'Gatekeeping septuagenarians': 'Inappropriate' TikTok video deleted

The National Trust of South Australia (NTSA) says one of its volunteers has apologised for an "inappropriate" TikTok video and labelling dissenting members "gatekeeping septuagenarians".

The since-deleted clip was created last week at the Moonta Mines Heritage Precinct, the subject of a deepening rift between its owner NTSA and the local community.

The social media reel showed the person, who the ABC is not naming, pulling down "no photo" signs in the historic School of Mines with text reading: "Sex is great, but have you ever experienced the euphoria of ripping down every single no photo sign in a stuffy museum?"

The analogy is commonly-used internet meme for heaping superlative praise.

The post is captioned: "If [the signs] weren't laminated, I'd have burned them!"

The video's creator also commented: "I'm officially not tolerating intimidation or harassment from gatekeeping septuagenarians and their vigilantes any more!"

In a statement, NTSA said it "spoke directly with the volunteer involved once we were made aware of the video".

"The volunteer has acknowledged her actions were inappropriate and were undertaken without the authorisation and knowledge of the Trust,"

the spokesperson said.

"She has apologised and conveyed to us that it was not her intent to cause any offence.

"The video has since been deleted."

Before the video was removed, it surfaced on a Facebook community page and received widespread backlash from the local community.

History of disagreements

Tensions have been running high in the Yorke Peninsula community since February, when NTSA, the state's foremost heritage group, disbanded Moonta's local governing committee due to alleged work health and safety breaches and took over management directly.

The video creator is not part of the disbanded committee.

The committee members, who claim the accusations are exaggerated and they were not given procedural fairness, are fighting in the Supreme Court to be reinstated.

Following a campaign by the suspended leadership, the charity will also face a parliamentary inquiry to probe whether it can responsibly manage the 80-plus historical properties it owns.

The ABC understands most of the 100-plus local volunteers are still boycotting the organisation in protest against recent events.

Local historian Robyn Knight, who volunteered in the School of Mines before being suspended, said the building housed more than 6,500 historical documents going back to 1861, including photographs, land titles and ledgers used in historical research.

It also has several original drawings and journals belonging to early 20th-century newspaper cartoonist Oswald Pryor, born in Moonta.

"What really got up my nose was the disrespect for the venue and for the work that we have been doing there,"

Ms Knight said.

"They have a responsibility of taking care of the building and they're describing it as a 'stuffy museum' when they're supposed to be promoting it."

Another volunteer, Pam Chapman, said the rules were intended to shield documents from potential degradation caused by flash photography, although most were stored away.

"The stuffiness may refer to the fact there aren't any buttons you can push and make things operate … but that's a point of ignorance where people don't actually know what that place is about," she said.

"As for being a 'gatekeeping septuagenarian', that's just such a statement without knowing the people … a lot of us are in our 70s but I think we keep abreast of new ideas."

NTSA said it was "regularly examining archival material stored at the School of Mines site".

"We have also engaged a stonemason to repair minor damage caused by birds to the facade of the building.

"The NTSA remains focused on our role of protecting, managing, and promoting the state's natural, built, and cultural heritage."