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In an unprecedented decision, unique in the legal history of Australia, the National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) has on 9 November 2002 called for public submissions for a case currently before it. It is the extraordinary case of the Western Australian government versus the Aboriginal communities in the Dampier region. The case deals with the land on which the Dampier Rock Art Precinct, the largest concentration of petroglyphs known in the world, occurs. In response to IFRAO's proposal that this constitutes a world heritage property, the NNTT has recognised that there is a major public interest component involved and, in the face of vigorous protests by the government, has ruled that it wishes to receive public submissions on the matter.
Essentially, the state government seeks to legitimise its theft of the land by attempted genocide in 1868, when all except six members of the resident Yaburara tribe were massacred by the police force of Western Australia. It wants to compulsorily 'acquire' the land it has long occupied. This is an attempt to erase history and to remove the birthright of the local Aboriginal communities by stealth. At the same time it is an attempt to finalise the thorny issue of the future of the rock art corpus, preparing the way for the bulldozers of the petrochemical companies to destroy the last vestiges of the Yaburara, the rock art of Dampier. Submissions closed on 21 November. IFRAO has made a submission comprising 85 pages, and numerous other submissions were received by the NNTT. Below is a selection of those of which copies were also sent to the Dampier Campaign office. They show that this matter has raised significant concerns worldwide, and that there is an international public interest issue of the greatest order involved. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ms S Meaghan Senior Caseflow Manager National Native Title Tribunal GPO Box 9973 PERTH WA 6848 Dear Ms Meaghan I wish to register a public interest in National Native Title Tribunal case WF02/17 and WF02/18. I hope you will accept this late expression of interest. I am writing on behalf of the Australian Council of National Trusts to represent the concern of the 80000 Trust members nationwide regarding the severe impact on the Murujuga should the proposed intensive industrial development on the Burrup Peninsula proceed. The Murujuga is a national treasure of international significance. It contains the world’s largest and most important collection of petroglyphs, carvings which have been created over thousands of years on that site. Importantly though, it is not a dead site with no connections to contemporary Australians, but is rather a living site with Traditional Owners claiming and seeking to carry out their custodial responsibilities of caring for these sacred carvings. Many petroglyphs have already been damaged through the industrial development permitted in the 1980s. Substantial numbers of rocks were displaced and carvings defaced and broken as a result of that construction, and damage has since been caused to the carvings by industrial emissions. The Trust was so concerned about future damage to the carvings on the Peninsula that we nominated the site as an Endangered Place this year. In doing so, we expressed our grave concern that both State and Territory Governments have been so neglectful of the Murujuga that it now stands exposed to even further damage from inappropriate industrial development. No complete survey of the site has been commissioned, no comprehensive management plan has been developed, no legislative protection for the site has been provided, despite intense national and international pressure to do so. Yet without a comprehensive protective regime in place, plans are now proceeding to intensify industrial development on the Burrup itself, exposing the carvings and the fragile eco-systems to even further direct and indirect damage. These plans are proceeding without proper consideration being given to the very economical option of siting the new petrochemical facilities on the nearby Maitland industrial area. Siting the facilities well away from the petroglyphs would not only protect them from direct damage, but would also provide protection from the emissions generated by the new facilities. The public interest, in our view, therefore requires: Negotiations for the possible return to Aboriginal ownership of the whole Dampier Archipelago, with consideration of the option that it be leased to the Federal Government as a National Park, the re-siting of any further facilities well away from the Burrup Peninsula a commitment from the WA and Federal Governments to support the Traditional Owners through the development of strong protective protocols and protection for the Murujuga future nomination of the site to the proposed new National List, and to the World Heritage register Thank you for the opportunity to express our views on this immensely significant site. Yours sincerely Simon Molesworth Chairman Australian Council of National Trusts ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The National Native Trust Tribunal Re: APPLICATION WF02/17 & 18 DAMPIER We, the undersigned rock art researchers, archaeologists, palaeontologist and palaeo-anthropologists of the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, wish to place on public record our grave concerns about the proposals to industrialise the Dampier Archipelago. The proposed industrial developments threaten to destroy one of the world's greatest concentrations of rock engravings. We are astonished that such a priceless piece of world cultural heritage should be threatened. The Dampier Archipelago is amongst the richest precinct for the art and archaeology of Australia's first peoples and is well known to specialists and enthusiasts around the world. We call upon the Western Australian government to stop all industrial development within the Dampier Archipelago and we propose that the area should be nominated for inclusion upon the UNESCO World Heritage List. Yours faithfully, Mr G Blundell, Rock Art Research Institute Mr A de Fonseca, Rock Art Research Institute Mr J Hollmann, Rock Art Research Institute Professor T Huffman, Department of Archaeology Professor D Lewis-Williams, Department of Archaeology Dr K Kuykendall, Department of Anatomy Mr S Mguni, Rock Art Research Institute Mr D Pearce, Rock Art Research Institute Dr T Russel, Rock Art Research Institute Mr A Salomon, Rock Art Research Institute Dr BW Smith, Rock Art Research Institute Mr W Steyn, Rock Art Research Institute Professor P Tobias, Sterkfontein Research Unit Ms B de Villiers, Rock Art Research Institute Professor L Wadley, Department of Archaeology ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ms S. Meaghan Senior Caseflow Manager National Native Title Tribunal Submission to the National Native Title Tribunal with Respect to Cases WF02/17 and WF02/18 Burrup Peninsula This company have been successful film/video producers for 35 years in Australia, Asia and the Pacific. Working for the Northern Territory Government during 2000-01 we produced a series of current affairs style videos on positive people and events in indigenous communities throughout the Territory. These were distributed on cassette and screened in the communities to counter the negative material that passed for 'news' on the free-to-air television services. In our travels across the Top End, into the Kimberley and throughout Central Australia we were privileged to be shown some examples of the incredible heritage of indigenous rock art in these areas. Consequently, we began researching a television documentary series on the rock art of Northern Australia. It was immediately apparent that the series would be incomplete without