Murujuga ruling proof protected sites, industry can co-exist: WA premier
The cultural landscape on the Burrup Peninsula, 35 kilometres north of Karratha, home to the world's largest collection of rock art engravings, was inscribed on the heritage list by UNESCO in France late on Friday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Advertiser
16 hours ago
- The Advertiser
The 50,000-year-old rock art and its neighbour, the gas-guzzling energy giant
The road to the main viewing area for Murujuga's 50,000-year-old art is past Woodside's giant gas mining and export hub. As you listen to the ancient stories of lore and culture carved into rocks before you, the tangle of cranes, tanks, buildings and towers typical of huge industrial facilities sit at your back. The Murujuga petroglyphs and their landscape have just been World Heritage listed, less than two months after the federal government handed Woodside a provisional licence to extend its north west gas operations by 40 years to 2070. The carvings - at least one million of them - are spread over a series rock outcrops on the Burrup peninsula and surrounding islands just outside Karratha in north-west Western Australia. "This is like a massive database," our guide, Ngarluma woman Sarah Hicks, says. History and knowledge are recorded in each image. A dissected kangaroo is an instructional image showing how to carve up the animal and use its parts for food, blankets, pants and combs. An emu, or jankurna, engraving reflects the emu-shaped spaces and dust lanes of the Milky Way in the night sky, a guide to the seasons and when to hunt. A Tasmanian tiger records the extinct marsupial's presence thousands of years ago on the Australian mainland. A prehistoric fat-tailed kangaroo, mangguru, is depicted standing on four legs in its massive megafauna state, long before it evolved to hopping. As we walk and talk, small rock wallabies navigate the hardy red stones on the outcrop peaks. Ms Hicks says the presence of living animals on our visit is a good sign. There are carvings everywhere, some more faded - and older - than others. There are whales and stingrays, mice and fish tails, dingoes, quolls, goannas, spears - and people. Though we are asked not to take photographs of depictions of people. The outback collection - the world's largest, densest and most diverse collection of rock art engravings - is still revealing its secrets. A women's business carving of a hand was newly discovered and catalogued only weeks ago, Ms Hicks said. A Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation senior ranger, she shares the stories not only of the art but of the uses of plants around the base of the rocks. The bloodwood sap boiled with water to treat illness, the sticky spinifex grass (baru) burnt to make strong glue for spears and axes, the flowers that reveal when to fish depending on their bloom, and the bush tomatoes that taste like a mixture of squash and capsicum. She's assisted by young Ngarluma man Riley Sebastian, a ranger still learning. He confesses he's never tried a bush tomato or sap medicine, but Ms Hicks says local elders still consume both. As the talk ends, our small group of well-to-do east coasters and European tourists pass a team of air quality monitors checking emissions levels from the nearby gas and fertiliser plants and iron ore and salt export facilities. It is "highly likely" these operations are contributing to higher acid levels in the air which is deteriorating the carvings, a recent report found. We turn back to the dystopian landscape dominated by the machinery of natural resource extraction. The contrast could not be more stark. Woodside says it's committed to "protecting and managing this precious and culturally significant place". "Woodside has taken and continues to take proactive steps - including through emissions reduction, data sharing and ongoing support for the Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program (MRAMP) - to ensure we manage our impacts responsibly," a spokesman said. He said recent research shows the landscape and its ancient art can live alongside the gas operations with responsible management. For at least 47,000 years the Ngarluma, Mardudhunera, Yaburara, Yindjibarndi, and Wong-Goo-Tt-Oo peoples have slowly, carefully managed their relationship with the Pilbara land, sea and their wildlife. That record of management exists in the Murujuga petroglyphs. If the elders were still carving records into the rocks today, I wonder how they would tell the story of the oil and gas operations on their doorstep. The road to the main viewing area for Murujuga's 50,000-year-old art is past Woodside's giant gas mining and export hub. As you listen to the ancient stories of lore and culture carved into rocks before you, the tangle of cranes, tanks, buildings and towers typical of huge industrial facilities sit at your back. The Murujuga petroglyphs and their landscape have just been World Heritage listed, less than two months after the federal government handed Woodside a provisional licence to extend its north west gas operations by 40 years to 2070. The carvings - at least one million of them - are spread over a series rock outcrops on the Burrup peninsula and surrounding islands just outside Karratha in north-west Western Australia. "This is like a massive database," our guide, Ngarluma woman Sarah Hicks, says. History and knowledge are recorded in each image. A dissected kangaroo is an instructional image showing how to carve up the animal and use its parts for food, blankets, pants and combs. An emu, or jankurna, engraving reflects the emu-shaped spaces and