OUR HERITAGE AT RISK - WESTERN AUSTRALIA - 2008
Place:    Dampier Rock Art Precinct
Threat: Industrial Development

Statement of Significance:

The Dampier Rock Art Precinct is thought to comprise the largest concentration of petroglyphs (rock carvings) in the world, and the largest collection of standing stones, grinding patches and other stone arrangements in Australia. Created as far back as the last Ice Age, the place is of sacred importance to the traditional owners (the Wong-Goo-Tt-Oo, the Yarubara/Murduhunera and the Ngaluma/Yindjibarndi peoples). It has the potential to reveal extensive information about the daily life in the Pilbara region, dating back 10, 000 years.

Statement of Risk

Degree of Risk:       At risk

Threats/Risks:        Inappropriate Industrial Development / Damage through Industrial Pollution

Fate/outcome:         Stable

Description of Risk:

Destruction of the rock art and other archaeological features for industrial infrastructure, without reference to a thorough inventory of rock art or singular management plan. A portion of the rock art collection has already been destroyed since industry began operating out of the port at Dampier in the 1960s. Without the completion of a comprehensive study, and the completion and implementation of a holistic management plan the place remains at risk due to the Western Australian government commitment to expanding the industrial infrastructure of the place. In addition to this there is the potential threat from industrial emissions, (the impact of emission on the rock art is yet to be determined).

Though the placement of the archipelago on the National Heritage List has put greater scrutiny on potential new developments, the failure to consider the place as a cultural landscape and the excising from the list an area rich with rock art to facilitate the expansion of the LNG industry opens up the possibility of further loss and damage.

Desired Outcome/Vision:

A number of action need to be taken to ensure that this unique part of the world is properly looked after, they include a comprehensive inventory of the rock art and archaeological sites of the area, the development of a single holistic management plan and a means to monitor the management of the place to the satisfaction of all, the establishment of a dedicated fund to support the management process and a independent statutory based management body to oversee the implementation and evaluation of the management plan. In addition to this the place must be nominated to the World Heritage List.