the inclusion of a program on the rock art of the Pilbara and specifically the Burrup Peninsula (Dampier Archipelago), the largest known concentration of petroglyph rock art in the world. Subsequently, we have followed with horror and growing disbelief the revelations of the history of deliberate neglect and on-going failure on the part of Western Australian governments in the management of this unique cultural heritage site of international significance. Previous developments on the Burrup Peninsula have already eroded up to 25% of the rock art that existed there in the early 1960s. Art that had resisted the elements for thousands of years. Now, the W.A. Government who are legally responsible for protecting and preserving the State's cultural heritage is insisting that a much larger concentration of highly-polluting, petro-chemical industries which they admit will destroy more, much more of the rock art be placed on the limited suitable land area of the Burrup Peninsula. Why? There is no economic reason. The petro-chemical plants can be erected anywhere along the natural gas pipeline. An alternative site at Maitland, South West of Karratha is also planned for development by the WA Government. We know of no other State in Australia or overseas country with a fraction of the cultural heritage represented by the rock art of the Burrup Peninsula that has or would behave in this way. This vandalism must be stopped. We therefore earnestly recommend that: a) All currently undeveloped land of Burrup Peninsula (Dampier Archiplego) should be declared a National Park to be managed by a competent authority such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service. b) The entire Archipelego should be returned to indigenous ownership to be held in perpetuity by all members of the local indigenous communities with the proviso that the rock art areas be leased as National Park to the Commonwealth using Kakadu and Uluru in the NT as models. c) Once the above is in place, the operators of the existing industrial installations on the Burrup Peninsula should be required to pay rent to the Indigenous land owners. To mark a) through c) it is also recommended that the name of the Burrup Peninsula be changed to 'Murujuga', the name given to the area by the traditional owners. We respectfully submit that the National Native Title Tribunal is the only body capable of creating the circumstances that make the above possible. P. J. Welch Managing Director Co Productions Australia Pty Ltd ________________________________________________________________________________________________ The National Native Trust Tribunal Dr Sue Meaghan – Senior Caseflow Manager Dear Madam, APPLICATION WF02/17 & 18 DAMPIER The Committee of the South African Archaeological Society, Trans – Vaal Branch would like to most strongly express disappointment and concern, that any industrial development could be considered at one of Australia's most unique heritage areas – the Dampier rock engraving sites. In South Africa we too have petroglyph and rock painting sites, and to our cost, have only recently taken active steps to conserve and preserve these irreplaceable records of our country's history. We do not have anything like the concentration of petroglyphs as at Dampier and endorse all efforts that this should become a World Heritage Site and should be protected from industrial pollution. We appeal to the Government of Western Australia and to the National Native Title Tribunal to ensure that the proposed extensions to the industrial development are stopped immediately and relocated to another site. It is our understanding that there are other sites in the area, which would not result in the destruction of Dampier. We strongly support efforts to have the area declared a National Park as has so successfully been done at Uluru and Kakadu. The loss of such an important archaeological, ethnological and cultural historical site to industrial development really is unacceptable in the 21st century. Rather use the potential as a well protected tourist site so that international interested parties like ourselves can also share your Australian Heritage. Dampier belongs to all Australians, including future generations. Yours sincerely, Lilith Wynne B.A. Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cape Town; Committee S.A Archaeology Society, Trans – Vaal Branch, Past Vice President S.A Archaeology Society, 2002 Recipient President’s Award for Services to Archaeology. For The South African Archaeological Society ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Ms Sue Meaghan, as editor of TRACCE online Rock Art Bulletin (www.rupestre.net/tracce_php) and member of the EuroPreArt project (www.europreart.net, European Prehistoric Art online database) I am very concerned with the necessity of taking care of one of the most precious elements of cultural heritage we have on the earth, which is constituted by the gifts of our ancestors. Once disappeared it won't be possible to have it again: it's like the memory of the past, the memory of our past life. We must be able to leave it to our children without destroying it, as the world must always be a gift for them and not only for ourselves. I've read about the situation of the Dampier rock art, located on the Burrup Peninsula (Murujuga), menaced by the industrial development. As the cultural heritage must be considered a world-wide heritage, a menace against the Burrup Peninsula Rock constitutes also a menace against my culture, which I think should be protected. I this sense I strongly call for its saving. Its destruction would constitute a serious and irreplaceable lost. And more, as the heritage the Burrup Peninsula particularly pertains to its traditional creators and custodians, I would like to ask if their position and ideas where adequately considered before going on with any final decision. I hardly fought 2 years ago against the building of the Alqueva dam, between Spain and Portugal, which menaced to destroy a beautiful ancient landscape and thousand of engraved stones from Palaeolithic till Copper Age. The battle was sadly lost, because the dam was already built and it was not possible to find and alternative solution. I think that the situation of the Burrup Peninsula is easier: as the building has not yet started, there is the real possibility of finding new solutions by relocating the industrial new area, so protecting the heritage present in the area. I hope that it will possible to find a solution in this way. Please have in this occasion my best wishes. Sincerely Andrea Arca Footsteps of Man Archaeological Society, Italy ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Dr Meaghan, Western Australia is extremely fortunate in having the world's largest concentration of prehistoric rock art in the Dampier Archipelago. The importance of rock art in the study of mankind has been increasingly realized in recent years and appropriate legislation has been passed to protect sites from unsuitable development. Many countries have established research institutes and have seen the co-operation of private enterprise with academic and governmental institutions in the development of sites as national assets. The Dampier site merits recognition as a World Heritage Site and should certainly be protected from industrial development. There is a model for appropriate management in the Kakadu and Uluru National Parks. We in South Africa strongly support development in this manner. Yours sincerely, H.C. (Bert) Woodhouse Research Associate, Dept. Of Anthropology & Archaeology, University of Pretoria & National Science Museum, Durban. R.S.A. