Protecting Murujuga: Saving the World's Oldest Outdoor Art Gallery from Destruction
Hidden among the rugged red rocks of Western Australia’s Pilbara coastline is a cultural treasure unlike any other on Earth: Murujuga, also known as the Burrup Peninsula.
Home to more than one million ancient petroglyphs, Murujuga holds the world’s largest and oldest known collection of rock engravings, with some dating back over 45,000 years.
These intricate carvings tell the story of Australia’s First Peoples - their beliefs, their connection to Country, and their way of life over tens of thousands of years.
But despite its global significance, Murujuga is under threat. Industrial development on the Burrup has already destroyed countless sacred sites, and ongoing industrial pollution risks permanent damage to this irreplaceable cultural and ecological heritage.
It’s time for all Australians - and the world - to stand with Traditional Owners and join the campaign to protect Murujuga for future generations.
Photo: Marius Fenger - Own work. Murujuga National Park: The contrast between rock art from thousands of years ago against the modern LNG plant of the North West Shelf.
A Sacred Landscape Under Threat
The Burrup Peninsula, part of the wider Dampier Archipelago, has been home to Aboriginal people for over 50,000 years.
The rock art of Murujuga is not just art, it is a living library, holding Dreaming stories, Songlines and ancestral knowledge etched into the ancient volcanic stone.
Some petroglyphs even depict animals like the now-extinct thylacine (Tasmanian tiger), offering rare insights into the environment and spiritual life of Australia’s early inhabitants.
These artworks are as precious to humanity as the pyramids of Egypt or the cave paintings of Lascaux in France.
However, the Burrup Peninsula has been systematically damaged by industrial expansion since the 1960s. More than 900 sacred sites, representing thousands of petroglyphs, were destroyed to make way for industrial infrastructure such as gas plants, pipelines and roads.
Today, acidic pollution from nearby heavy industry continues to silently erode the rock surfaces, breaking down the ancient artworks and threatening to obliterate this living history forever.
Photo: Marius Fenger - Own work. Murujuga National Park: The modern Ammonia plant sits side by side with ancient rock art.
The Industrial Threat: A 50-Year Disaster in the Making
Despite Murujuga’s national heritage status, in 2025 the Australian Government approved a 50-year extension for the North West Shelf gas project, operated by Woodside Energy.
This one decision alone could result in up to 90 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually, leading to acid rain that corrodes the rock varnish protecting the engravings.
Woodside’s own internal reports have acknowledged the environmental risks, yet the project continues, a short-term gain at the expense of tens of thousands of years of human history.
Traditional Owners such as Raelene Cooper have taken their fight to the world, appealing to the United Nations to intervene.
As Raelene powerfully stated:
The rock art archives our lore. It is written not on a tablet of stone, but carved into the ngurra, which holds our Dreaming stories and Songlines.
A Call to Action: Join the Movement to Protect Murujuga
The Traditional Owners of Murujuga, including the Ngarluma-Yindjibarndi, Yaburara-Mardudhunera and Woon-goo-tt-oo peoples, have cared for this sacred Country since time immemorial. Now, they are calling on all of us to stand with them to ensure that cultural heritage is not sacrificed for industrial profit.
You can learn more and support the campaign by visiting the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation at murujuga.org.au.
What you can do:
✔️ Spread awareness, share the story of Murujuga with your friends and networks.
✔️ Write to your local MP and federal representatives urging full protection of the Murujuga Cultural Landscape.
✔️ Support calls for World Heritage Listing for Murujuga, to provide stronger international protection.
✔️ Demand real action to reduce industrial emissions and prevent further destruction.
Murujuga Deserves World Heritage Protection
Australia has a responsibility to the world to preserve Murujuga, not only for Aboriginal peoples and Australians, but for humanity as a whole.
As custodians of one of the world’s greatest cultural treasures, we cannot sit idly by as ancient stories are erased by industry.
Murujuga is a sacred outdoor art gallery older than the Pyramids, alive with the voices of ancestors. It’s not too late to protect it, but the time to act is now.
Stand with the Traditional Owners. Stand with Murujuga. Stand for Country.
Learn more and take action: https://murujuga.org.au/
