[category]
[title]
Parks Victoria placed a ban on more than 100 rock-climbing routes, all near Mount Arapiles, which is widely regarded as Australia's top rock-climbing area. The five banned parts – Chicken Boulder, Pharos Boulders, Castle Crag, Taylors Rock and Plaque Rock, which includes Tiger Wall – contain 3,000-year-old rock art, tens of thousands of artefacts, and one of the largest Aboriginal stone quarry complexes found in the country. Yet many in the rock-climbing community say they don't plan to comply with this request.
Parks Victoria shared in November 2021 that it was working with Barengi Gadjin Land Council to determine a longer-term management response for protecting the Mount Arapiles climbing areas that have significant Indigenous cultural heritage. A formal ban has yet to be put in place, but rock climbers expected an update when Mike Tompkins, president of the Australian Climbing Association of Victoria, posted in the Climbing Access Discussion Facebook group that the climbing bans in the area “were off”. A state government spokesperson since confirmed to the ABC “there have been no changes to current climbing access at Mount Arapiles”.
Following the confusion, the Climbing Victoria Facebook group recently shared a post from Parks Victoria confirming the climbing area closures were still in place. Members of the group commented on the post saying they don't plan to follow the ban.
“Just keep climbing!!!”, wrote one. “If they want to ban certain areas they better get training. What are they going to do… Chase someone up a hard core 30?”, wrote another. Another member added: “We’ve held off for years. If they can’t figure it out in that time, what good are they?”.
The Guardian Australia reports a consultation process on the ban in 2025 comprised 581 submissions, 1,094 online surveys and an online information session with more than 365 people. “Participants felt the amendments represent a significant loss and disregard for the climbing community and diminish Mount Arapiles as a premier climbing destination,” the report said.
The report concluded: “The overwhelming majority of participants expressed concern about the consultation process and felt a strong sense of loss for their much-loved rock-climbing activity.
“While many participants showed respect for the need to protect cultural heritage, there was strong feedback calling for the scope of the permanent restrictions to be reconsidered. The climbing community has built a special bond with the land as well that should not be ignored.”
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Melbourne newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.