Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt has told Fairfax that he believes the Budj Bim landscape – stony rises from Mt Eccles near Macarthur to a prehistoric aquaculture system on Lake Condah and south to Tyrendarra wetlands – was an outstanding site that had the potential to achieve World Heritage status.
He has invited the Victorian government to complete an independently audited assessment to prove compliance with world heritage values.
If that showed there were "recognised outstanding universal values, then I would be delighted to propose this as a tentative item for listing by the World Heritage Committee", he said.
The Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, has written to Mr Hunt stating the Victorian government's full support for listing Budj Bim, and has forwarded a peer-reviewed study by leading scientists and archaeologists that finds the landscape is of international significance and that the criteria for listing is fully justified.
Budj Bim – the Indigenous name of Mt Eccles which produced the lava flow that was settled by the Gunditjmara Indigenous people thousands of years ago – is already on the Australian National Heritage Register.
World Heritage listing would elevate it to the status of the Great Barrier Reef, one of the 19 Australian sites currently receiving international protection.
The Gunditjmara are considered unique in Australia. They lived in large villages constructed of stone huts and harvested eels and fish in a sophisticated network of weirs and traps, dated to at least 6600 years ago, that meant they had no need of a nomadic lifestyle.
The Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, backed by teams of archaeologists, historians and independent heritage experts, having been gathering evidence for a decade to support the nomination for UNESCO World Heritage listing.
Author: Tony Wright | Source: The Age [June 05, 2015]
In Sydney will celebrate the Chinese New year, having placed two huge orange tigers executed in style origami, in city center. The project is developed architectural company LAVA, Laboratory for Visionary Architecture.
As is known — 2010 of the Tiger; besides, origami concerns China. Dimensions of an original figure: 2,5m in height, 7m at length. Tigers are similar to huge lanterns — thus authors have decided to unite design and technologies, the East and the West.
Figures are made of processed materials and highlighted by special economical illumination. Tigers will sit on the area before Customs from February, 11th till March, 14th.
