Is It Worth the Gas in Burrup?

Posted by Mary Rayme Sep 24, 2006

The Burrup Penninsula in northwestern Australia is home to over 1,000,000 pieces of rock art created by ancient humans, some of which date back as far as 30,000 years. Now a large energy company wants to mine gas in this region and is proposing moving some of these ancient works of art.

Woodside Petroleum is investing $5 billion (Australian) in the Burrup Peninsula gas mining project, while BHP Billiton has a $20 billion gas project active in Burrup also at it's offshore islands. A Woodside representative is quoted as saying, "The Burrup is one of the most productive areas in Australia per hectare and hosts mining and energy investments of about $35 billion and is responsible for up to 7,000 direct jobs, and many thousands probably hundreds of thousands of indirect jobs."

Historic preservationists have launched a campaign to get the Burrup Peninsula of Australia, also called the Dampier Rock Art Precinct, placed on the National Heritage listing, which would in turn give more credibility to the notion of protecting as much of the rock art as possible. At a conference in May of 2006, various experts reported on the damage that has already been done to the rock including showing photos of a mound of rocks with petroglyphs that have been broken up and destroyed in the creation of the gas mining operation on the penninsula. It is estimated that over 100,000 such petroglyphs have been destroyed. There is also growing concern that the pollution from the gas mining and processing plants are raining down acid rain that is destroying the rock art at an alarming rate.

So how much value do we place on the rock art of our ancient ancestors? Is it worth pursuing a finite resource to destroy part of the cultural heritage of Aboriginal Australians that is ultimately the heritage of us all? This is a story that is not over. As the courts and higher authorities in Australia decide on how to proceed, I'll keep you posted. And let's hope Australia knows the world is watching them.