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email the perth indmedia mob...
North West gas project threatens ancient rock art |
| by Burrup Indymedia |
2006-09-07 1:07 PM +0800 |
| PILBARA - 4 September, 2006. The Burrup Peninsula in the north-west of Western Australia is home to some of the oldest rock carvings on the planet, dating back tens of thousands of years. But corporate energy giant Woodside Petroleum wants to destroy much of the ancient rock artworks to build a plant as part of its Pluto gas project... |
For more than 10,000 years, the Aboriginal peoples of the Dampier Archipelago in northwestern Australia carved petroglyphs into the region’s numerous rock faces and outcroppings. Collectively, these ancient renderings constitute the largest corpus of rock art in the world, with thousands of images of animals and people etched in stone.
Although the rock art complex has been listed as an endangered site by the National Trust of Australia, for the past four decades it has been subjected to disturbance, and exposure to greenhouse gases and dust from the pelletizing of iron generated by a major industrial complex within the perimeter of the rock art site. Construction of the installation alone destroyed dozens of unrecorded archaeological sites.
Major oil and gas producer Woodside wants to build a processing facility on the north-west peninsula, which houses what is believed to be the world's biggest collection of aboriginal rock art. The Burrup site contains thousands of pieces of Aboriginal artwork between 4000 and 40 000 years old.
After inspecting Dampier rock art this August, the Western Australian Heritage Council decided unanimously that it had the highest cultural significance.
The Federal Government is now considering whether the Burrup Peninsula should be listed on the National Heritage register. The International Rock Art Federation and Australia's National Trust nominated the site for inclusion on the National Heritage List earlier this year. National Trust chief executive Tom Perrigo said heritage listing was needed to prevent the engravings from being "blown up" during construction or damaged later by the plant's emissions.
Australian Greens leader Bob Brown recently noted that there were excellent industrial sites nearby where development could take place without harming the rock art. "The Howard government will be fostering the nation's best interests if it saves the Burrup Peninsula sites and ensures that industry expands at the alternative venues," he said.
The carved petroglyphs of the surrounding Dampier Archipelago - the world's largest collection of such rock art - were named as one of the world's 100 most endangered sites by the New York-based World Monuments Fund last year.
However it's widely expected it will reject this proposal and instead reach agreement with the Western Australian Government to greenlight the resource development at the expense of some of the artworks.
Wilfred Hicks, elder of the Wong-Goo-Tt-Oo West Ngarluma, has lived in the Pilbarra since he was born. He remembers walking on the Peninsula as a child, listening to his grandfather telling the history of the rock art on the Burrup.
"It breaks our heart to see all the destroyed art, rocks and that getting ripped up all the time and blown. It is a heartbreaking feeling. It makes us older generation cry about what they're seeing happen."
"That is our bible. The Minghella gave that to us, and that's Lord Jesus Christ. We've got it in our mind and on sand and on rocks," said Mr Hicks.
The Burrup Peninsula is located on the north west coast of Australia. It's surrounded by 42 islands that make up the Dampier Archipelago.
Archaeologist Ken Mulvaney, says the Burrup is a wealth of information: "We clearly have an area of world cultural significance. No one denies that. But what we have continuing is a state government and government departments that continue to insist that the Burrup is better suited for industry..."
In a bid to strike a balance, the West Australian Government released a plan to protect 60 per cent of the Burrup. That leaves the rock art in the remaining area vulnerable to development, and many are opposed.
"The reality is the rock art has been here for over 20,000 years. You cannot move that. Industry can relocate anywhere. There is no resource on the Burrup that is specific to the industry," says Ken Mulvaney.
West Australian Premier Alan Carpenter disagrees. "The companies want to be in the Burrup because of the access to the facilities that are there and the port facilities and the berthing facilities and so on," says the Premier.
West Australian Environment Minister, Mark McGowan, insists on leaving almost half of the Burrup open to development, an area archaeologists believe houses millions of examples of the 20,000-year-old rock art.
