Why this photograph of three men has bitterly divided a community

• Three men spotted standing on Indigenous site 
• Sparked a division among locals 
• READ MORE:  Bushland with ancient Indigenous art faces being bulldozed

An apparently innocent photograph of three men standing on a rocky outcrop in the Queensland bush has stirred up furious controversy among locals.

The trio, one of which was shirtless, were spotted chatting on the summit of White Rock in the Spring Mountain Conservation Estate, southwest Brisbane, on Saturday.

While the sandstone formation is reachable by hiking trails and a climb, it is a significant site for local Indigenous people as a place of ‘women’s business’.

As part of the City of Ipswich’s Cultural Protocol, signs have been erected along trails leading up to White Rock that prohibit climbing the sandstone formation.

One local saw the trio from far away and recorded them conversing on the site using a phone-camera’s powerful zoom before posting the clip to a local Facebook group

Three men have caused a stir among among locals after they were recorded standing and conversing atop a sacred cultural site for the local Indigenous people (pictured)

The local said the group had ignored the signs requesting them not to climb the rock and described them as ‘ignorant and disrespectful’.

The video sparked outrage among locals who were fuming that especially men had been there, while others said they should be allowed up there because ‘it’s nature’.

‘I personally don’t see the harm I realise it says don’t climb but if they aren’t defacing it or leaving rubbish everywhere then no harm done probably just enjoying the view better then having them out doing crime,’ one said in the Redbank Plains group.

‘The rock belongs to no one, it’s part of nature so anyone should be able to walk near it, climb it … Locals have been climbing white rock since the 1800s,’ a second sai.

Others admitted to having climbed the towering rock formation themselves a number of times in the past.

‘I don’t see the problem. I have personally done it heaps of times,’ a user wrote.

‘I still climb it, you won’t be able to walk out your door soon as it will be disrespectful to someone,’ another wrote

Climbing White Rock (pictured), in Brisbane’s southwest, is prohibited by the local council due to it’s cultural significance as a place of ‘women’s business’

But one user compared the trio’s act to someone breaking ‘into the back rooms/bowels of a church because they want to’.

Another said the rock was traditionally a place where Indigenous women would give birth, adding ‘it is a very sacred place for all womenfolk’.

Other areas around White Rock including caves and outcrop overhangs are also considered sacred sites by  the local Indigenous community and council.

‘They provide a link between Country and personal identity and allow the passing on of cultural knowledge,’ the City of Ipswich website reads.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the City of Ipswich for comment.

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