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Ms Meaghan, The Dampier rock art located on the Burrup Peninsula (Murujuga) and the Dampier Archipelago generally is of world importance. It could have been on the World Heritage List of UNESCO if the Australian government had applied for it as UNESCO regulations require, because it is indeed of World Heritage List quality because of the number and of the quality of the works of art. The area includes many tens of thousands of petroglyphs which testify to the beliefs and ways of life of ancient and more recent aboriginal cultures. As such it can be said to belong to humankind at large. I therefore submit that the art should be preserved for the generations to come, as is the case for any other monument of world significance everywhere in the world. Any loss to such a heritage would be felt worldwide. Industrial plants can be relocated and economic problems are short-lived, however pressing they may be made to appear at the time. Rock art of such magnitude should be kept for ever. Therefore, I submit that the industrial plants be relocated from Burrup, where the rock art is, to Maitland on the nearby mainland. To ensure the art lasts and is properly taken care of, it should be put under the custodianship of its traditional custodians (the Ngarluma, the Yindjibarndi, Yaburara and Mardudhunera, and Wong-goo-tt-oo Native Title Claimants), who must forever hold it in trust for humanity, with the proviso that they lease it to the Commonwealth government as a designated National Park. I have been told that such arrangements existed elsewhere in Australia. I feel the more deeply about this because of my very long involvement in rock art, as I was nine years President of the International Committee on Rock Art (ICOMOS), I did expertise for UNESCO and ICOMOS in the matter of rock art and I was for ten years the scientific adviser of the French Ministry of Culture about prehistoric art. I do hope that the Burrup Peninsula rock art will be protected and preserved for the future. Yours sincerely, Dr Jean Clottes Conservateur général du Patrimoine ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Ms Meaghan, Ref: Public interest in Claims WF02/17 and WF02/18 The Rock Art Society of India (RASI) wishes to register significant public interest in the rock art of the Burrup Peninsula. This concentration, the largest concentration of petroglyph sites in the world, is not just of national significance as a heritage monument of outstanding importance, it is part of the world heritage of humanity. The Rock art and megalithic arrangements of the Burrup Peninsula are under threat of destruction from the government of Western Australia. This site is as important to the world as Stonehenge or Machu Picchu, its petroglyphs are many thousands of years old. Among them are pictures of thylacines, an animal species exterminated by British settlers. In the Flying Foam Massacre on the Burrup Peninsula, the local Aboriginal tribe was nearly exterminated over 100 years ago. And now your government has decided to destroy the rock art there as well. It intends to replace the Burrup sacred precinct with a conglomerate of gas processing plants that are to spew out hundreds of millions of tonnes of acidic gases. The Burrup petroglyph complex is reputed to be the largest in the world. It needs the same protection as other cultural heritage properties of similar significance. Your government is obliged to provide this protection, not only by international treaties and conventions, and indeed in accordance with your own state legislation, but there are also moral grounds. Just as the British would never build a refinery next to Stonehenge, the people of Western Australia deserve that their own greatest heritage site be treated with the same consideration. Moreover, there appearsto be no logistic or technical reason why this proposed industrial estate needs to be located in such a sensitive area. We request that the proposed development be located at an alternative site, which we understand is available to you, and that a proper management plan for the Burrup Peninsula be developed that guarantees the perpetual protection of the rock art. Yours sincverely, Dr Giriraj Kumar President, Rock Art Society of India (RASI) On behalf of all rock art scholars of India ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Ms. Meaghan, I am a Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Museum, Sydney and Head of the Museum's 'People and Place Research Centre'. I am also the Australian Vice-President of the Australian Rock Art Research Asociation and have been working closely with Aboriginal people to document Australia's rock art and larger cultural heritage for over twenty years. Most of my fieldwork has been in northern, central and south-east Australia and I have over 55 months of field experience. I have also documented rock art in several countries overseas, including South Africa, Botswana, Canada, the UK and the USA. I am writing to you now in regards to Applications WF02/17 and WF02/18, Proposed Burrup and Maitland Industrial Estates - Western Australia. The Dampier Archipelago, including the Burrup Peninsula (Murujuga), contains one of the most outstanding bodies of Australian rock art. This rock art is on a par with that of Kakadu National Park, the Kimberley, Cape York (Queensland) and the Hawksbury sandstone region in and around Sydney in calibre but is unique in terms of style and tradition. In other words, the Burrup/Dampier rock art is of World Heritage standard, rivalling not only these other Australian complexes but also the greastest rock art of southern Africa and elsewhere. However, unlike many areas, many parts of it have not yet been surrounded by the trappings of modern 'civilisation' so that it may still be viewed in its original surrounds. But it is with great regret that I have recently read that this highly significant example of Australia's and, indeed, the world's cultural heritage is under threat by industrial development. It is evident that the Burrup area must be preserved for future generations because it can tell us so much about human history in this part of the world spanning many thousands of years. This can most effectively be done by granting native title to appropriate Native Title Claimants, by situating proposed industrial developments, including a massive petrochemical plant, at Maitland on the mainland, and by ensuring the area is protected via relevant legislation and international treaties. This has often occurred through the co-management of national parks and/or World Heritage Areas by indigenous and non-indigenous interest groups alike. Recently I have worked in three World Heritage Areas where such schemes have or are being implemented with much success: Kakadu National Park (NT), Riversleigh World Heritage Area (Qld), Blue Mountains World Heritage Area (NSW). I strongly believe something similar could be achieved for the Burrup area. Please add this submission to those that will assist with this process and let me know if I may be able to contribute further. Yours sincerely, Dr Paul S. C. Tacon Head of the People and Place Research Centre Australian Museum ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Ms Sue Meaghan, In my role of scholar in archaeology, specialized in Rock Art, IFRAO-UNESCO Liaison Officer and UISPP-UNESCO Chair for the Prehistoric Art Symposia, I had the privilege in the year 2000 to survey the rock art of Australia, during a joint mission with others international specialists, after the IFRAO International Rock Art Congress organized by AURA and particularly under the supervision of the Robert Bednarik, IFRAO Convener. The Rock Art patrimony of Australia is unique, beautiful, very important for the past of Mankind, and – particularly - the main original cultural heritage of this continent. The conservation, preservation and popularization of this world relict is vital, inalienable right in face of the Nations and Peoples in the whole world. During my recent