Alan Eggleston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I would like to say a little about the Burrup rock art: the petroglyphs on the Burrup Peninsula. The Burrup Peninsula has been described as ‘the world’s largest art gallery’. This description applies to the petroglyphs found there. Tomorrow a forum will be held here in Parliament House that follows a forum on the Burrup petroglyphs, or rock art and carvings, that was held in the State Library Theatre in the Alexander Library building in Perth on 5 May and sponsored by the National Trust.

I was first shown these rock carvings by the well-known naturalist Harry Butler in the early 1990s when, after a meeting of the board of the Pilbara Development Commission, which he then chaired, Mr Butler took me down to the Burrup Peninsula from Karratha. We went on a track behind the Woodside gas plant and walked to a rocky area where there were thousands of rock carvings. I was astounded because I had no idea the rock carvings were there. They are obviously very ancient, and it turns out they are very important in terms of the archaeology of Australia.

The point about the nearness of the industrial sites of the Burrup Peninsula is that it is considered that the effluence from the gas plants may endanger the future of the petroglyphs. For that reason there is now great concern to preserve them. As I said, there are thousands of rock carvings and engravings on the Burrup Peninsula. In fact, there are thought to be in excess of 10,000, with more than 500 sites having been recorded. Some authorities believe that some sites may represent human activity over 27,000 years ago. So they are very old indeed.

The Burrup Peninsula is called the Murujuga by the local Indigenous population. They regard it as being of significant spiritual value. According to Wilfred Hicks, who is a Wong-Goo-Tt-Oo elder and who, as it happens, I also knew when I lived in the Pilbara: ‘The ancient rock carvings were put there by our ancestors and they carry a message that ties us to our land and calls out for us to protect it.’ It is very interesting that these ancient carvings exist in WA. It is considered that Australia was one of the last continents to be inhabited by humans. This is believed to have occurred between 40,000 and 60,000 years ago. It is also thought by many that the Dampier rock art precinct may have been settled very early in the settlement of Australia. There is certainly evidence from the surrounding sites in the hinterland and on the Montebello Islands, which were originally part of the mainland and which became famous during the 1950s as the site of the first British atomic test, that this area was inhabited at least 27,000 years ago. There is also evidence of trade being conducted in this period by people living in this area. One must wonder if that was conducted with people from what is now Indonesia.

The carvings that are the cultural landscape on the Burrup and throughout the Dampier rock art precinct may date back many thousands of years, according to the National Trust. Unfortunately, there are no techniques available at this time that can accurately date the symbols and art created by the removal of rock. Estimates of the inhabitation and cultural art range from 3,800 years ago—and this predates many of the civilisations in the Middle East—based on a carving found beneath a shell midden, to at least 7,000 years ago, from dating of known shellfish at gatherers sites. It is generally accepted that the rock art dates back more than 6,000 years, and it is probably much older.

The engravings on the Dampier Peninsula are mainly on granophyre rocks, although other types of rock are carved. They depict a range of motifs of spiritual beings, humanoids, fish, birds and mammals, including some species which are known to be extinct, like the Tasmanian tiger, which might be of interest to you, Mr President. The scenes are considered to be more complex and animated than any other engravings of a similar kind in Australia, and perhaps in the world. There are many styles of engravings, with a number of different methods of application, giving rise to the view that there were different periods of formation. There are many and varied views on the number of styles and genres of these motifs, but until a quantitative evaluation and inventory of the precinct is carried out we will not grasp the full extent of these variations.

There is no doubt that the Dampier rock art precinct is remarkable in terms of the ancient archaeology of the world. It has been said that the art and Indigenous heritage of the Burrup is significant on a number of levels. It is significant to its local Aboriginal guardians, who have inherited responsibility for maintaining the mythological and ritual traditions of the terrain now called Burrup or, as they know it, Murujuga. Also, it is significant to the local community in Karratha and Dampier who take pride in the landscape and heritage of their region and respect the enormous labour and artistic achievement represented by the activities of their Indigenous predecessors on the Burrup. The actual and potential tourist industry which can be generated from the petroglyphs will continue to be important to the long-term economy of the region long after it is thought the gas reserves in the area are exhausted.

4L6 Eggleston, Sen Alan 130

To Western Australia, which takes pride in the Pilbara landscapes and heritage, and particularly in this unique concentration of early art, including many unparalleled and outstanding examples of rock art, the Burrup petroglyphs are regarded as one of Western Australia’s greatest treasures. To Australia and Australian archaeology, the first-footers on the Australian continent would, if they came by the shortest sea crossings, have entered the continent from the north-west. All potential evidence, including art evidence, of when they entered the continent needs to be carefully guarded and investigated. Some components of Burrup art may have a date going back 30,000 years. Others may be older still. If so, they may comprise some of the earliest evidence of the first people to colonise this continent and evidence of the range of their economic, social and ritual—including artistic—activities. Many people think that the evidence must be conserved so that it can be unambiguously dated when agreed and validated methods become available.

The major world significance of Australian prehistoric archaeology lies in its role in elucidating the spread of modern man over the face of the globe. We already know that people had reached Australia using watercraft by around 60,000 years ago—that is, before we have evidence that our own modern type of man, homo sapiens, had established himself in Europe. The routes to Australia which would have involved the shortest sea crossing lead to our north-west shores. We need to know when people arrived and to get a picture of the subsistence patterns and symbolic capacities of our first-footers. For these reasons, many people believe that it is extremely important that the petroglyphs of the Burrup are preserved. Professor Tang Huisheng, of China, said:

Please take urgent measures to save this irreplaceable rock art corpus which is not only important to Australia but also to the world.

I could quote other international experts. These petroglyphs are very important, and I urge people to come to this forum tomorrow. (Time expired)