Notorious Pilbara ‘jump up’ 4WD track to go as Murujuga plans for road to open up Burrup tourism progress

A decades old rite of passage for Karratha’s four-wheel-drive community will make way for an $18 million road to improve access to a “game changing” tourism precinct on Murujuga. The City of Karratha has confirmed the “jump-up”, a notorious 20m rocky hill leading to some of the region’s most isolated beaches, will be demolished to create an access road to Conzinc Bay as part of the $32 million Murujuga Tourism Program. That project would see Conzinc Bay transformed into a tourism destination complete with campground, cafe, gallery, gift shop, floating jetty and glamping area. It will also feature a Living Knowledge Centre to showcase the cultural richness and natural diversity of the area, home to an estimated one million rock engravings. The plan has been a long-held ambition of the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, with the project beginning in 2018 when MAC began a flora and fauna survey of the land. It was endorsed by the State Government, which pitched in $10m in funding to the road, last year. At a council meeting last week City of Karratha councillors unanimously voted to approve $3m for the road. As part of the motion, the local government would construct a 5.65km road from the southern boundary of the national park to the Living Knowledge Centre at Conzinc Bay. Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation wrote to the city in January requesting the local government extend the access road by 1.15km from the original 4.5km. The report stated MAC had joined the City and State Government in provi-ding $2.5m for the road but a $3,250,000 shortfall remained. Karratha Mayor Peter Long said the motion would increase the organisation’s scope of work with the access road construction. “The boundary of the national park has now been shifted to the south and they now would like us to do the road all the way into the tourism precinct,” he said. “We think it’s a really important development, it will be great for Murujuga and our local Aboriginal people and it will be great for tourism, not only in Karratha but the whole Pilbara.” Mr Long said the new road would spell the end of the jump-up. “More people will see it but it will also look after the national park and the beautiful area and that is really important,” he said. Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation was contacted for comment.