save Dampier

PALEOLITHIC ART MAGAZINE

OCEANIA

CAMPAIGNE TO SAVE DAMPIER ROCK ART

The Dampier Archipelagos is on the north-western coast of Australia.
During the mid-1960s, the Western Australian Museum found there a large ensemble of rock art (petroglyphs).
But , unfortunately, after the discovery of natural gas deposits and the development of industrial and residential infrastructures, between 20-25% of the rock art has been destroyed since 1964.
Legally the Western Australian government is responsible for this destruction, but it has abrogated every responsibility for the rock art preservation.
We must remember that:
- the Dampier ensemble of rock art ( 200,000 figures) is the largest concentration of petroglyphs of the world;
- these islands also comprise the largest number of standing stones and other stone arrangements of the Australia;
- the Dampier ensemble is the largest non-europeans cultural heritage property of Australia.
Robert G. Bednarik, President and Convener of IFRAO, has made opposition to this cultural destruction since the 1960s, with several other rock art researchers and archaeologists, unhappily without result.
Instead, new economic investments menace more strongly this very important cultural heritage, and it seems very difficult to protect Dampier ensemble against all it.
Both the International Federation of Rock Art Organizations (IFRAO) and the Australian Rock Art Research Association (AURA) strongly opposed also recently to the destruction of the petroglyphs.
Bednarik said:"We now seek the support of all who value the heritage of humanity to save this magnificent rock art gallery from the entirely needless destruction by an uncaring government. This issue is not a confrontation between pro- and anti-development parties: nobody is opposed to the industrial development as such. All parties are merely opposed to the unnecessary siting of the largest polluter in the country at the same location as the largest petroglyph concentration in the world. "
We all of Liguria Paleolithic Art Magazine, in the spirit of defense of the first shapes of art of the Man who animates our minds, invite all the men interested to preserve the common cultural heritage to sign and propagate the petition in defense of Dampier Rock Art.

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