Peter Hicks
Chair of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation

Senator The Hon Murray Watt
Minister for the Environment and Water

The Hon Matthew Swinbourn MLC
WA Minister for the Environment

After more than 50,000 years of being carefully protected and managed by its Traditional Owners and Custodians, the Murujuga Cultural Landscape has been recognised for its Outstanding Universal Value on the World Heritage List.

This landmark inscription for World Heritage status was determined at the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee in Paris on Friday (local time).

It follows a tireless nomination process led by Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation on behalf of the Ngarda-Ngarli (Traditional Owners and Custodians), in partnership with the West Australian Government and with full support of the Australian Government.

The Murujuga Cultural Landscape is located in the north-west of Western Australia and is of immense cultural and spiritual significance. Murujuga represents the continuous traditional culture and practice of the area for at least 50,000 years, and we are pleased to see this Outstanding Universal Value recognised

It has the densest known concentration of petroglyphs of their kind anywhere in the world, with an estimated 1-2 million petroglyphs recorded in an area of more than 100,000 hectares, across land and sea country

Achieving World Heritage status ensures stronger protections under Australian legislation and will allow the world to celebrate this unique cultural landscape.

As part of the immediate inscription, the Australian Government will also provide a state of conservation report for consideration in 2027. 

Murujuga will become only the second property in Australia recognised on the World Heritage List solely for its First Nations cultural heritage. This follows the World Heritage listing of Budj Bim in 2019.

Australia now has 21 properties on the World Heritage List, which include the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and the Great Barrier Reef.