dust lanes of the Milky Way in the night sky, a guide to the seasons and when to hunt. A Tasmanian tiger records the extinct marsupial's presence thousands of years ago on the Australian mainland. A prehistoric fat-tailed kangaroo, mangguru, is depicted standing on four legs in its massive megafauna state, long before it evolved to hopping. As we walk and talk, small rock wallabies navigate the hardy red stones on the outcrop peaks. Ms Hicks says the presence of living animals on our visit is a good sign. There are carvings everywhere, some more faded - and older - than others. There are whales and stingrays, mice and fish tails, dingoes, quolls, goannas, spears - and people. Though we are asked not to take photographs of depictions of people. The outback collection - the world's largest, densest and most diverse collection of rock art engravings - is still revealing its secrets. A women's business carving of a hand was newly discovered and catalogued only weeks ago, Ms Hicks said. A Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation senior ranger, she shares the stories not only of the art but of the uses of plants around the base of the rocks. The bloodwood sap boiled with water to treat illness, the sticky spinifex grass (baru) burnt to make strong glue for spears and axes, the flowers that reveal when to fish depending on their bloom, and the bush tomatoes that taste like a mixture of squash and capsicum. She's assisted by young Ngarluma man Riley Sebastian, a ranger still learning. He confesses he's never tried a bush tomato or sap medicine, but Ms Hicks says local elders still consume both. As the talk ends, our small group of well-to-do east coasters and European tourists pass a team of air quality monitors checking emissions levels from the nearby gas and fertiliser plants and iron ore and salt export facilities. It is "highly likely" these operations are contributing to higher acid levels in the air which is deteriorating the carvings, a recent report found. We turn back to the dystopian landscape dominated by the machinery of natural resource extraction. The contrast could not be more stark. Woodside says it's committed to "protecting and managing this precious and culturally significant place". "Woodside has taken and continues to take proactive steps - including through emissions reduction, data sharing and ongoing support for the Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program (MRAMP) - to ensure we manage our impacts responsibly," a spokesman said. He said recent research shows the landscape and its ancient art can live alongside the gas operations with responsible management. For at least 47,000 years the Ngarluma, Mardudhunera, Yaburara, Yindjibarndi, and Wong-Goo-Tt-Oo peoples have slowly, carefully managed their relationship with the Pilbara land, sea and their wildlife. That record of management exists in the Murujuga petroglyphs. If the elders were still carving records into the rocks today, I wonder how they would tell the story of the oil and gas operations on their doorstep. The road to the main viewing area for Murujuga's 50,000-year-old art is past Woodside's giant gas mining and export hub. As you listen to the ancient stories of lore and culture carved into rocks before you, the tangle of cranes, tanks, buildings and towers typical of huge industrial facilities sit at your back. The Murujuga petroglyphs and their landscape have just been World Heritage listed, less than two months after the federal government handed Woodside a provisional licence to extend its north west gas operations by 40 years to 2070. The carvings - at least one million of them - are spread over a series rock outcrops on the Burrup peninsula and surrounding islands just outside Karratha in north-west Western Australia. "This is like a massive database," our guide, Ngarluma woman Sarah Hicks, says. History and knowledge are recorded in each image. A dissected kangaroo is an instructional image showing how to carve up the animal and use its parts for food, blankets, pants and combs. An emu, or jankurna, engraving reflects the emu-shaped spaces and dust lanes of the Milky Way in the night sky, a guide to the seasons and when to hunt. A Tasmanian tiger records the extinct marsupial's presence thousands of years ago on the Australian mainland. A prehistoric fat-tailed kangaroo, mangguru, is depicted standing on four legs in its massive megafauna state, long before it evolved to hopping. As we walk and talk, small rock wallabies navigate the hardy red stones on the outcrop peaks. Ms Hicks says the presence of living animals on our visit is a good sign. There are carvings everywhere, some more faded - and older - than others. There are whales and stingrays, mice and fish tails, dingoes, quolls, goannas, spears - and people. Though we are asked not to take photographs of depictions of people. The outback collection - the world's largest, densest and most diverse collection of rock art engravings - is still revealing its secrets. A women's business carving of a hand was newly discovered and catalogued only weeks ago, Ms Hicks said. A Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation senior ranger, she shares the stories not only of the art but of the uses of plants around the base of the rocks. The bloodwood sap boiled with water to treat illness, the sticky spinifex grass (baru) burnt to make strong glue for spears and axes, the flowers that reveal when to fish depending on their bloom, and the bush tomatoes that taste like a mixture of squash and capsicum. She's assisted by young Ngarluma man Riley Sebastian, a ranger still learning. He