Murujuga receives UNESCO World Heritage listing

Circle and radiating lines geometric motif located on the Southern Burrup with a high contrast state. Image credit: © A. Stevens

Western Australia is home to Australia’s newest UNESCO World Heritage site, with the Murujuga Cultural Landscape inscribed on the World Heritage List.

Located on the Dampier Archipelago and Burrup Peninsula in the Pilbara, Murujuga National Park is one of the world’s most significant cultural landscapes. Its richly layered red rock escarpments include up to two million petroglyphs, dating back more than 50,000 years.

These ancient stone carvings document the connection between First Nations Peoples and Country through time – stories of land, sea, ceremony, family and spirit.

Murujuga is Australia’s 21^st UNESCO World Heritage site and the second recognised for its Aboriginal cultural values. At its heart is the Ngarda-Ngarli, the five language groups that are the custodians who continue to care for this land and sea country.

This UNESCO listing recognises not just the extraordinary rock art, but the ongoing living traditions of the Ngarda-Ngarli, their spiritual connection to place, and cultural knowledge passed through generations.

It follows a nomination process led by Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation in partnership with the West Australian Government and with full support of the Australian Government.