survey, I have noted that in Australia have some problems of environmental conservation of the archaeological-anthropological sites: e.g. shelters with prehistoric and historic rock art are not defended from the bush fire, etc. In the Australian 2000 AURA Congress in Alice Springs I was chair of a Symposium about 'Rock Art and Sustainable Development Plans'; during the presentations, discussions and round tables was also analysed the main Australian Rock Art problems. Now, in your land, in Western Australia, in the Dampier Archipelago, in the Barrup Peninsula is in progress the biggest crime against the cultural heritage ever seen in the word: the progressive massive destruction of the archaeological sites with the oldest rock art, the correlate environment and landscape, and the fragile equilibrium with the Aboriginal communities, that are the traditional depositary of the ancient history and natural custodians of the original patrimony. The Burrup rock art is one of the greatest heritage assets of the world, but in almost forty years, the Western Australia Government has not undertaken an exhaustive inventory of the rock art, or any study to curb its destruction. It has consistently refused to protect the rock art and to return it to the possession of its rightful owners, the Aboriginal communities. The determination to put a large petrochemical industrial complex in its place, in a state that has one of the lowest population densities on the planet and offers alternative nearby locations of almost unlimited area, is of the greatest concern. The National Trust of Australia has nominated the rock art of the Burrup Peninsula for its list of Endangered Sites of Australia. This danger is not from natural attrition, it is not from war or poverty, it is not even caused by greed. It is entirely caused by a political decision that promotes the destruction of Aboriginal Heritage. I am sure that my reflections are only a little part of our knowledge about your national patrimony, his value, the civil necessity to protect, to conserve and to notify for your people, for your Country, for our World. In my declared opinion, 'environment in general, and Rock Art in particular, should be considered as something we have borrowed from our children rather than inherited from our parents' (cf. Dario Seglie, 'Save Rock Art', Ripon University, USA, 1999). If you think to judge this matter and return the Burrup Peninsula to the Aboriginal people, allowing the candidature of the area for the inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List, I am – together with others specialists - at your disposal for a scientific commission. Awaiting your vital sentence, in accordance with your own state legislation, about this crucial international, federal and national problem, I send you my best wishes for your – surely enlightened - decision. Yours sincerely, Prof. Dr Dario SEGLIE Museum of Prehistoric Art Director IFRAO/UNESCO Liaison Officer Polytechnic of Torino, Dept. of Museography ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Ms Meaghan: I have been concerned over the Dampier situation, and the potential loss of the enormous body of prehistoric rock art there. This concentration of Native rock art is fully eligible to World Heritage status, and I am quite surprized that it does not already enjoy such status! Not only should it be so designated, but it should fall within full Aboriginal custody to ensure its perpetual protection. In recommending this, I am only following the existing procedures for such sites, and various governmental enactments including that of the international community. Under many regulations pertaining to the protection of sites like Dampier, the sites are classed as sacred. Indeed, such a concentration cannot fail to invoke all of the attributes formally used in such a designation. I trust that I can count on you and your colleagues to work toward the preservation of this profoundly important vestige of ancient aboriginal life in Australia. Respectfully Yours, Emeritus Professor Jack Steinbring Past President, International Federation of Rock Art Organizations ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ms Sue Meaghan I am writing this letter to you in regard to understandings I have about the construction of a petrochemical processing plant on the Burrup Peninsula (Murujuga). I might initially state that the destruction of huge numbers of ancient and irreplaceable prehistoric design elements simply reduces data that can make us understand our past development. I find it hard to comprehend why one would not be disheartened by such policy. Why should remains that have survived for thousands of years simply to be wiped out for immediate expediency? Be this as it may I realize that many people are not concerned with such intellectual issues and put other matters first. So therefore, let us only consider the pragmatics of this situation. As I understand it, there is extensive adjacent land just as suitable for the plant as the location presently earmarked. WHY NOT HAVE THE PLANT AND THE ROCK ART TOO? I assume there is important industrial use of the plant, but now you have preserved an extraordinary archaeological feature that would have worldwide interest. It could be developed and made into a tourist center. Now Western Australia would have greater development and MORE INCOME. I would think that the state of Western Australia would be able to increase both its wealth and the cultural resources. It seems to me this is a win, win situation. This letter is sent in the spirit of and cooperation and positive outlook. Sincerely yours, B. K. Swartz, Jr., Emeritus Professor Anthropology, Ball State University, Muncie, U.S.A. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Native Claims Tribunal members, The relocation of the proposed massive petrochemical development from Burrup to Maitland considered by you is well known to all IFRAO members thanks to the special internet site all over the World. Therefore, it is best to concentrate attention on the summary of the Dampier petrochemical plants' problem. The question concerning the Dampier petrochemical plants' relocation away from the largest concentration of petroglyphs in the world numbering many hundreds of thousands of images has become a question of the international reputation of the Australian State. It is obvious that the cultural heritage property of the rock art at Dampier is part of world heritage; it belongs morally to all of humanity. The Premier of Western Australia as the Government representative has placed himself in a difficult situation. I would sympathize with the Premier if Dr Geoff Gallop MLA would show flexibility and awareness to analyze the future consequences – an essential ability for the Government leader. But unfortunately, it looks like that very famous, ancient Gerostrat’s 'glory' is much more desirable for the Premier of Western Australia. The Australian cultural heritage is unique in the world and MUST be under the custodianship of its traditional custodians, who must forever hold it in trust for humanity. The Western Australian Government's cultural vandalism through its Premier is absolutely obvious for people all over the world. Therefore I take this as evidence of deliberate prejudice against Australia's reputation in the area of international world cultural heritage. This is Government weakness – not evidence of power! The Burrup rock art complex MUST be preserved like any other monument of world significance, as prescribed by the local legislation and by relevant International treaties! I trust that your decision will be objective and adequate. In a situation like this the Native Claims Tribunal is the main entity to protect Australian dignity and honor! Sincerely Arsen Faradzhev, PhD. Russia ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Ms