confesses he's never tried a bush tomato or sap medicine, but Ms Hicks says local elders still consume both. As the talk ends, our small group of well-to-do east coasters and European tourists pass a team of air quality monitors checking emissions levels from the nearby gas and fertiliser plants and iron ore and salt export facilities. It is "highly likely" these operations are contributing to higher acid levels in the air which is deteriorating the carvings, a recent report found. We turn back to the dystopian landscape dominated by the machinery of natural resource extraction. The contrast could not be more stark. Woodside says it's committed to "protecting and managing this precious and culturally significant place". "Woodside has taken and continues to take proactive steps - including through emissions reduction, data sharing and ongoing support for the Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program (MRAMP) - to ensure we manage our impacts responsibly," a spokesman said. He said recent research shows the landscape and its ancient art can live alongside the gas operations with responsible management. For at least 47,000 years the Ngarluma, Mardudhunera, Yaburara, Yindjibarndi, and Wong-Goo-Tt-Oo peoples have slowly, carefully managed their relationship with the Pilbara land, sea and their wildlife. That record of management exists in the Murujuga petroglyphs. If the elders were still carving records into the rocks today, I wonder how they would tell the story of the oil and gas operations on their doorstep. The road to the main viewing area for Murujuga's 50,000-year-old art is past Woodside's giant gas mining and export hub. As you listen to the ancient stories of lore and culture carved into rocks before you, the tangle of cranes, tanks, buildings and towers typical of huge industrial facilities sit at your back. The Murujuga petroglyphs and their landscape have just been World Heritage listed, less than two months after the federal government handed Woodside a provisional licence to extend its north west gas operations by 40 years to 2070. The carvings - at least one million of them - are spread over a series rock outcrops on the Burrup peninsula and surrounding islands just outside Karratha in north-west Western Australia. "This is like a massive database," our guide, Ngarluma woman Sarah Hicks, says. History and knowledge are recorded in each image. A dissected kangaroo is an instructional image showing how to carve up the animal and use its parts for food, blankets, pants and combs. An emu, or jankurna, engraving reflects the emu-shaped spaces and dust lanes of the Milky Way in the night sky, a guide to the seasons and when to hunt. A Tasmanian tiger records the extinct marsupial's presence thousands of years ago on the Australian mainland. A prehistoric fat-tailed kangaroo, mangguru, is depicted standing on four legs in its massive megafauna state, long before it evolved to hopping. As we walk and talk, small rock wallabies navigate the hardy red stones on the outcrop peaks. Ms Hicks says the presence of living animals on our visit is a good sign. There are carvings everywhere, some more faded - and older - than others. There are whales and stingrays, mice and fish tails, dingoes, quolls, goannas, spears - and people. Though we are asked not to take photographs of depictions of people. The outback collection - the world's largest, densest and most diverse collection of rock art engravings - is still revealing its secrets. A women's business carving of a hand was newly discovered and catalogued only weeks ago, Ms Hicks said. A Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation senior ranger, she shares the stories not only of the art but of the uses of plants around the base of the rocks. The bloodwood sap boiled with water to treat illness, the sticky spinifex grass (baru) burnt to make strong glue for spears and axes, the flowers that reveal when to fish depending on their bloom, and the bush tomatoes that taste like a mixture of squash and capsicum. She's assisted by young Ngarluma man Riley Sebastian, a ranger still learning. He confesses he's never tried a bush tomato or sap medicine, but Ms Hicks says local elders still consume both. As the talk ends, our small group of well-to-do east coasters and European tourists pass a team of air quality monitors checking emissions levels from the nearby gas and fertiliser plants and iron ore and salt export facilities. It is "highly likely" these operations are contributing to higher acid levels in the air which is deteriorating the carvings, a recent report found. We turn back to the dystopian landscape dominated by the machinery of natural resource extraction. The contrast could not be more stark. Woodside says it's committed to "protecting and managing this precious and culturally significant place". "Woodside has taken and continues to take proactive steps - including through emissions reduction, data sharing and ongoing support for the Murujuga Rock Art Monitoring Program (MRAMP) - to ensure we manage our impacts responsibly," a spokesman said. He said recent research shows the landscape and its ancient art can live alongside the gas operations with responsible management. For at least 47,000 years the Ngarluma, Mardudhunera, Yaburara, Yindjibarndi, and Wong-Goo-Tt-Oo peoples have slowly, carefully managed their relationship with the Pilbara land, sea and their wildlife. That record of management exists in the Murujuga petroglyphs. If the elders were still carving records into the rocks today, I wonder how they would tell the story of the oil and gas operations on their doorstep.
