Murujuga Cultural Landscape

In 2025, Murujuga was inscribed on the World Heritage List as a Cultural Landscape. Notably the inscription clearly acknowledges and inscribes the Lore and presence of Ngarda-Ngarli, the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the landscape. Inscription identifies it as living culture expressed in creative artwork, stories and spirituality for Ngarda-Ngarli who have used and cared for the land and sea for at least 50,000 years.

Unlike Purnululu, the ambition and decision to nominate Murujuga to the World Heritage list was driven by the Traditional Owners who actively worked on it and lobbied for many years. Key elements in the submission were thorough involvement and decision-making in the nomination process, a strategic management plan and ensuring Aboriginal cultural heritage was clearly written into the strategic statement (which is part of the nomination) thereby ensuring it is covered by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act). 

FPIC process was embedded in every step and developed early. Significantly the Traditional Owners spent a lot of time discussing and reframing the World Heritage Committee cultural heritage language, which was very Euro-centric, to identify culturally appropriate words that were meaningful for them. This was an important step as the language was used in the nomination.

They also met representatives from the international organisations ICCROM, IUCN, ICOMOS who would eventually assess the nomination, and explained in detail their way of describing cultural heritage and how it reflects Aboriginal cultural law and 50,000 years of civilization and practice. They also advocated that when assessing the property, the World Heritage Committee must send people skilled at evaluating both rock art and cultural heritage.

As with other parts of Western Australia, mining interests continue to be a pressure point for heritage sites. In tandem with Murujuga’s inscription, the World Heritage Committee has put the Australian Government and Woodside on notice and warned they must prevent ongoing desecration and pollution of Murujuga.