Murujuga Cultural Landscape: Australia’s newest World Heritage Site

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has granted World Heritage Site status to the Murujuga Cultural Landscape in north-west Western Australia.

Comprising more than 100,000 hectares of land on the Burrup Peninsula and 42 islands within the Dampier archipelago, Murujuga was identified due to its more than one million petroglyphs, with some dating as far back as 50,000 years.

Among this celebrated rock art is what’s considered to be the oldest depiction of a human face in the world.

Acknowledging the Ngarda-Ngarli as the traditional owners and custodians of the land, UNESCO stated the property holds “profound cultural and spiritual significance”, with its rock art documenting the Ngarda-Ngarli’s enduring presence, and “reflecting over 50,000 years of continuous care and use”.

“[The area] is shaped by the Lore – rules and narratives that were put in place to create the Country – and the enduring presence of the Ngarda-Ngarli,” UNESCO states on their website.

Translating to ‘hip bone sticking out’, Murujuga consists of jagged red rock formations set against the Indian Ocean on Western Australia’s coastline.

Becoming Australia’s 21st heritage site, Murujuga joins other Australian icons such as the Great Barrier Reef, Daintree Rainforest and Lord Howe Island on UNESCO’s global list of 1248.