Murujuga National Park: Co-Management of Cultural Heritage through a Future Act Agreement

The Dampier Archipelago (or Murujuga, as it is known to the local Aboriginal communities) contains one of the world’s largest collections of rock art, which has national heritage significance. The Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi native title determination resulted in native title being granted across the majority of the claim area (Daniel v. Western Australia [2003] FCA 666), but the Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi peoples effectively ceded their claim to the archipelago. Overlapping claims by Yaburara, Mardudhunera and Wong-Goo-TT-Oo were not successful. Instead of native title over this place, the Ngarluma–Yindjibarndi — and Yaburara, Mardudhunera and Wong-Goo-TT-Oo — were party to the Burrup and Maitland Industrial Estates Agreement. This chapter discusses the current governance structure and the implications for heritage management resulting from this negotiated outcome.