WOODSIDE Energy has announced a $4m contribution to the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC) to fund the construction of the Murujuga Living Knowledge Centre (MLKC) on the nationally heritage-listed Burrup Peninsula of WA.
Woodside chief operations officer Meg O’Neill said the contribution to the MLKC was part of the company’s $34m commitment to heritage, cultural and arts projects in the region under the Burrup Conservation Agreement, signed by Woodside and the Commonwealth Government in 2007.
“MAC’s proposal to develop the MLKC at Conzinc Bay as a world-class ecocultural facility for the display and curatorship of rock art will attract Australian and international visitors,” Ms O’Neill said.
“The centre will help maintain, promote and celebrate the rich and ancient cultural values of the Burrup. It will also greatly assist the Indigenous Ranger team at the Murujuga National Park, which Woodside has also supported under the Burrup Conservation Agreement, to better monitor and protect this culturally significant country.
“The Conservation Agreement was a milestone in collaboration with the Dampier Archipelago’s NgardaNgarli people, who have inhabited the Murujuga region around Woodside’s Burrup Peninsula gas processing operations for tens of thousands of years.”
The international significance of the region’s rock art was recognised by the decision of the traditional owners and the Premier of WA to pursue World Heritage listing for the Peninsula.
“Woodside has operated gas processing facilities on the Burrup for more than 30 years, and our support for the World Heritage listing reflects this successful co-existence of heritage and industry,” Ms O’Neill said.
MAC CEO Peter Jeffries said the corporation had an ambitious plan for the centre and wanted it to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Burrup, putting the world’s largest art gallery on the map.
“An iconic Living Knowledge Centre will be constructed to tell stories from the stones and guide visitors through the ancient land that is Murujuga,” he said.
“We are planning to establish a versatile eco-accommodation facility that will allow people to immerse themselves in both the cultural and natural environment.
“When you combine one of the world’s oldest cultures with a pristine environment which is within easy reach of a growing regional centre, you have the foundations for a world-class tourism asset.”
