Australia

Murujuga Cultural Landscape

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Murujuga Cultural Landscape is the homeland of the Ngurra-ra Ngarl Aboriginal groups. The area on the Burrup Peninsula holds a large and diverse collection of petroglyphs. Especially notable are the depictions of human figures; they continue to be part of the traditions and beliefs of the Ngurra-ra Ngarl.

Community Perspective: Joel visited in 2022 and found it one of the most impressive collections of petroglyphs he had ever seen. However, it's pretty remote, even by Australian standards.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Murujuga Cultural Landscape (ID: 1709)
Country
Australia
Status
Inscribed 2025 Site history
History of Murujuga Cultural Landscape
2020: Added to Tentative List
Added to tentative list
2024: Incomplete - not examined
2025: Inscribed
As a CL, on criterion 1,3 and 5
2025: Advisory Body overruled
ICOMOS wanted Referral to further study and limit impact of the industries on the petroglyphs
WHS Type
Cultural
Criteria
  • i
  • iii
  • v
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
News Article
  • June 3, 2025 theguardian.com — Australia to lobby Unesco over barring of ancient rock site from world heritage list due to Woodside emissions
  • May 28, 2025 abc.net.au — Australia's largest gas project approved for life extension to 2070
  • June 6, 2023 bradshawfoundation.com — Murujuga rock art is at risk

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Archaeological site: Rock Art
  • Cultural Landscape: Continuing
Travel Information
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News
theguardian.com 06/03/2025
Australia to lobby Unesco over bar…
abc.net.au 05/28/2025
Australia's largest gas project ap…
bradshawfoundation.com 06/06/2023
Murujuga rock art is at risk
Recent Visitors
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Community Reviews

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First published: 10/09/22.

Joel On The Road

Murujuga Cultural Landscape

Murujuga Cultural Landscape (Inscribed)

Murujuga Cultural Landscape by Joel on the Road

I'm going to put it out there right at the start of this review: the Murujuga Cultural Landscape is one of the most impressive collections of petroglyphs (rock carvings) I've ever seen. It would be justifiably world-renowned if it were located on other continents, and certainly ranks well above many of the other rock art collections already inscribed on the World Heritage List. So what is it?

The cultural landscape is centred on Murujuga National Park, part of the Burrup Peninsula in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia. It's located on the traditional lands of the Ngarluma, Yindjibarndi, Yaburara, Mardudhunera, and Wong-Goo-Tt-Oo peoples, collectively known as the Ngarda-Ngarli (pron "nahda nahli"). The national park is about 37,000 hectares, so it's not an extremely large area, but it's packed with an estimated one million petroglyphs. It's believed to be the densest collection of hunter-gatherer petroglyphs anywhere in the world. What's truly amazing about Murujuga is the incredible variety of petroglyphs, in both age and subject matter: the oldest petroglyphs here have been dated at around 40,000 years old, while some are as recent as the 19th century.

Petroglyphs of humans are quite common with a variety of imagery, ranging from static figures to abstract faces, hunting scenes and ceremonial activities. You can also see plenty of spiritual art telling stories of the Marrga, the ancestral beings who created the world during the Dreamtime.

But it's the imagery of animals at Murujuga that we found most striking. The sheer number …

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