Ballina – Lennox Head Bora Ring

Despite the best efforts of the original settlers of the area, there remain traces in the area of the original aboriginal inhabitants. The local people were from the Bundjalung tribe and still live in the area. Lennox Head is lucky to have one of their most sacred sites preserves almost perfectly in the middle of town – a Bora ring.

The Bora ring was used to initiate boys into the tribe as men. This was a pivotal event in every man’s life. It was strictly for men only. To this day, no Aboriginal women are allowed anywhere near the site.

The ceremonial area consists of two rings. The rings were built up using the local soil. As this is mostly sand, it’s very rare for the rings to be preserved once they fall out of use. The ring in Lennox Head is apparently one of the best preserved in Australia. There used to be a second ring closer to the beach, but this has been destroyed be development and natural erosion.

Arriving at the sight, there’s not a great deal to be seen. It’s hard to get a good photo that conveys the size of the sight. The aboriginals request that people not walk over the ring, so I followed their wish and peeked in from the edge.

I imagine, that when it was in use, fences might have been erected to screen the interior of the circle. This is very similar to the religious practices of Stone Age European people. In design, it’s not that dissimilar to Stonehenge, minus the stones.

Given the huge loss of culture and population due to the ravages of invasion, it’s amazing that any sites of Aboriginal Australia are left at all. To have one so well preserved in my local area is an amazing find.