A neo-Nazi group has defied a ban on climbing a mountain, unfurling a banner claiming the mountain for the ‘white man’ after it was closed off because of its significance to Aboriginal people.
Members of the far-right group National Socialist Network were seen masked in balaclavas on Mount Warning in NSW, holding up a banner reading ‘Mt Warning for white man’ from a vantage point at the summit and later attaching it to a fence.
One of the uniformly black-clad men holds an Australian flag, while two others display the neo-Nazi flag.
Mt Warning, now known as Wollumbin, was closed to climbers along the trail four years ago during the Covid pandemic, but has since remained closed due to its cultural significance to Indigenous Australians, particularly the Bundjalung nation.
“The National Socialist Network in Queensland traveled to climb Mt Warning last weekend,” the group said.
“White Australians have built and maintained the trail for almost a century, and white Australians will decide who climbs it.”
In August, a hiking activist and a NSW state MP also defied a ban on climbing the mountain at Murwillumbah in northern NSW.
Members of far-right group National Socialist Network in Queensland stage a protest at Mount Warning, which is closed to non-Indigenous people
NSW House of Lords MP John Ruddick and Marc Hendrickx, from advocacy group Right to Climb, were photographed putting their arms around each other’s shoulders at the summit viewpoint, wearing Libertarian Party-branded clothing.
‘Access to these beautiful natural places is part of what truly underlies and builds our Australian character; and if we can’t get to these places then it’s actually an attack on being Australian,” Mr Hendrickx said.
‘Mount Warning is a really charismatic mountain and so I understand why some Aboriginal groups say it’s a sacred mountain, but I agree with other Aboriginal groups who say look, it’s sacred, but it’s so sacred that anyone should be able to climb it,” Mr Ruddick said.
A member of the black-clad and masked group was seen tying the sign to the lookout fence
In August, both men spoke to Daily Mail Australia about the current regulations around Mount Warning, the decline of the trails and the state government for continually extending the closure.
NSW National Parks has defended the ban
“Wollumbin is of great importance to Aboriginal people, especially the Bundjalung Nation,” the report said.
‘Visitors are asked to respect their wishes and not climb the summit route.’
“Decisions regarding the future of the summit circuit will be made by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, in accordance with the wishes of Aboriginal trustees.”
The Traditional Custodians are represented by the Wollumbin Consultative Group, which represents a range of Aboriginal groups and families with links to Wollumbin, according to its website.
NSW MP John Ruddick (left) and Marc Hendrickx, member of advocacy group Right to Climb, (right) climbed the Wollumbin-Mount Warning summit on Saturday, despite the course being closed to the public since 2020
The group previously caused an uproar when they claimed that admitting women – including women of indigenous descent – would ruin its cultural significance.
It has also been criticized for its ‘secrecy’ and the difficulty of getting a response from it.
“I’m not confident,” Mr Ruddick said.
‘It’s a very secretive group. I have requested meetings with them through national parks a number of times, but I have been denied access,” said Mr Hendrickx.
“I haven’t been able to contact them, get phone numbers or contact them. I would like to sit at the table and discuss the issue face-to-face.”
Mr Ruddick presented a petition to the NSW Parliament in August calling for the immediate reopening of the Wollumbin Mount Warning summit earlier this year.
Mount Warning is famous for being the highest peak at Australia’s easternmost point and therefore the first part of Australia to receive sunlight every day
The MP said the closure is costing the region millions in lost tourism revenue and branded the move to close as a “power grab.”
“This closure hurts this city. There used to be hundreds of thousands of people who came to climb this incredible, very unique mountain, but they don’t come anymore,” Mr Ruddick said.
“I spent about seven hours here yesterday with the local community in the pub, the main meeting place for the town, and not a single person I met said they had ever heard it was a sacred Aboriginal site until Covid.”
Mount Warning is famous for being the highest peak at Australia’s easternmost point, making it the first part of Australia to receive sunlight every day.
The peak attracted more than 127,000 visitors annually before the picturesque Tweedshire trail closed in March 2020.