Original subtitles

On the northwest coast of Western

Australia, you'll find the Murajuga

Cultural Landscape, home to the biggest

and most diverse collections of rock art

engravings in the world, some of which

date back more than 50,000 years and

include carvings of extinct species and

the earliest depiction of the human face

>> that tell the story of our ancestors and

what they what they've done over the

over tens of thousands of years. That's

why at a meeting in Paris, the United

Nations Heritage Committee decided to

add this sacred site to the World

Heritage list.

>> Let's me congratulate Australia on

behalf of the entire community.

>> We have all come here together

and from far away from the Murajuga

lands. This has been a long awaited

journey and a fight for our elders, our

Gulbor, our old people. and we are

thankful to receive this recognition

from a global scale. Thank you everyone.

>> We were very very happy that you know

that word probably can't describe it you

know to the full extent of it.

Murajuga along with 25 other sites from

around the world will now join a long

list of famous sites like the Taj Mahal

in India, the pyramids of Giza in Egypt,

Stonehenge in the UK, Machu Picchu in

Peru and the Great Wall of China in well

China.

The United Nations Educational

Scientific and Cultural Organization or

UNESCO started the World Heritage List

in 1978 as a way to protect sites that

had outstanding universal value to

humanity. Today, the list includes 1,248

sites from 170 countries.

Here in Australia, we have 21 on the

list, including the Sydney Opera House,

Uluru Kata Juta National Park, the Blue

Mountains, the Great Barrier Reef, and

now Murajuga that depict animals.

>> Being heritage listed is a big honor and

helps to boost tourism. But it also

means governments are put under more

pressure to protect sites and have to

regularly report to UNESCO. So

traditional owners are hoping the

heritage listing helps to keep Murajuga

safe. They say nearby mining and gas

projects could cause damage and erosion

to the rock art.

>> You cannot have industry and culture

coexist.

>> In the end, uh what persuaded the

committee was both the scientific

evidence that was put forward but also

the genuine passion from the traditional

owners to see this world heritage

listing be secured. They're hoping that

by showing the world how special this

site is, they can make sure it's still

there for future generations.

>> We start a new journey or a new story

that we created in the rocks today and

we will continue to manage culture and

country as as our ancestors have already

done or have done, you know, prior to or

previous to us.

>> This is a testament to the true

dedication and commitment,

our resilience of Aboriginal people.

Thank you all.

[Music]