Kiwirrkurra, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Kiwirrkurra is a small community in Western Australia in the Gibson Desert
, 1,200 km east of Port Hedland
and 850 km west of Alice Springs
. It has been described as the most remote community in Australia.
It was established around a bore
in the early 1980s as a Pintupi
outstation
and became a permanent community in 1983. It was one of the last areas with nomadic
Aboriginals
until about that time.
Although situated in a desert, it is in a low-lying area without drainage. It was flooded in early 2000 and further flooding between 3 and 5 March 2001 forced the evacuation of its population of 170, first briefly to Kintore
and then for four weeks to NORFORCE
's base in Alice Springs and finally to Morapoi Station in the Goldfields of Western Australia, 2,000 km SSW of Kiwirrkurra. The stay in Alice Springs and Morapoi brought the community into contact with alcohol for the first time and led to violence and social disruption. By late 2002 the community had moved back to Kiwirrkurra. Despite their displacement, on 19 October 2001 the Kiwirrkurra people gained native title
over 42,900 sq km of the surrounding land and waters.
On 19 June 2009 a 26 year old man from Kiwirrkurra was the first Australian to die of the 2009 flu pandemic
; he was initially treated in Alice Springs hospital but he died in Royal Adelaide Hospital
.
Although the community name is gazetted as kiwirrkurra, the correct spelling (according to the standard Pintupi orthography
) is kiwirrkura and this spelling is used in many printed materials and websites.
In the past decade, a Perth Catholic Boy's school, CBC Fremantle
, has established an immersion partnership program with the local Kiwirrkurra community to both further indigenous relations, improve local facilities and further the student's social and pastoral developments. Students and teachers organize trips approximately once per year.
Gibson Desert
The Gibson Desert covers a large dry area in the state of Western Australia and is still largely in an almost "pristine" state. It is about in size, making it the 5th largest desert in Australia, after the Great Sandy, Great Victoria, Tanami and Simpson deserts.-Location and description:The Gibson...
, 1,200 km east of Port Hedland
Port Hedland, Western Australia
Port Hedland is the highest tonnage port in Australia and largest town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with a population of approximately 14,000 ....
and 850 km west of Alice Springs
Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Alice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as "the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory...
. It has been described as the most remote community in Australia.
It was established around a bore
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
in the early 1980s as a Pintupi
Pintupi
Pintupi refers to an Australian Aboriginal group who are part of the Western Desert cultural group and whose homeland is in the area west of Lake MacDonald and Lake Mackay in Western Australia. These people moved into the Aboriginal communities of Papunya and Haasts Bluff in the west of the...
outstation
Outstation movement
The Outstation movement refers to the relocation of Indigenous Australians from towns to remote outposts on traditional tribal land.As described in the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody a range of problems faced Aboriginal people living in towns.During the 1980s a number of groups...
and became a permanent community in 1983. It was one of the last areas with nomadic
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
Aboriginals
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
until about that time.
Although situated in a desert, it is in a low-lying area without drainage. It was flooded in early 2000 and further flooding between 3 and 5 March 2001 forced the evacuation of its population of 170, first briefly to Kintore
Kintore, Northern Territory
Kintore is a remote settlement in the Northern Territory of Australia, located approximately 530 km west of Alice Springs and close to the border with Western Australia. At the 2001 census, Kintore had a population of 691, of which 95% identified themselves as Aboriginal...
and then for four weeks to NORFORCE
NORFORCE
The NORFORCE is an infantry regiment of the Australian Army Reserve. Formed in 1981, the regiment is one of three Regional Force Surveillance Units employed in surveillance and reconnaissance of the remote areas of Northern Australia.-History:In the late-1970s and early 1980s the need for a...
's base in Alice Springs and finally to Morapoi Station in the Goldfields of Western Australia, 2,000 km SSW of Kiwirrkurra. The stay in Alice Springs and Morapoi brought the community into contact with alcohol for the first time and led to violence and social disruption. By late 2002 the community had moved back to Kiwirrkurra. Despite their displacement, on 19 October 2001 the Kiwirrkurra people gained native title
Native title
Native title is the Australian version of the common law doctrine of aboriginal title.Native title is "the recognition by Australian law that some Indigenous people have rights and interests to their land that come from their traditional laws and customs"...
over 42,900 sq km of the surrounding land and waters.
On 19 June 2009 a 26 year old man from Kiwirrkurra was the first Australian to die of the 2009 flu pandemic
2009 flu pandemic in Australia
As of 21 October 2009, Australia has 36,991 confirmed cases of H1N1 Influenza 09 and 186 confirmed deaths due to the disease. The actual numbers are much larger, as only serious cases are being tested and treated. Suspected cases have not been reported by the Department of Health and Ageing since...
; he was initially treated in Alice Springs hospital but he died in Royal Adelaide Hospital
Royal Adelaide Hospital
The Royal Adelaide Hospital is Adelaide's largest hospital, with 680 beds. Founded in 1840, the Royal Adelaide provides tertiary health care services for South Australia and provides secondary care clinical services to residents of Adelaide's city centre and inner suburbs.The hospital is situated...
.
Although the community name is gazetted as kiwirrkurra, the correct spelling (according to the standard Pintupi orthography
Pintupi language
Pintupi is an indigenous Australian language. It is one of the Wati languages of the large Southwest branch of the Pama–Nyungan family. It is one of the varieties of the Western Desert Language ....
) is kiwirrkura and this spelling is used in many printed materials and websites.
In the past decade, a Perth Catholic Boy's school, CBC Fremantle
CBC Fremantle
Christian Brothers College Fremantle is a private, Catholic, day school for boys situated in Fremantle, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia...
, has established an immersion partnership program with the local Kiwirrkurra community to both further indigenous relations, improve local facilities and further the student's social and pastoral developments. Students and teachers organize trips approximately once per year.