Meaghan, Last night I received a telephone call from Dr Patricia Vinnicombe at the Western Australian Museum to let me know that the Tribunal has invited submissions on the above matter, but that the closing date is tomorrow, Thursday 21st November! She had been trying hard for some time to discover my current whereabouts, as I left Western Australia in 1982. I am very happy to respond, even at this late stage, and I will e-mail this letter and send a paper copy tomorrow. Firstly, it seems appropriate that I should explain why I believe I am competent to make a submission at all. In 1963 and 1964 I served as Principal of Roebourne School. During those two years, during many weekends and holidays I undertook a photographic survey of the rock engravings in the surrounding countryside on behalf of a friend who was at the time the Curator of Anthropology and Archaeology at the WA Museum. The results of my study were published in 1968 as an AIAS (now known as AIATSIS) monograph, 'Rock art of the Pilbara Region, north-west Australia', and in numerous other journal articles and book chapters since that publication. After I was transferred from Roebourne School to the south of the State I continued my research in the Pilbara region during a series of Christmas holiday trips funded by AIAS. It was not until my field trip in January 1966 that I first visited the Burrup Peninsula which was by then accessible by vehicle, following the building of the causeway across the tidal flats. With the Museum I was at that stage surveying for possible Aboriginal archaeological sites which may be affected by the proposed routes to be taken by the various railway lines, from Tom Price to Dampier (at that time merely a large construction site), Pannawonica to Cape Lambert, and the lines from Port Hedland to Newman and Goldsworthy. This and many subsequent trips have taken me into the interior and eastern Pilbara so that I have gained a very extensive knowledge of the engraving sites in this region as a whole. In 1971 I was appointed as a Superintendent (Inspector of Schools) in the Education Department, so it appeared that my rock art studies would come to a halt, but from 1972 – 1973 I was posted to the Kimberleys and Pilbara region where I had a wider range of opportunities during occasional weekend trips in the field. In 1975 I was granted a 3-months Fulbright Travel Fellowship to the United States to research special educational programs for linguistic and cultural minority groups and this gave me occasional opportunities to visit engraving sites the United States including those in Hawaii and New Mexico, and during a later trip to Europe on long service leave in 1979 I had the opportunity to visit numerous of the Upper Palaeolithic cave painting sites in France in the company of Dr Michel Lorblanchet who had spent several months recording engravings and excavating habitation sites within the Dampier Salt Lease. I have also recorded sites in Arnhem Land (as part of the Coronation Hill mine proposal evaluation) in the Carnarvon Range in Queensland, and engravings near Broken Hill and in the Sydney sandstone region in New South Wales. In 1975 I resigned from the Education Department to take up the position of Registrar of Aboriginal Sites in the WA Museum where I was responsible (under the direction of the Trustees) for administering the Aboriginal Heritage Act (1972, and later amendments). In that role I was responsible for the 'recording' and 'protection' of all Aboriginal sites, of whatever category they may be, throughout the whole State of WA. I remained in that position for a period of seven years, until the end of 1981. I hold a degree in prehistory and archaeology in addition to my qualifications in education. My service in that role extended over the initial planning and construction period for the Burrup Peninsula. The then Liberal Western Australian Government had made it perfectly clear from the outset that the Burrup development would go ahead, come what may, but they had no objection to the Museum undertaking preliminary surveys as long as it did not disrupt the project. However, that survey was confined very largely to the areas of direct disturbance within the Woodside lease, and no comprehensive survey has ever been completed for the Burrup Peninsula as a whole. It is the rock art in this unsurveyed area that is now under threat from further development! A series of planning documents was developed and discussed in considerable detail with the Environmental Department of Woodside Petroleum. It became clear at a very early stage that although we would have the opportunity to record (photograph, trace, describe) individual engraved motifs, it would not be feasible to avoid the destruction of a very large number of the engravings, including those carved into the bedrock in the vicinity of the King Bay wharf facility, and in many other places where roads and storage facilities were to be constructed. In situations where there was access for the trucks and cranes, and where there were individual boulders light enough to be moved, the salvage of individual engraved boulders was feasible. However, this 'salvage' operation was always seen by us at the Museum as being a regrettable expedient in the face of otherwise inevitable destruction. These engraved boulders were removed to a 'temporary salvage yard' within the Woodside lease. The agreement with Woodside provide for these salvaged boulders to be re-assembled later in a new specially created mound or 'artificial site' to be located within Woodside's lease near the southern margin of the Burrup Peninsula. Suitable interpretive signs were to be provided at this mound to explain the reasons for the removal and relocation of the boulders from their original locations. This compromise arrangement was discussed with Aboriginal men in Roebourne and the matter was also raised within the context of a Pilbara Bush Meeting which was attended by people from Aboriginal Communities within the region encompassed by Port Hedland, Marble Bar, Nullagine, Jigalong and Onslow. I arranged on that occasion to take a small party of Aboriginal men to Burrup and the group included representing five different coastal and nearby tribal areas. Unfortunately at that time my inquiries did not enable me to identify and include any descendants of the people who had traditionally occupied the Burrup Peninsula. A transcript of the entry in my field notebook, with the names and tribal affiliations of the five men present, is attached to this letter. I drove the group of Aboriginal men to various locations including the site of the King Bay wharf, the much-photographed 'Climbing Men' site, and various other places at which engravings were not going to be disturbed by the developments, and finally to the salvage yard to which about fifty boulders had been moved for 'safekeeping'. Over lunch on the beach at Hearson Cove I asked the men to talk among themselves about the proposal to assemble the salvaged boulders into and artificial mound or hillock, with a sign explaining the reason for their removal from their original positions. The men were by no means happy about the disturbances they had witnessed during the morning but they were philosophical about what was already a fait accompli. The assembling of the boulders into a reasonably 'natural-looking' mound was endorsed as being better than leaving them just in a random scatter within a wire enclosure. Unfortunately, the Woodside Director of Environmental aspects of the development returned to England before that project was complete, and the crane and haulage contractors moved away from Burrup Peninsula, and I moved to work in New South Wales. Now, twenty years later, I have been told that the 'salvage yard' remains just that – a rather pathetic reminder of unfinished