Gas plant threatens Australia's ancient art
By Kathy Marks in Sydney
Published: 30 September 2006
The petroglyphs carved into the red rocks of the Burrup peninsula, on
Australia's north-west coast, chronicle the lives of the Aboriginal
people who have roamed this rugged region for tens of thousands of
years.
The Burrup contains the world's largest concentration of ancient rock
art, some of it believed to be 30,000 years old. But the carvings of
human and animal figures - kangaroos, lizards, emus, even long-
extinct Tasmanian tigers - are under threat. Offshore are massive
reserves of natural gas, and an energy company, Woodside Petroleum,
wants to build a processing plant on the remote peninsula.
That would mean the destruction of an unknown quantity of the art,
prompting outrage from indigenous people and heritage organisations.
But the state government in Western Australia is pressing for the
project to go ahead because of its significance to the regional
economy.
The final decision rests with the federal Environment and Heritage
Minister, Ian Campbell, who, despite visiting the area and declaring
himself awestruck, appears to be giving more weight to the economic
arguments.
Mr Campbell was supposed to make a ruling this month but has deferred
it. "I want to make sure all the major stakeholders, particularly the
economic stakeholders, are very happy with the process, and we get
what I call a win-win-win," he said. "A win for the economy, a win
for the environment in terms of greenhouse gas reductions, but also
putting in place a long-term management plan for the ancient rock
art."
The Australian Heritage Council believes the entire peninsula
qualifies for national and world heritage listing. Despite opposition
from the state government, Mr Campbell indicated some of it would be
protected but did not say how much.
Conservation groups fear substantial quantities of the art will be
left unprotected. Tom Perrigo, director of the West Australian
National Trust, believes that up to 10,000 of the hundreds of
thousands of carvings have already been destroyed by industrial
activity. "Would England move Stonehenge for a mine, or Egypt sell
its pyramids for oil?: he said. "We have something older than both of
them and we're planning to destroy them."
Robin Chapple, of the National Trust, said: "Our process of dealing
with rock art on the Burrup is that we can destroy any amount we like
because there's lots more. Unfortunately, in this instance we don't
know if the Mona Lisa is amongst those parts we are seeking to
destroy."
For Aborigines, the area holds great cultural significance. Wilfred
Hicks, an elder of the Wong-Goo Tt-Oo West Ngarluma people, said the
rock art was "our Bible", and it was heartbreaking to watch it being
destroyed.
