Case file · Sacred site
Hindmarsh Island 'secret women's business'
In 1994 Ngarrindjeri women opposed a bridge to Hindmarsh Island (Kumarangk), citing secret sacred women's traditions. A 1995 Royal Commission found the claims fabricated; in 2001 the Federal Court found no evidence of fabrication.
1994 CE · -35.52, 138.86 · status: disputed
The account
The case divided the Ngarrindjeri community and became a national argument about whether secret knowledge can be tested in court. The bridge opened in 2001.