business and a promise that was not kept - yet! The new disturbance to the Burrup landscape is in danger of starting up all over again, but far more extensively than it had been in the initial stages. At the outset of this statement I attempted to establish that I am not only familiar with the rock art of the Burrup Peninsula but I am in the position to evaluate this art within the context of the prehistoric art of the Pilbara as a whole, and the Aboriginal art of the whole of Australia, and I am also familiar with the major rock art sites around the world through my reading, and in numerous cases from first-hand experience. I believe that the huge corpus of engravings on the Burrup Peninsula is a unique and highly significant component of the rock art of the Pilbara region, which taken as a whole is one of the densest and most visually dramatic concentrations of prehistoric rock engravings in the world. This is not merely a personal point of view which arises out of my idiosyncratic partiality for the Aboriginal rock engravings in the Pilbara, the finding and recording of which gave me great stimulation and pleasure over a period of twenty years. There are international value criteria which apply to such matters, defined and promulgated by organisations including ICOMOS (the International Committee on Monuments and Sites, which is an organ of UNESCO) and IFRAO (the International Federation of Rock Art Organisations). Many scholars from oversees have seen the Burrup Peninsula engravings, and Pilbara rock engravings generally, and have made the same evaluation as to their scientific as well as their aesthetic significance in understanding prehistoric human endeavour and intellectual processes. This judgement has nothing to do with the degree to which the figures represented are 'life-like' or 'naturalistic', or 'good art', or whether they stand out in sharp colour contrast to the surrounding rock surfaces and make good snapshots! Many of the figures of humans and animals in the rock art are remarkably naturalistic, whilst others are highly stylised. The cryptic symbols which mean little to contemporary viewers were probably regarded by the ancient artists and viewers as being every bit as meaningful and potent as any 'photographic' representations. Consider the enormous philosophical and emotional significance of two simple intersecting lines (a crucifix) to millions of people around the world to this day! Having drawn attention to the global significance of the Burrup rock engravings, I hasten to say that I do not mean to misappropriate yet another element of Aboriginal cultural property by claiming it as the property of the world's scientific community, although 'World Heritage Listing' would be by no means inappropriate. I raise the matter here because of the political reality that 'world opinion' usually carries a great deal more weight than does 'Aboriginal opinion', values and cultural property, when very big money is at stake! Aboriginal in origin and in inspiration this rock art certainly is, and the contemporary Aboriginal people in the Pilbara and elsewhere across the continent have expressed very strong continuing concern for the preservation of rock art and all other material evidence of their people's tradition culture. The engravings on Burrup Peninsula are no exception for the Aboriginal people of the Pilbara, as the attached extract from my 1981 Field Notebook confirms. It is time for Australian Governments to join the international community in recognising and valuing irreplaceable prehistoric and historic property, even when big money is at stake. I cannot imagine the French government allowing the construction of an oil refinery a few metres from the entrance to the painted cave at Lascaux, nor the Spaniards tolerating the same kind of thing in the vicinity of Altamira. How much chance would there be of the British government allowing the construction of a major haulage road right through the middle of Stonehenge? Current indications are that the earliest series of engravings on Burrup Peninsula are at least twice the antiquity of Stonehenge, that famous circle of Celtic monoliths in south-western England. I believe very strongly that no further disturbance to the Burrup Peninsula should be contemplated as there are thousands of hectares of almost un-utilised land (so poor in pastoral quality that it carries 'acres-per-sheep', not 'sheep-to-the-acre'!) up and down the coast adjacent to the Peninsula. I understand that there are already plans for a major on-shore industrial estate called Maitland, at some time in the future. Why is this, or a much nearer site, not being developed immediately to cater for the present needs for industrial expansion? With the hundreds of billions of dollars being quoted from the sale of oil and associated chemical products to China and elsewhere around the globe, surely the cost of the few additional kilometres of roads and pipelines resulting from a shore-based development can be absorbed! If the Tribunal would find it useful for me to provide any further particulars or materials, or to give evidence in person, I would be very happy to do so. Yours sincerely, Bruce J. Wright ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Ms Sue Meaghan I write to express my objection to the fact that the Western Australian government is persisting with plans to industrialise the Dampier precinct, which comprises one of the largest concentration of rock engravings to be found anywhere in the world. Rock art occupies a special place in the long and rich history of human endeavour, which stretches back thousands upon thousands of years. Indeed, rock art represents a great and shared universal legacy for all peoples, no matter where they are in the world. However, despite having survived thousands of years, rock art is non-renewable and fragile. It must be protected at all costs; once lost, it is lost forever. This is not something that we can take lightly. We owe it to ourselves and future generations to protect and preserve the Dampier national and international legacy to the best of our ability. I understand that already 20-25% of the Dampier rock art was destroyed between 1964 and 2002 by industrial development. I urge the Western Australian Government not to do anything that will jeopardise the future of the Dampier engravings and instead to concentrate on protecting what remains. Yours sincerely Dr Aron D. Mazel Research Associate: Archaeology School of Historical Studies University of Newcastle Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU U.K. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ms Sue Meaghan South Africans are particularly aware of the importance of showing respect to all the peoples of our country. An important way to help achieve this purpose is to preserve and protect the cultural treasures of the different cultural groups. I have done research in the field of rock art in South Africa and have used my findings in teaching, at the tertiary level, a history of maths course to teachers. I aimed to show how diverse cultural contributions have all been part of the development of maths. I think it is of extreme importance that the significant archaeological and rock art sights in the Dampier Archipelago should be preserved and protected in the excellent manner that Australia is renowned for. I believe that experts in these fields should be called in to identify the sights before any further development is allowed to take place. Annemarie Martinson ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ SUMMARY OF THE IFRAO SUBMISSION TO THE NNTT There appears to be complete and worldwide consensus that, as far as is known, the petroglyph concentration of the Dampier Archipelago on the coast of Western Australia's Pilbara region is the largest concentration of such phenomena