Mulan 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 ...
's east
Kimberley. The community is in the
Shire of Halls Creek
The Shire of Halls Creek is one of the four local government areas in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia, covering an area of , most of which is sparsely populated. The Shire's seat of government is the town of Halls Creek. Man ...
, 44 km to the southwest of
Balgo and about 10 km east of
Lake Gregory. At the
2006 census
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
, Mulan had a population of 114.
Most Mulan people are speakers of the
Kukatja language, which is also spoken at
Balgo. Kukatja is closely related to
Pintupi
The Pintupi are an Australian Aboriginal group who are part of the Western Desert cultural group and whose traditional land is in the area west of Lake Macdonald and Lake Mackay in Western Australia. These people moved (or were moved) into the ...
, spoken at
Kintore and
Kiwirrkura
Kiwirrkurra, gazetted as Kiwirrkurra Community, is a small community in Western Australia in the Gibson Desert, east of Port Hedland and west of Alice Springs. It had a population of 165 in 2016, mostly Aboriginal Australians.Australian Burea ...
and many Mulan residents are closely related to people at those communities as well as at Balgo.
History
Mulan was established as a permanent
Aboriginal community in the late 1970s by Walmajarri people moving away from the Balgo mission to the Lake Gregory Pastoral Station, near the shores of
Lake Gregory. A major factor behind this was the transfer of the pastoral station from Lake Gregory Pty Ltd to the
Aboriginal Land Trust
In Australia, an Aboriginal land trust (ALT) is a type of non-profit organisation that holds the freehold title to an area of land on behalf of a community of Aboriginal Australians. The land has been legally granted to a community by the governme ...
in 1978.
The community became incorporated in 1979 and the first houses and school were constructed in the same year. In 1985, Crown Reserve 39102 was excised from the pastoral lease and vested to the ALT for the "use and benefit of Aboriginal inhabitants", with the land being formally leased to Mulan Aboriginal Corporation the following year.
Native title
The community is covered by the determined Tjurabalan People native title claim (WCD2001/001).
Governance
The community is managed through its incorporated body, Mallingbar Aboriginal Corporation, incorporated under the ''Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1796'' on 26 April 1983.
Town planning
Mulan Layout Plan No.2 is not yet endorsed by the community and exists in draft format only. The Layout Plan map-set and background report can be viewed at Planning Western Australia's website.
See also
*
Indigenous Australian art
Indigenous Australian art includes art made by Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples, including collaborations with others. It includes works in a wide range of media including painting on leaves, bark painting, wood carving ...
*
Papunya Tula
Papunya Tula, registered as Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd, is an artist cooperative formed in 1972 in Papunya, Northern Territory, owned and operated by Aboriginal people from the Western Desert of Australia. The group is known for its innovative ...
*
Western Desert language
Notes and references
External links
Government fact sheet on MulanBonzle location mapExploroz informationDocuments for Wirrimanu Aboriginal CorporationNative Title Claimant application summary
Towns in Western Australia
Aboriginal communities in Kimberley (Western Australia)
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