Latest news with #MurujugaAboriginalCorporation
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- The Advertiser
What it's really like to visit the 50,000-year-old rock art in WA
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. Subscribe now for unlimited access. or signup to continue reading All articles from our website The digital version of Today's Paper All other in your area By Saffron Howden 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. Ngarluma woman and Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation senior ranger Sarah Hicks explaining rock art to visitors at the Murujuga Cultural Landscape outside Karratha in Western Australia's north west. Inset, the nearby industrial facilities, including Woodside's gas operations. Pictures by Saffron Howden 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. A rock engraving of what is thought to be a dissected kangaroo - the face is on the top right of the stone - in the Murujuga Cultural Landscape outside Karratha in Western Australia's north west. Picture by Saffron Howden 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. A rock engraving of what is thought to be a megafauna kangaroo depicted on four legs in the Murujuga Cultural Landscape outside Karratha in Western Australia's north west. Picture by Saffron Howden 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. A rock engraving of what is thought to be a whale spouting water in the Murujuga Cultural Landscape outside Karratha in Western Australia's north west. Picture by Saffron Howden 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. 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. A rock engraving of two snakes in the Murujuga Cultural Landscape outside Karratha in Western Australia's north west. Picture by Saffron Howden 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. We turn back to the dystopian landscape dominated by the machinery of natural resource extraction. The large industrial operations, including Woodside's north west shelf gas hub, on the Burrup peninsula near Karratha in Western Australia as seen from the Murujuga rock art gallery area. Picture by Saffron Howden 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. How will history record us? 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. Words by Saffron Howden Saffron is a journalist, editor and author with more than 20 years experience covering news. Get in touch:
The Advertiser
18-07-2025
- 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
16-07-2025
- Sport
- 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
16-07-2025
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
Murujuga traditional owner accuses UNESCO of silencing, intimidating her in Paris
A Murujuga traditional owner claims a UNESCO committee silenced and intimidated her delegation which was lobbying against the removal of industrial emissions protections in the rock art's World Heritage Listing. Raelene Cooper travelled to Paris with a small group from her Save Our Songlines group to persuade World Heritage Committee members to retain restrictions on industrial emissions near the Murujuga rock art contained in a draft decision considered at its meeting in Paris on Friday. Those conditions, which would apply to projects like Woodside's North West Shelf and Burrup Hub assets, were scratched from the final decision in an amendment moved by committee member Kenya, and supported by the majority of the committee. Cooper wrote to World Heritage Centre director Lazare Eloundou Assomo on Sunday to complain about the treatment of her group. She claimed UNESCO staff blocked her group from entering the chamber floor on the day of the Murujuga vote, ignored requests to address the committee, and assigned an intimidating level of security to the Save Our Songlines representatives. Loading Cooper was granted observer status and was able to lobby member countries on the floor of the committee meeting on Wednesday and Thursday last week, but said on the day of the vote her team was prevented from entering the chamber. The former Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation chair said representatives from the Australian government and current MAC members were still allowed on the chamber floor and to address the committee following the vote. 'Had I been able to address the committee regarding the Murujuga inscription, I would have been able to express my profound joy at the successful inscription, and my congratulation [sic] to every member of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation on a momentous day for our people achieving such recognition,' Cooper said in her letter.
The Age
16-07-2025
- General
- The Age
Murujuga traditional owner accuses UNESCO of silencing, intimidating her in Paris
A Murujuga traditional owner claims a UNESCO committee silenced and intimidated her delegation which was lobbying against the removal of industrial emissions protections in the rock art's World Heritage Listing. Raelene Cooper travelled to Paris with a small group from her Save Our Songlines group to persuade World Heritage Committee members to retain restrictions on industrial emissions near the Murujuga rock art contained in a draft decision considered at its meeting in Paris on Friday. Those conditions, which would apply to projects like Woodside's North West Shelf and Burrup Hub assets, were scratched from the final decision in an amendment moved by committee member Kenya, and supported by the majority of the committee. Cooper wrote to World Heritage Centre director Lazare Eloundou Assomo on Sunday to complain about the treatment of her group. She claimed UNESCO staff blocked her group from entering the chamber floor on the day of the Murujuga vote, ignored requests to address the committee, and assigned an intimidating level of security to the Save Our Songlines representatives. Loading Cooper was granted observer status and was able to lobby member countries on the floor of the committee meeting on Wednesday and Thursday last week, but said on the day of the vote her team was prevented from entering the chamber. The former Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation chair said representatives from the Australian government and current MAC members were still allowed on the chamber floor and to address the committee following the vote. 'Had I been able to address the committee regarding the Murujuga inscription, I would have been able to express my profound joy at the successful inscription, and my congratulation [sic] to every member of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation on a momentous day for our people achieving such recognition,' Cooper said in her letter.