It's a bit late now to say that there shouldn't be development on the Burrup. It's been going there now for somewhere between 50 and 40 years. The horse has bolted in relation to that argument. Now the best way of managing this issue is the question, and we think we've got a good balance," said Mr McGowan.
The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in Western Australia has defended its decision to approve the development of the Pluto Liquefied Natural Gas project on the Burrup Peninsula.
The Greens are outraged at the EPA's decision, and are calling on the state and federal governments to block the development.
The Burrup alone possibly contains a million petroglyphs of which possibly 10,000 have already been destroyed. |
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EPA defends Burrup gas project go-ahead - ABC
Australian Rock Art Research Association Inc
Dampier Rock Art Complex
Forum: Dampier Rock Art Precinct - 2003
scale pictures
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Why precisely is the state government so determined to destroy the remaining rock art at Dampier? |
| by Bullwinkle |
2006-09-07 3:59 PM +0800 |
Cynics might say that it simply continues the work of the colonial government of 1868, whose police force exterminated the Yaburarra, the people who created the Dampier rock art. Not content with its predecessor’s genocide, it now endeavours to erase the last remaining traces of this unfortunate tribe.
The true reasons might be somewhat more complex, but there can be no doubt that the problem we have with accepting indigenous culture as our own heritage is heavily implicated.
In comparing this attitude with that of other nations it is clear that mature nations who feel secure about their identities would not dream of rejecting their aboriginal heritage. They rejoice in having it on their land, they derive national pride from it; they even create national myths about it.
The occasional deliberate destruction of cultural monuments is only found in regimes like that of the Taliban, whose fundamentalist interpretation of their religion led to their follies. It is relevant to observe that Saudi Arabia, Islam’s leading country, has one of the world’s best systems of protecting its pre-Islamic rock art, so the fervour of the Taliban is certainly an aberration. It is therefore fair to ask, what is the basis of the aberration of the Western Australian state government.
Perhaps the renaming of the main island of the Archipelago illuminates the issue. This island, called Murujuga since time immemorial, was first named Dampier Island by Europeans. But in 1971 the government renamed it after Henry Burrup, a bank clerk from Roebourne. And streets in both
Karratha and Roebourne are named after the man responsible for the Dampier massacres, Robert J. Sholl, and after his murderous lieutenants, Alex McRae and John Withnell. That does seem to explain some aspects of the issue, but it is not in the spirit of fair play we have inherited from the Indigenes. It is not fair that the winners in history should also write it, and that its scoundrels should be celebrated. Since those fateful three months in 1868, Murujuga has been known locally as Puratha, “the sad place”, in a magnificently dignified gesture grossly understating the anguish of those wronged. History cannot be changed, but atonement is always open to us. Calling places by their right names is not much to ask from a society that claims sovereignty over land it acquired by extinguishing its owners, but which refuses its obligations under that same sovereignty when it comes to preserving the monumental patrimony the murdered have left us. What kind of civilised
society are we?
Before we can claim to be civilised, we might consider the purpose and implications of Article 6 of the UNESCO Declaration Concerning the Intentional Destruction of Cultural Heritage: A State that intentionally destroys or intentionally fails to take appropriate measures to prohibit, prevent, stop, and punish any intentional destruction of cultural heritage of great importance for humanity, whether or not it is inscribed on a list maintained by UNESCO or another international organisation, bears the responsibility for such destruction, to the extent
provided for by international law.
A free public exhibition depicting the history and plight of the Dampier Rock Art Precinct will be shown in Perth soon.
For comprehensive information about the Dampier rock art and its destruction please visit:
http://mc2.vicnet.net.au/home/dampier/web/index.html
and sign the petition to save the rock art.
Link here
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Burrup Heritage sacrificed for nothing |
| by Senate Watch |
2006-09-07 10:33 PM +0800 |
Today in the Senate Ian Campbell gave the clearest indication yet that the Commonwealth Government is considering standing by and allowing heavy industry to continue destroying heritage sites on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia.