in the world. This immense cultural resource includes also what is suggested to be Australia's major concentration of megaliths, such as standing stones and other rock structures. The Dampier Rock Art Precinct, the subject of this submission, is generally agreed to be the largest cultural heritage property of Australia, and as such should be viewed primarily as one of the great historical monuments of the world, irrespective of who owns, controls or manages it. This is a fundamental issue to appreciate. It follows from this that, as a nation that considers itself to be civilised in the full sense of that word, Australia has no choice but to thoroughly condemn the endemic culture of neglect that has marked the history of the management of this property. The National Native Title Tribunal faces an important task in assessing this issue. Two grave errors of judgment by the government of Western Australia have occurred historically in relation to it. The first was the decision in February 1868 of the then Government Resident in Roebourne, R. J. Sholl, to swear in a bloodthirsty mob as special constables and have them apprehend some Aboriginal fugitives. He thus unleashed a chain of events that led to a series of massacres over a period of about three months, resulting in the almost complete genocide of the Yaburara people. The second error occurred in 1963, when the existence of the rock art at Dampier was concealed because a previous inspection of an alternative site by the Western Australian Museum had led to the abandonment of plans of establishing industrial installations there. In 2002, history offers an opportunity to correct these mistakes. The state government is determined to add a third fatal error of judgment to its record, but the Tribunal has the chance of changing history. It can set in motion developments that will reverse the mistake of 1963, and will help the nation to atone for the mistake of 1868. In this submission we illustrate the effects of the 1963 error, how it will be compounded if the present state government is allowed to proceed with its rush to destroy the Dampier Rock Art Precinct, and what the greater implications of its policy will be. The state government's plan to fit as many petrochemical and other plants on the land surface of the 'Burrup Peninsula' as it can physically accommodate is entirely incompatible with the idea that the area features one of the world's major cultural heritage monuments. Previous development of this kind has destroyed between 20% and 25% of the rock art that existed there in the early 1960s, and the government has made no secret of the fact that further rock art sites will be destroyed if the new developments were to proceed. Moreover, there is scientific evidence pointing to a slower, but more thorough process of rock art destruction, through the massive volume of acidic emissions of the proposed industry. The most incredible aspect of this matter is that the very same state government that bears the legal responsibility of preserving this cultural heritage is planning to establish the nation's largest single polluter (in terms of concentration) in precisely the same location as the nation's largest cultural heritage property - and without any economic reason at all. There is absolutely no technical or logistic requirement for this industry to be in a specific locality. This petrochemical industry could be erected anywhere along the natural gas pipeline. The government's obsession with placing the plant that will increase emissions state-wide by at least 28% in this small area that is generally acknowledged to have world heritage significance can only be described as perverse. The Tribunal has an opportunity to review the circumstances of this obsession as they are illustrated in this submission. It also has the opportunity to change the culture of endemic neglect as it persists in the state of Western Australia. Obsessed with selling off the state's natural resources at bargain prices (30% below world prices), the state government is now determined to deprive the local Indigenous community of its birthrights, and to deprive the nation of its greatest single cultural property as well as of a unique natural environment. It is determined to continue the practices of the 19th century, of dispossessing the Aborigines and of facilitating the enrichment of a small minority at the expense of the natural and cultural heritage of the state. Dampier resembles very closely the Franklin River controversy of Tasmania two decades ago: a state government blindly pursued a policy of large project development, determined to invest hugely in a project that would generate a few hundred permanent jobs, to compete in a depressed world energy market. In both cases there are no significant economic benefits, except for a very small number of privileged people, in both cases the proposal would destroy a property of world significance, and in both cases the same investment of money would, if applied to different industries, provide employment for tens of thousands. The main difference between Tasmania and the Pilbara is that in the latter case, the resource in question is non-renewable, we are depriving future generations of Western Australians by underselling countries such as Indonesia and Qatar on the world market. The extraordinary haste of the government to force through these projects speaks for itself. The mistake of 1868, the genocide of the Yaburara, cannot be undone, but we can acknowledge it and atone for it. For instance, it was an insult to the Indigenes to rename the island formerly known as Dampier Island (an honourable and historically acceptable name) after a bank clerk of the 19th century, Henry Burrup, when a perfectly good Aboriginal name was available. Why not go all the way and name it Sholl Peninsula, in honour of the man who caused the near-annihilation of the Yaburara on the killing fields of Murujuga? The ignorance and impertinence of this state government is breathtaking and unbelievable, and just as all right-thinking citizens of the world would condemn the genocide of the Yaburara, history will condemn the present government for the deliberate destruction of the last vestiges of the Yaburara’s culture: the haunting art they left on the boulders of their land Murujuga. As a result of state policies, Western Australia presents to the world the picture of a dismal society with a tendency of denying history and creating its own distorted version of the past and present. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the choice of its heritage values. While practically all countries in the world, including the remaining states of Australia, make at least an attempt to present some semblance of balance in the way they present their past, as expressed in their heritage values, Western Australia’s official heritage expresses only denial. In most countries, the history before the introduction of writing is well represented in their heritage, usually making up well in excess of 25% of the country's heritage sites, sometimes more than 50%. In Western Australia, no National Park has been created primarily for its Indigenous values, such as Aboriginal rock art. If rock art does occur in a National Park it is mere coincidence. There are no heritage sites in the state to celebrate its Macassan heritage, nor are there any heritage sites or properties (other than shipwreck sites) to present the pre-British European history of Western Australia. This state of denial is illustrated by the state's reaction to the only early Dutch rock inscription ever reported, which was erased by the state's operatives, presumably to protect the legality of British sovereignty. Western Australia has a long history of historical denial, which is well reflected in the preoccupations of its contemporary