a multigenerational campaign of genocide, and racial subjugation.
So… you find this meager apology and repatriation of some sacred lands to the wronged party here to be intolerable, and unjust?