Stand Up For The Burrup

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Welcome. Friends of Australian Rock Art (FARA) raises awareness about the Burrup Peninsula, Australia's largest cultural monument, an Aboriginal sacred site. FARA asks people around the world to literally stand up at places of cultural significance in their country, wearing T-shirts spelling out the slogan "Stand Up For The Burrup".

Presentation

Western Australia´s Burrup Peninsula is the world's largest outdoor rock engraving site, containing rock art of world importance possibly dating back to 30,000 years ago, including possibly the first ever representation of the human face in history. Woodside Petroleum and the Western Australian Government are planning to turn part of this site into a natural gas production facility against the wishes of some of the site`s Aboriginal custodians and the scientific community.

See pictures of some rock art

Listen to some of the Burrup experts

Petition

Please, sign the Get Up petition today

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Latest News

Celebration of 2 years of campaign	20/12/2008
Scientists, Church groups, Aboriginal traditional owners, lawyers, and a diverse group of current and former politicians have united to call for World Heritage listing of WA’s Burrup Peninsula. The call was made at a rally in Perth to mark the 200th global “Stand Up of the Burrup” action. See FARA's press release .

FARA’s 2009 Burrup Heritage Calendar	12/12/2008
FARA is today releasing its 2009 Burrup World Heritage Calendar to mark the second anniversary of its global ‘Stand Up for the Burrup’ campaign. This unique publication features never-before published images of Burrup rock art, as well as greatest hits from FARA’s two year global ‘Stand Up’ campaign. See FARA's press release and get yourself a copy [here]

Australia destroys its own Stonehenge	25/10/2008
Friends of Australian Rock Art released recent aerial photographs which show for the first time the full extent of Woodside’s destruction of a globally significant rock art area on the Burrup Peninsula to make way for the company’s Pluto LNG plant. See photo and FARA's press release. (french version here)

Barnett calls for relocation of industry off the Burrup	11/8/2008
FARA welcomes today’s call by WA Opposition leader Colin Barnett for further industrial development in the Pilbara’s Dampier Archipelago region to be shifted away from the world heritage rock art of the Burrup Peninsula. Read FARA's press release .

Xavier Rudd's Stand Up	21/7/2008
The 160th Stand Up for the Burrup was a huge one, with Australian singer Xavier Rudd leading the charge to stop the destruction of the Burrup Rock Art at his latest concert in Portugal. Read FARA's press release .

World Archaeology Congress calls on Burrup destruction to stop	14/7/2008
Delegates of the 74 Countries that make up the World Archaeology Congress passed a resolution condemning the continuing destruction of the Burrup rock carvings. How many more (international organisations) will it take to make the Governments of Australia take action? Read FARA's press release and WAC's press release .

Wong-Goo-Tt-Oo says no more rock art movement	28/6/2008
At its AGM, the Wong-Goo-Tt-Oo Aboriginal group agreed to continue opposition to the desecration and destruction of their culture on their traditional land (including the Burrup Peninsula). See media release here .

Shoulder to shoulder with the opposition!

8/6/2008

FARA organised its 145th Stand Up vigil at the exit of "A Celebration of Life" in Perth, an event sponsored by the Oswal family. FARA along with Ngarlama custodian of the Burrup Peninsula found it culturally disturbing, that Pankaj Oswal who plans to build an explosive factory on the Burrup employed the services of 10 students and actors (paid $500 each) to do a counter demonstration. Read FARA's press release .

Varanus explosion points to continued Burrup folly	4/6/2008
Tuesday's (3rd June 2008) Apache gas plant explosion on Varanus Island (100 kms off the coast of Karratha) must be a wake up call for the State Government. See FARA's press release here .

Giant $1billion methanol plant back to the Burrup

17/5/2008

Through an article less than 40 words in the Pilbara News , dated 14th May 2008, Methanex announced that it was coming back to construct on the Burrup. In 2003 the Methanex Corporation of Canada reported that site costs was the reason not to proceed with the project in Western Australia. The corporation therefore moved its planned location from the Burrup Peninsula to Darwin (Northern Territory). Methanex's massive $1billion methanol processing plant project had received environmental approvals in February 2003 and was to be located opposite the Paterson's Valley petroglyph complex, Hearsons Cove, Burrup Peninsula. Emission loads in 2003 from this plant were estimated to be around 359 kg/hr nitrogen oxide and 2.25 Mtpa of carbon dioxide. In 2003 it was anticipated that this giant plant would consist of two nominal 6,000 tonnes per day methanol plants, two air separation units, methanol storage of 220,000 tonnes, a desalination plant as well as transport systems for raw materials, products to and from the plant site and ship loading operations at Dampier Port on the Burrup Peninsula.

Explosives plant for the Burrup

15/5/2008

Pankaj Oswal of Burrup Fertilisers announced on the 13th May 2008 that he had formed a joint venture with Yara International ASA of Norway to create a company called Burrup Nitrates (BNPL) whose purpose is to build an explosives plant next to the current Burrup Fertilisers plant. Mr Oswal or his wife would be horrified if industry started destroying the Hindu Gardens of Vrindaban, the Taj Mahal or the temple city of Vishnupur. In Vishnupur, protection of the Pancha Ratna and Jor Bangla temples (approximately 400 year old) is being sought as they are exposed to airborne pollution coming from three hundred kilometres away. Yet here in Australia Mr Oswal is proposing to build an explosives factory, with all the attendant pollution less than a kilometre from some of the world’s oldest petroglyphs and culture, possibly 30,000 years in age.

Burrup Vandalism Escalates	28/4/2008
Friends of Australian Rock Art (FARA) today released photos of the latest vandalism at Kangaroo Paw Valley on the Burrup in the Dampier National Heritage listed area. See FARA's press release here .

Australian Financial Review articles	1/3/2008
The Australian Financial Review (the leading business newspaper in Australia) published 2 articles: "On the rocks" (1.2Mb) and "Breaking the spirit of the rock" (85Kb) on Friday 29th February 2008.