In Question Time today Senator Campbell missed an opportunity to address alternative sites for industrial development in the Pilbara.
He has instead swallowed the WA Government's line that the entire Australian economy will collapse unless we further encroach on the priceless ice age heritage values of the Burrup Peninsula," Senator Siewert said.
"Senator Campell added a novel twist; that in order to export greenhouse-friendly natural gas to the world, the Burrup Rock art will need to be sacrificed."
"All parties have missed the fact that there are many potential development sites for industry in the Pilbara, but there is only one Burrup Peninsula. BHP Billiton have chosen to go to Onslow. There is no reason why other developers should be forced by the State Government to locate their projects on such an utterly unsuitable site as the Burrup."
Senator Siewert, Tuesday, 5 September 2006
Link here
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Overt racism |
| by Mar Bucknell |
2006-09-08 1:38 AM +0800 |
It's the most grotesquely racist act done by any WA government since Noonkanbah in 1979.
If you think it isn't racist, think what the reaction would be if it was a Christian, Jewish or Muslim heritage site. Westminster Abbey, Temple of the Mount or Al Aqsa Mosque to be demolished to build a gas refinery.
Mind you, given how docile people are these days, I reckon you could ALMOST get away with even those stupidities.
Link here
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This is sooo distressing! : ( |
| by Jerome |
2006-09-08 5:47 PM +0800 |
Link here
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Sanctity |
| by Mar Bucknell |
2006-09-11 2:12 AM +0800 |
A point I neglected to mention in my previous post.
Regardless of what you might think about sanctity (and I am an atheist), and regardless of what the racial issues might be,
THESE ARE THE OLDEST KNOWN ARTEFACTS ON THE PLANET.
If we allow them to be destroyed, we lose an important part of who we are as humans.
STOP IT.
NOW.
Link here
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Sin Sick Cynic |
| by john |
2006-09-17 10:44 PM +0800 |
I must be a cynic Bullwinkle, so many people keep telling me so !
First we have Genocide now Culturocide (is that a word?)
How they renamed the place, does ,I think ,show them as the tyrants they surely are.
What magnificent country, you can see it evan in that picture above - bar the refinery of course.
So by destroying all traces of Aboriginal society I assume the next statements coming from the 'gov' would be - "Do you have any evidence of your ancestors living in this area?"
I had an argument with a GP not long ago, said he was a christian he did, I told him he was a liar.
I mentioned the aboriginals in our 'conversation' and he replied - well 'pause', we built them roads didn't we ?
Just like those nice straight roman roads the latins built to move their stolen goods apon and march their murderous armies - but hey even we can use them too like the aboriginals, that is if you can afford the car the petrol the rego the licence and the toll ?
Funny thing was I thought later about what he said - roads?
or should that be Rhodes - you know - Rhodes Schollars - Cecil Rhodes - Singapore - Globalisation - NWO - British Empire - Global Trade etc etc -
Maybe I am being cynical but some of these dots do connect.
Many other Indigenous peoples have 'dissappeared' from the face of the earth, thank God we have some left here to continue to testify against the old and the new regimes of terror.
I may not agree with the meanings behind the works but I sure as Hell do believe they are owned by the Aboriginals and are a most important piece of historical evidence of their life apon this land and their stewardship of it until the white sails appeared apon the horizon - bringing with them Caterpillar bulldozers and educated english gentry to supervise all the convict-ed fellons jailed for sedition.
Ah what a lucky country - pity about the poor people though.
Link here
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Gas Project Threatens Ancient Rock Art |
| by Jackie |
2007-01-12 6:01 AM +0900 |
Can anyone tell me who or what Minghella is? I am from the United States and I am writing a term paper regarding the destruction of paleo art. Thank you. jackiefay@highstream.net
Link here
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