Rock art preserved in port expansion
The Burrup Peninsula in north west Australia, site of Hamersley Iron's Dampier port for export of iron ore, lies within one of the richest concentrations of Aboriginal rock art in the world. The diversity, artistry and cultural information displayed by the images places the area among world class heritage sites.
As part of Hamersley Iron's expansion of the port, extensive heritage surveys were conducted with the help of local Aboriginal groups and their representatives. Some 500 petroglyphs (engraved rock art) were recorded.
As work progressed, design changes were made to project plans to accommodate rock art by shifting the rail spur location and redesigning the construction camp and access road. However, not all engraved boulders could be protected in situ, and Hamersley staff worked closely with the relevant Aboriginal groups - the Ngaluma Injibandi, Coastal Yaburara/Mardudhunera and Wong-Goo-Tt-Oo - to relocate a number of rock art panels so that the port upgrade works could proceed.
The Western Australian Minister for Indigenous Affairs consented to the disturbance of eight identified sites involving some 60 boulders with petroglyphs on them. Some of these rocks were too massive and deeply buried to be shifted, and so a method of rock separation was devised that uses the pressure of expanding chemical compounds to ease the engraved rock apart from the bedrock base. All the resulting panels have been relocated to an area close by the construction site, but as close to their original context as possible.
In addition, some engravings mark the location of sacred sites, unable to be viewed by women - these have been fenced and protected for the duration of the construction project, and in some cases, hidden from view.
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