‘We get called extremists for supporting traditional owners’: Doctors between a rock and a hard place
There is opposition to a plan by Parks Victoria to restrict climbing access to protect Mount Arapiles' Indigenous heritage.
Mount Arapiles, a 140-metre rock formation, is dividing both doctors and their wider community.
It is famed within the rock climbing community worldwide, but its traditional name is Dyurrite and it is a place of deep cultural significance to the Wotjobaluk people, the traditional owners.
Dr Michael Connard, one of the local GPs, took up rock climbing to confront his fear of heights. His partner is Wendy Eden, an RN and former professional climber.
But they say the mountain — rising above the Wimmera Plains in western Victoria — is casting a shadow over their consults at the Lister House Clinic in Horsham, because of opposition to a plan by Parks Victoria to restrict climbing access to protect its Indigenous heritage.
