Environment Protection and Biodiversity
Conservation Act 1999
Notice under Section 315
I, Murray Watt, Minister for the Environment and Water, give notice under section 315 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), that the property described in Schedule A was submitted to the World Heritage Committee for inclusion in the World Heritage List on 27 January 2023 (paragraph 315(1)(a)) and included in the World Heritage List on 11 July 2025 (paragraph 315(1)(e)).
Dated: 4 / 9 / 2025
Murray Watt
Minister for the Environment and Water
Schedule A
The nomination dossier for the Murujuga Cultural Landscape was submitted to UNESCO on
27 January 2023. The nomination of Murujuga Cultural Landscape was led by the Ngarda-Ngarli, the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Murujuga, and was developed in partnership with the Australian and Western Australian Governments. The Ngarda-Ngarli are represented by the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation. The area known as Murujuga Cultural Landscape, specified in the map below, was inscribed in the World Heritage List at the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee on 11 July 2025.
Murujuga is a deeply storied land and seascape located in northwest Australia. It encompasses the Burrup Peninsula, the Dampier Archipelago, surrounding marine areas and the submerged landscape. Murujuga is shaped by the Lore—rules and narratives put in place to create the Country—and the enduring presence of the Ngarda-Ngarli, Traditional Owners and Custodians of the site. The property holds profound cultural and spiritual significance, reflecting over 50,000 years of continuous care and management by Traditional Law that has adapted to the changing needs of country over periods of dramatic climatic and environmental change. Murujuga is renowned for its dense concentration of archaeological and spiritual sites that reflect the interaction between people and place over thousands of generations. Its extraordinary rock art assemblage records a complex system of Lore and Traditional Law, features unique motifs and demonstrates artistic and technical mastery.
The geographical coordinates near the centre of the nominated property are: 20° 33’ 54’’ S116° 40’ 6’’ E. This contiguous nominated property is comprised of 99,881 hectares in the north-west coast of Western Australia, including 8356 hectares of the Burrup Peninsula, 42 islands of the Dampier Archipelago and adjacent marine areas. The area generally consists of:
- Murujuga National Park
- Dampier Archipelago conservation estate
- Western Australian unallocated Crown land and other Crown reserves
- Local government land
- Dampier Archipelago waters
- Port lands and waters
- Industrial leased land
- Department of Defence leased land
.