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7 December 2007
Peter Garrett MP, AM Minister for Environment, Heritage and the Arts Level 6 806-812 Anzac Parade Maroubra, NSW 2035 Dear Minister, My most sincere congratulations, not only for your appointment as the Federal Minister of this important portfolio, but also for the decisive electoral success of the Labor team. Permit me to revisit a matter that had been the subject of correspondence or discussions with all your three predecessors. On 23 August 2002 I wrote to Dr David Kemp, proposing that the world’s largest corpus of rock art, in the Dampier Archipelago of Western Australia, be heritage listed. At that time, the national heritage bills were being considered in the federal Parliament. Dr Kemp not only approved of the idea, he encouraged me to pursue this submission (see his letter 21 Oct 2002, copy enclosed). On 16 March 2004 (copy enclosed), Dr Kemp acknowledged my efforts to pursue both National Heritage listing and World Heritage listing, and, having at long last secured the agreement of Judy Edwards (then his counterpart in the WA government), invited me to submit the Nomination Form for National Heritage. However, my nomination of 22 March 2004 was then strenuously opposed by the state government, and Dr Kemp was eventually succeeded by Ian Campbell, whom I took to Dampier sites (see enclosed DVD of the film Sacred Stones, by the 60 Minutes program). Mr Campbell seemed to favour listing of the monument, but was apparently also overruled by John Howard. It took another Heritage Minister, Malcolm Turnbull MP, after I petitioned him, to strike a compromise with Woodside and the state government. He eventually listed the Dampier monument, but excluded parts earmarked for industrial development. The land area I had submitted was 270 km2, of which he included 241 km2 on the National Heritage this July. The question of World Heritage listing therefore remains unresolved. In principle there should be little objection from the state government or Woodside, except that this would place greater emphasis on federal control: the Commonwealth would be responsible for submission and protection of the Dampier monument. The state government may resist, but it is crucially important that the federal government becomes involved. The state government has already designed one proposal to develop the now protected area into a Disneyland-type tourist park that has been roundly rejected by literally all commentators. This proposal alone demonstrates that the WA state government simply lacks the expertise and the appropriately equipped structures to manage a sensitive cultural heritage asset of this magnitude. Already incredible mismanagement has occurred at Dampier, for instance a road loop and parking area specifically for tourists were constructed last year near Dampier Port, and in the process dozens of megalithic stone arrangements were bulldozed and many petroglyphs were removed. This is a fair indication of the competence of the people currently involved in managing this property. I have been the instigator of, and have been involved in, the nomination of another World Heritage property, that of Bhimbetka in central India, so I am well aware of the complexities of the process. The Bhimbetka nomination took almost six years to succeed. As you know, a nomination may only be made by a national government, and must demonstrate to Unesco a genuine commitment to perpetual management. Two years ago I spent a week with the Cultural Heritage Branch of Unesco in France, to gauge the support a nomination of Dampier would have. As a result of these detailed discussions the people who would process this nomination are very aware of the circumstances and have been well briefed about this property. I can assure you, Mr Minister, that Unesco would almost automatically approve a nomination of the Dampier Rock Art Precinct — the largest art gallery in the world. Of course we still have to fulfil the conditions of documentation and commitment, but the approval of this nomination would be a forgone conclusion. Since the land in question has already been excised from industrial development, this proposal could only raise concerns over a perceived diminishment of the influence of the state government. But now that both governments are by Labor, surely this one obstacle could be overcome by constructive dialogue. Your announcement, Mr Minister, that you will seek nomination of Australia’s largest cultural heritage monument, would be welcomed as a significant statement by the new government, not only for heritage, but also as a prelude to changes in Indigenous issues. Let us not forget the tragic fate of the creators of the Dampier monument. After all, the genocide of an entire tribe in a single police action (February to May 1868) is unique in Australia, and probably unheard of elsewhere. We cannot change history, but we can atone for it by appropriately honouring the incredible heritage the Yaburrara left us. Please find enclosed a copy of my book about the Dampier monument: how I re-discovered it exactly a century after these terrible events, only to witness its steady degradation over the subsequent four decades. My first appeal to nominate it to World Heritage was made in 1994 to Robert Tickner, then the federal minister for indigenous affairs (and to three other ministers), who also favoured the idea. Would you please be the one that takes this matter to its proper conclusion, and in doing so help this nation heal itself. Thank you for considering this grave matter. Australia is big enough to treat its greatest cultural monument as it would be treated in any civilised nation. Yours sincerely, Robert G. Bednarik Convener/CEO of IFRAO THE MINISTER'S RESPONSE IS DATED 22 DECEMBER 2008, i.e. over a year later. In it he states that Australian nominations for World Heritage listing are developed collaboratively by the Australian and relevant state or territory government, and invites the writer to raise the merits for inclusion of the rock art sites with the Western Australian Government. Robert G. Bednarik has been asked by the Premier of Western Australia to meet him in February 2009, to explore the matter further. This will be the first positive government step towards the listing of Dampier after 15 years of campaigning. See earliest published request for World Heritage listing. |
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The home-page of the Australian Rock Art Research Association Inc. (AURA)
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