A Victorian metal detectorist and YouTube star says he is "gobsmacked" after being threatened with prosecution by the state for allegedly disturbing archeological sites.
Luke Phillips, who regularly documents his metal detecting finds in regional Victoria for his popular YouTube channel 'Dig It Detecting', was issued with a warning letter from the Department of Transport and Planning's Heritage Victoria last week.
The letter, seen by 9news.com.au, stated Phillips was breaching heritage laws by "interfering and removing" artefacts from likely archeological sites.
The Heritage Act defines any sites that are 75 years or older, or which contain items that are at least 75 years old, as archaeological sites, even if they are not listed on any heritage registers.
Digging on archeological sites required special permission, which Phillips had not sought, the letter said.
Penalties for breaching the Heritage Act included either 12 months prison time, a fine of $115,000 or both, the letter said.
Heritage Victoria is investigating the alleged breaches and has ordered Phillips to list when and where he found all of the archaeological artefacts in his possession, or face a fine of almost $2000.
Phillips, who has been metal detecting for six years and has a following of 30,000 on his social media platforms, said he had never heard of the 75-year rule in the Heritage Act before he was first approached by officials in November last year.
"We all know, as detectors, that there are heritage sites that are listed and that they are a 'no-go' zone; they are protected and for good reason," he said.
But the metal detectorist said he was surprised by the inclusion of non-heritage listed sites in the legislation, and now felt his hobby, and that of many others, was under attack.
"I'm just bewildered, I'm gobsmacked to be honest," he said.
"I strongly felt then, and I still feel now, that I'm not doing anything wrong."
"What I share on my YouTube videos is myself and my two sons going detecting at local sports fields, parks, ovals, or recreation reserves," he said.
"We go to old schools that are abandoned; these sorts of places, they are not on heritage lists.
"I have never detected or removed artefacts from any known heritage-listed sites, ever."
Phillips said he also often approached landowners to ask their permission to detect on their non-heritage listed properties.
"I always get the landowners consent to go on to their land and I always offer up to the landowner anything I find if they would like to keep it.
"If not, I'll take it home and add it to my collection."
Phillips said he loved promoting the history of his local area, was a member of two historical societies and often gave speeches at schools about his finds.
"I'm not some big, bad criminal who unearths stuff, sells it on the black web and profits from it," he said.
Phillips said he believed he was being targeted for his high profile, but if the rules were enforced by Heritage Victoria more broadly they could essentially amount to "a ban on metal detecting".
"They expect us to declare everything that we find that predates the 75-year rule, which puts you back to 1949," he said.
"Where's our freedom when we can't even go have a weekend with our kids and metal detect in a public park and pull up a 1940 penny, or an early shilling from the 1900s, without being potentially prosecuted for it?
"It also means that in 20 or 30 years we're going to be having to declare our one-cent and two-cent coins."
A spokesperson for Heritage Victoria said: "We support Victorians who undertake metal detecting as a hobby and as something people can do without any issues in the majority of cases, but if it interferes with historical archaeological sites, you need to follow the rules so we can protect Victoria's history."
9news.com.au understands homeowners or prospectors who accidentally find or disturb individual artefacts are not in breach of the Heritage Act.
Phillips said he had been flooded with support from other metal detectorists in the industry, with an online petition so far attracting more than 1700 signatures.
"At the end of the day, if I've got to get fined or do jail time, bring it on," he said.
"It might just be another Eureka Stockade, because how can I sit in jail for something thousands of other people are doing as a recreational hobby? I am going to stand strong on this one."
