Murujuga facts for kids
Murujuga, also known as the Burrup Peninsula, is a special place in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It's part of the Dampier Archipelago and is home to the town of Dampier. Long ago, it was an island called Dampier Island, named after an English explorer, William Dampier. It was about 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) off the coast.
In 1963, something big happened: a causeway was built. This connected the island to the mainland with a road and a railway, turning it into an artificial peninsula. Later, in 1979, Dampier Peninsula was renamed Burrup Peninsula. This new name came from Mount Burrup, the highest point on the peninsula. The mountain was named after Henry Burrup, who died in 1885.
Sometimes, people get Murujuga confused with the Dampier Peninsula, which is much further north (about 800 kilometers or 500 miles away). For the Aboriginal people of the peninsula, like the Jaburara (or Yaburara) people, murujuga means "hip bone sticking out" in their Ngayarda languages.
Murujuga is very important for its unique nature and ancient history. It holds the Murujuga cultural landscape, which has the world's largest collection of petroglyphs, or rock carvings. Some of these amazing carvings are over 45,000 years old! There are more than one million rock art images, including pictures of animals like the now extinct thylacine (Tasmanian tiger). The Murujuga National Park is located here, protecting this incredible ancient art.
The Dampier Rock Art Precinct covers the whole area. It's often talked about because people want to protect it from new industrial buildings.
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Ancient History of Murujuga
The traditional owners of the Burrup Peninsula are the Indigenous people known as the Yaburara (Jaburara) people. They have lived on this land for thousands of years.
Sadly, in 1869, many Yaburara people were killed in an event called the Flying Foam Massacre. After this, five other Aboriginal groups took on the role of caring for the land. These groups include the Yaburara, Ngarluma, Mardudhunera, Yindjibarndi, and Wong-Goo-Tt-Oo peoples.
Protecting Ancient Rock Art
The Burrup Peninsula is incredibly important for its environment, history, and culture. Because of this, many people have been working to protect it. This has sometimes caused disagreements with plans for industrial development in the area.
People have been asking for the Murujuga rock art to be protected since 1969. In 2002, a group called the International Federation of Rock Art Organizations (IFRAO) started a big campaign to save the remaining art. Murujuga has been listed on the National Trust of Australia Endangered Places Register. It was also listed by the World Monuments Fund in 2004, 2006, and 2008 as a place needing urgent attention.
There have been concerns that some rock art was destroyed for industrial development. Some reports suggested a large amount was lost between 1963 and 2006. However, the Western Australian government said a smaller amount was affected since 1972. It's hard to know the exact numbers because there wasn't a full list of all the rock art in the region.
In 1996, a plan was made to manage how the Burrup Peninsula is used. This plan tried to balance industry, conservation, heritage, and recreation. It divided the peninsula into two main areas: one for conservation, heritage, and recreation, and another for industry. The plan suggested that about 62% of the peninsula should be for conservation and heritage.
In 2002, the West Australian National Trust nominated the site for the Endangered Places list. Then, in 2004, American Express and the World Monuments Fund helped fund more research to get national heritage status for the site. In 2006, the Australian Heritage Council agreed that the site should be listed as a National Heritage site.
The West Australian State government continued to support industrial development. They said there weren't many other good places for these industries. The effort to protect the rock art brought together people from different political backgrounds, even former politicians who used to support development.
The debate was tricky for the federal government. On one side, national heritage groups wanted protection. On the other side, Western Australia's economy is very important for the whole country. The federal government didn't want to seem like it was stopping economic growth.
Many people supported the campaign to protect Murujuga. For example, 42,000 personal messages were sent to the directors of a company called Woodside. In 2007, the site was officially heritage-listed.
On July 7, 2008, the Australian Government placed 90% of the remaining rock art areas of the Dampier Archipelago on the National Heritage List. People continued to ask for all undisturbed areas to be added to the World Heritage List. There were even claims that some companies had destroyed thousands of petroglyphs.
As of 2011, the Burrup Peninsula was still on the World Monument Fund's list of 100 Most Endangered Places. This showed that there were still problems with managing its heritage and conservation. Many groups around the world supported the "Global Stand Up for the Burrup" campaign.
In January 2020, the Australian government suggested that the Murujuga cultural landscape should be considered for the World Heritage Tentative List. This is a step towards becoming a full World Heritage site.
Ngajarli Trail for Visitors
The Ngajarli Trail was finished in August 2020. The Murujuga National Park was closed for a few months while it was being built. Traditional owners worked with the government to create a 700-meter (2,300-foot) universal boardwalk. There are also signs along the trail that explain the history and culture of the area. The Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation hopes to make the park even better for visitors. They want people to understand how important this place is culturally.
Ancient Underwater Discoveries
On July 1, 2020, scientists announced an amazing discovery. They found Australia's first ancient Aboriginal underwater archaeological sites near the Burrup Peninsula. They found 269 artifacts at Cape Bruguieres. They also found an 8,500-year-old underwater freshwater spring near Flying Foam Passage off Dampier.
These artifacts are thousands of years old. They include hundreds of stone tools and grinding stones. These findings show that people lived there before sea levels rose between 7,000 and 18,000 years ago, after the last ice age. The Australian Archaeological Association said this research was very important.
This discovery was the result of four years of hard work by many experts. These included archaeologists, rock art specialists, geomorphologists, geologists, pilots, and scientific divers. The project was called "Deep History of Sea Country" and was funded by the Australian Research Council. The Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation also worked closely with the researchers. Teams from several universities, including Flinders University, the University of Western Australia, James Cook University, Airborne Research Australia, and the University of York in England, were involved.
The site was added to the WA Aboriginal Heritage List, which protects it under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972. The Federal Government said that these underwater sites are usually managed by the state. The federal Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018 was updated in 2019 to protect sunken aircraft and shipwrecks older than 75 years. However, it doesn't automatically include ancient Aboriginal sites.
See also
In Spanish: Murujuga para niños
