Clinton Walker is a Ngarluma/Yindjibarndi man and Traditional Custodian of Murujuga (or Burrup Peninsula), on the north-west coast of Australia. You might recall my conversations with archaeologist Peter Veth and the co-authors of Songlines, Lynne Kelly and Margo Neale. They all related back to this place – where the Songlines start, as Clinton puts it. So as my family and I headed south from the Kimberley at the end of 2021, Clinton and I met up to record a yarn for the Clean State podcast. That was a shorter snappier format. But on this particular hot summer morning, with so much at stake here right now, and so much to appreciate about what he’s up to, Clinton and I settled in for an extended chat. Most of it became ep.109, still in the top 20 most listened to on this podcast. But today, for the first time, is our conversation in full.

Murujuga houses the largest rock art collection in the world – around one million petroglyphs, some dating back about 40,000 years. The World Heritage nomination for this place is a shoe-in, unless it’s jeopardised by current industry expansion plans. All this remains in play today, including the alternate vision Clinton puts forward, as a former technician with a mining company here, who now runs a highly successful business called Ngurrangga Tours.

Part of this episode was originally released as the last of the Clean State podcast. You can access the old Clean State Plan, and its brilliantly formatted Summary, towards the bottom of the episode web page (below).

For more from behind the scenes, become a supporting listener via the links below.

Recorded 13 December 2021.

Title slide: Clinton Walker (from his website). For more photos by AJ, head here.

With thanks to the CCWA, auspicing organisation for Clean State WA, for permission to re-release this series.

Music:
Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.
Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden.

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