The 24th of May 2025 marks the fifth anniversary of the destruction of the Juukan-2 rockshelter.

The rockshelter, which sits 60 km north west of Tom Price on Puutu Kunti Kurrama Country was legally destroyed, against the wishes of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama Traditional Owners, by mining company Rio Tinto as part of the expansion of its Brockman 4 mine.

The destruction caused significant distress to the PKKP community and lead to global condemnation of Rio Tinto’s actions and a parliamentary inquiry into the state of heritage legislation in Australia.

What happened five years ago will never be forgotten by the PKKP people but to ensure such tragedies do not happen again we continue to work with Rio Tinto and other miners to implement effective and fair co-management agreements for their activities on PKKP Country.

Members of the PKKP community will meet at Juukan Gorge on the 24th of May to observe and mourn their significant loss. On this day our people request media organisations and representatives to respect their privacy and importance of the anniversary.

*All comments attributed to the PKKP Aboriginal Corporation.