Construction of the scarred tree display at Oak Hill Aboriginal Reserve in north Yass has begun.
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Site preparations including installation of fencing and a gate have been completed and building of the interpretive display of three felled Aboriginal scarred trees is underway.
Ngunnawal Aboriginal elder and member of Yass Valley Council's Aboriginal Consultative Committee, Karen Denny, was pleased to see the fencing and gate installed before Christmas after recently spotting bike tyre marks on the site.
A peg was placed at Oak Hill, near the corner of Orion Street and Cooks Hill Road, in February by Ms Denny and other Ngunnawal Aboriginal elders Brad and Lillian Bell to mark where the scarred trees would be returned to.
The site is of cultural and heritage significance to Yass Valley's Aboriginal community, many members of which lived at Oak Hill until the mid-1950s.
The local Aboriginal community and wider community will remain involved with the project until its completion in 2020 and a special ceremony will be held to mark the official opening of the display.
The scarred trees were cut down in 2004 by the developer of Discovery Drive, just below Oak Hill, who ran out of money before completing the final stage of the development's subdivision and has since left the country.
At the time, Ngunnawal Elders Don and Ruth Bell negotiated with the developer to recover the scarred trees, which were then kept on the reserve, until the council bought the land and the Aboriginal community and the council decided to create an interpretative display of them at Oak Hill.
They have since been treated and stored by Yass Valley Council at its depot.
The protection and conservation of the Aboriginal scarred trees has been a long-standing priority of the council's Aboriginal Consultative Committee and the restoration is part of the council's Reconciliation Action Plan.
The plan outlines agreed initiatives to help the council strengthen its relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI) and to ensure ATSI people are consulted on the council's plans and projects.
The Scarred Tree Display has been funded by Yass Valley Council, the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, South East Local Land Services and TransGrid.
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