society. More mature societies throughout the world honour their pre-Historic histories, even celebrate them. In this respect Western Australia has a lot to learn from all countries, ranging from Peru to Thailand to Britain. Where would English history and heritage be without its monuments of the Neolithic, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age? They consist primarily of stone arrangements, rock art and occupation sites, precisely as does the cultural heritage of Dampier. Western Australia ought to inquire into how much a relatively poor country, such as India, spends annually on the preservation and management of its cultural heritage that is older than 200 years, and then compare this with its own puny efforts in the same area, pre-1800 heritage. This is not just about Western Australia deserving international pariah status in the area of heritage neglect and heritage denial - which it undeniably deserves and will secure if this Federation has its way - there are more serious aspects. Western Australia was first settled by people about 60,000 years ago. By encouraging the denial of 99.7% of its history through such measures as intentional destruction or systematic neglect of sites, the state of Western Australia not only seeks to eradicate most of its history, it offends those who reject the official lie that Western Australia has no history other than that which begins with British colonisation, and that this history was one of peaceful acquisition. The policy of denial offends four types of people: the Indigenous citizens, the citizens who are of non-British extraction, those who are of British extraction but would prefer the truth, and those people who live in other countries and object to a history made up of lies. One importance of Dampier is that it provides a poignant illustration of this. Here we have a cultural heritage property any country in the world would be proud to call its own, a monument the size of countless Stonehenges, a monument that exceeds in size and age and impact most of what the rest of the world offers. Its rock art illustrates a culture and a way of life that extends into the very mists of early history. This property was acquired not peacefully, as the campaign of denial that passes as history in Western Australian school curriculas would have it, it was acquired by rudely genocidal means. The history of denial, which began in the 19th century, continues at Dampier in 2002. There is absolutely no reason why the planned petrochemical industry needs to be on Murujuga, and alternative sites are available, so we need to ask: why this obsessive insistence of destroying this heritage? The answer is to be found in the fundamental structures of denial. How are Aboriginal people expected to feel about this abomination of history? Were the sacrifices of their ancestors entirely in vain? The history of the neglect and fully intentional destruction of the world’s greatest collection of rock carvings demonstrates clearly enough that this government is unfit to manage the world heritage property is has control over. It is either unwilling or incapable of discharging its duties under its own Aboriginal Heritage Act of 1972, it projects to the rest of the world the image of a banana republic whose population is driven only by one motivation, greed. This is an insult to all citizens of Western Australia. It is self-evident and does not need to be demonstrated that this government is unfit to manage Murujuga. Therefore the specific recommendations this submission has arrived at are not just obvious - they are inescapable: (1) The Place Names Committee should be requested to replace the offensive name 'Burrup Peninsula' with 'Murujuga', the name that indisputably has historical precedence. (2) All currently undeveloped land of the Dampier Archipelago should be declared a National Park and should be managed by a competent entity such as the NPWS. (3) The entire archipelago should be returned to Indigenous ownership, to be held in perpetuity by all members of the local Indigenous communities, with the proviso that the rock art precinct be leased as a National Park to the Commonwealth. (4) To facilitate item (3) a working party needs to be established that will examine similar arrangements elsewhere, most especially in Kakadu and Uluru National Parks, to adopt any suitable practical arrangements that have worked successfully there. (5) Concerning existing industrial installations on Murujuga, their operators should be required to pay appropriate rent to the Indigenous land owners. Further to item (5), we already have such an arrangement in Kakadu, where a mining venture (Ranger Uranium) operates within a National Park owned by Aboriginal people. Once item (2) is implemented, there will be no obstacle to nominating Dampier for UNESCO World Heritage listing. The only obstacle to this is the fact that the state government will veto such an application under the current conditions (cf. advice by the federal Minister for the Environment and Heritage). The almost complete extermination of the Yaburara was conducted entirely by police, consisting of regular officers and sworn-in special constables. Therefore the government of Western Australia bears full responsibility for the Murujuga Campaign of February - May 1868. No compensation for the wholesale massacre of men, women and children (the only known survivors were adult males) has been made for this hideous crime. This case needs to be taken to the international court for determination of compensation - if only to demonstrate the point that greed is not as good as the 'social elite' of Western Australia seems to think. The above recommendations would have massive economic, social, cultural and political effects on the relevant Indigenous communities. The short-term effects would be communal confidence and sense of direction, and a perception that justice was done at last. The long-term effects would include economic independence, as members of the community would find employment in park management and in the local industries (as is the case in Kakadu), and the community would collect and distribute regular income from royalties. Presumably any surplus would be invested in the community's own initiatives to secure an economic future. These benefits would accrue gradually, under managed conditions, but within decades they would lead to the development of a community resembling that of Arnhem Land: full of confidence and as equal partners in the development of Australia. The state government, on the other hand, wishes to resolve the issue via a package that requires the community to forego the right to claim the sacred sites. The money it offers will soon be frittered away, and the right to own their ancestors' sacred sites should not even be for sale in the first place. There is no concept of selling sacred sites in a traditional Indigenous code, anywhere in the world, nor do any individual Aborigines have the right to sell such land rights. Moreover, while there can be no doubt that these sites belong to the local Indigenous communities, there is equally no doubt that in a wider sense, they are also the property of all of humanity. Nobody buys or sells Stonehenge or the Taj Mahal. Such monuments are not commodities, they are part of the Dreaming of all human beings - past, present and future. The Dampier rock art precinct certainly falls into the same category, and once it has been inscribed in the World Heritage List, all Australians will rejoice, together with the immediate owners and perpetual custodians. It is the prerogative of the Tribunal to create the circumstances that will lead to this - the only solution for the Dampier rock art that is worthy of consideration. Robert G. Bednarik President of IFRAO |
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