Cosmo Newbery (also spelt Cosmo Newberry) is a small Aboriginal community in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, east of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

between Laverton and Warburton in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. In the , Cosmo Newberry had a total population of 74, including 64 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

History

The town is named after

James Cosmo Newbery James Cosmo Newbery (28 June 1843 – 1 May 1895), generally referred to as Cosmo Newbery or J. Cosmo Newbery, was a United States-educated Australian museum administrator and industrial chemist, and co-developer of the Newbery-Vautin chlorina ...

, an industrial

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

noted for his work on improving the chlorination method of

gold extraction Gold extraction refers to the processes required to extract gold from its ores. The great majority of gold is extracted from dilute ores using a combination of chemical processes. About 2000 tons are obtained from the earth annually, plus anothe ...

. The area was originally leased by two returned soldiers as a

cattle station In Australia and New Zealand, a cattle station is a large farm ( station is equivalent to the American ranch), the main activity of which is the rearing of cattle. The owner of a cattle station is called a '' grazier''. The largest cattle stati ...

, then as a

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...

for a short time, then later became a government ration depot. The town was first settled in 1920. By 1953 the

Uniting Church The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...

set up a

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

but eventually, in 1976, gave the land back to the Aboriginal people living in the area at that time. The town operated for 11 years and was then abandoned for 4 years. In 1989 four families moved back into the town, quickly followed by others. The town now has a

health clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

, school, a hall,

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

s, communication centre, fuel station and shop. The town is one of the stops along the

Great Central Road The Great Central Road is a mostly unsealed Australian Australian outback, outback highway that runs from Laverton, Western Australia to Yulara, Northern Territory (near Uluru, Uluru / Ayers Rock). It passes through a number of small communitie ...

that tracks through the

Great Victoria Desert The Great Victoria Desert is a sparsely populated desert ecoregion and interim Australian bioregion in Western Australia and South Australia. History In 1875, British-born Australian explorer Ernest Giles became the first European to cross th ...

and eventually connects with the

Gunbarrel Highway The Gunbarrel Highway is an isolated desert track in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. It consists of about of washaways, heavy corrugations, stone, sand and flood plains. The Gunbarrel Highway connects Victory D ...

; there is a roadhouse operating in the town.

Native title

The community is located within the Yilka and Yilka #2 and Sullivan Family (WCD2017/005)

native title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...

determination.

Governance

The community is managed through its incorporated body, Cosmo Newberry Aboriginal Corporation, incorporated under the ''Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976'' on 31 January 1991.

Town planning

Cosmo Newberry Layout Plan No.1 has been prepared in accordance with ''State Planning Policy 3.2 Aboriginal Settlements''. ''Layout Plan No. 1'' was endorsed by the community on 19 May 2000 and by the

Western Australian Planning Commission The Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) is an independent statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia that exists to coordinate strategic and statutory planning for future urban, rural and regional land use. The authori ...

on 21 August 2001. The Layout Plan map-set and background report can be viewed at Planning Western Australia's web site.

References

External links

* Planning Western Australia's official site – Cosmo Newberry Layout Plan (https://www.dplh.wa.gov.au/information-and-services/state-planning/aboriginal-communities/aboriginal-community-maps/layout-plans) {{authority control Shire of Laverton Aboriginal communities in Goldfields-Esperance