West Australian
2 days ago
- West Australian
Rita Saffioti 10 Things: Government announces support to help deliver 1200 new apartments across Perth
1. A big thank you to all of the emergency personnel involved in the search for Carolina Wilga. Her survival after spending 11 nights in our freezing temperatures in WA's Wheatbelt region is quite remarkable. Her story will be one we will remember for many years. 2. Our Government is proposing changes to the public holiday calendar. Some of the proposals include aligning our public holidays with those over east and adding up to two extra public holidays. WA currently has the lowest number of public holidays in the nation and aligning with other States and Territories will support WA business. 3. Our Government has announced additional support for 15 new apartment developments to assist industry to deliver more than 1200 new apartments across Perth. This is yet another example of our commitment to boosting housing supply across the State by removing barriers that prevent major projects getting off the ground. 4. Speaking of a housing boost, preferred community housing providers have been chosen to deliver more than 400 new affordable and social homes across two major residential developments in East Fremantle and Subiaco. These projects also have support through the Albanese Government. These projects will continue to support affordable housing while and providing industry with a pipeline of construction work. 5. A significant outcome for the traditional owners and custodians via the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation and its Circle of Elders with the ancient rock art of Murujuga, on WA's Burrup Peninsula, to be recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage List. 6. Big news for UFC fans as we gear up for the first ever Fight Night in Perth in September. As the only UFC Fight Night scheduled to take place in Australia this year we're expecting thousands of out-of-State visitors to WA, while also attracting a significant global broadcast audience. 7. What a fantastic week in sport. West Coast Fever continued their record form, securing a 12th victory in succession in front of a record Super Netball crowd on Sunday. I hope their form continues through the finals. 8. The Dockers kept their finals dream alive after a come from behind win over Hawthorn to jump back into the top eight. The side showed grit and determination, and I couldn't think of a better way to honour and bid farewell to the legend that is Michael Walters. 9. It was also great to see the Australian men's cricket team retain the Frank Worrell Trophy in a clean sweep against the West Indies. The bowling attack is in fine form ahead of the Ashes this summer. Look out for the first test starting here in Perth in November. 10. I hope everyone is enjoying the school holidays. I know keeping kids busy during holidays is always a lot of work! Great that families have so many activities to choose from including dino hunts and workshops at the WA Museum to Lightscape at Kings Park and a range of nature learning sessions run by Parks and Wildlife. Hope everyone is feeling refreshed.
Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Backpacker needs to ‘gain 12kg back' after ordeal in WA outback
German backpacker Carolina Wilga, rescued late Friday afternoon after spending 11 nights stranded on the West Australian outback, is working on regaining what was lost in her ordeal. Wilga posted to Instagram on Monday night stating she needed to 'gain 12 kilograms back' in the aftermath of losing control of her car and becoming lost in the bush. In the accompanying images, Wilga is surrounded by food in her hospital bed at Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth. In the posts she also thanked the German Consulate for gifting her the food, including fruit, baked goods and tea. Tuesday marks the start of her fourth full day in hospital recovering. WA Police on Saturday revealed Wilga was flown to Perth from the state's Wheatbelt region for medical treatment of dehydration and injuries including sunburn, extensive insect bites and an injured foot. She was rescued by Tania Henley, who lives on Bimbijy Station and was returning from a 'quick two-hour trip' to the small town of Beacon. 'It was incredible. Twelve days missing. She had to walk through the bush for 12 days because [her car] was nowhere near where I found her – nowhere,' Henley said. 'She was thin, fragile – and everybody would be fragile. Twelve days to be missing out in the bush is usually not a good result, really.
