Western Australia’s unique indigenous rock art in the Pilbara is set for a UNESCO World Heritage listing, with the state and federal governments formally submitting an application for the recognition and protection today.
Western Australia’s unique indigenous rock art in the Pilbara is set for a UNESCO World Heritage listing, with the state and federal governments formally submitting an application for the recognition and protection today.
A tentative list submission for the Murujuga Cultural Landscape was formally submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, with the area to be added to Australia’s World Heritage tentative list later this year.
The submission was developed through discussions with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC) and the WA government, under the guidance of an independent World Heritage adviser and in collaboration with the federal government.
Environment Minister Stephen Dawson said there had been a broad level of support for the submission from industry and local community stakeholders.
“MAC and the McGowan government will continue to build on this positive approach to now prepare a more comprehensive nomination dossier that adequately reflects the meaning of the area to the traditional owners,” he said.
“This will be undertaken in collaboration with the Australian government and in liaison with stakeholders.”
Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley said more than 1 million images had been engraved into the Murujuga red rock landscape.
“The petroglyphs (rock carvings), along with stone structures, middens and quarries, capture at least 47,000 years of human existence and provide an archaeological record of traditional use of the area over this time,” she said.
While MAC welcomed the announcement, Friends of Australian Rock Art co-convenor Judith Hugo said the organisation had been campaigning for the submission for many years.
“It's completely farcical that the federal government is today nominating the Burrup for UNESCO listing at the same time as the WA government is enthusiastically promoting its destruction through even more industrialisation by Woodside, Yara and other companies,” Ms Hugo said.
“Mr McGowan can’t have it both ways: promising Murujuga’s Aboriginal custodians the benefits of World Heritage listing in one breath, and in the next breath promoting the destruction of their priceless cultural heritage through acid rain from even more unchecked industrial emissions.”
Ms Hugo said research had shown acid levels to have risen 1,000-fold since Burrup industrialisation began in the 1980s.
“It’s now clear that uncapped emissions by Woodside, Yara and other industries on the Burrup are eating away at the rock art" she said.
“International heritage experts we are talking to have serious fears that the Burrup nomination will fall over at the last hurdle if the McGowan government continues to promote its irrational plans for further destruction of the Burrup rock art (as well as global climate) through further unchecked industrial emissions on the Burrup.”
