Roebourne, Western Australia

Roebourne is a town in Western Australia's Pilbara region. In Ngarluma language, Roebourne is called Yirramagardu (Ieramagadu). It is 35 km from Karratha, 202 km from Port Hedland and 1,563 km from Perth, the state's capital. It is located within the City of Karratha. It prospered during its gold boom of the late 19th century and was once the largest settlement between Darwin and Perth. At the , Roebourne and the surrounding area had a population of 981.

History

Yirramagardu (Ieramagadu), as Roebourne is named in Ngarluma language, is on the traditional Ngurra (Country) of the Ngarluma Nation. Ngarluma People have occupied the area of Yirramagardu for tens of thousands of years. In Ngarluma culture, the ancestors and spirits have been in the Ngurra (Country) of Yirramagardu since time immemorial. Many Ngarluma people, alongside other Traditional Owner populations, continue to live in Yirramagardu (Roebourne), and continue to practice traditional Law (Lore), culture and language.

Roebourne's name honours John Septimus Roe, the first Surveyor General of Western Australia.

The Pilbara region was first explored by Francis Thomas Gregory in 1861. He and his exploration party arrived at the head of Nickol Bay, landing near what was to become Roebourne, and travelling about inland to present-day Millstream Station. Gregory regarded the area as highly suitable for pastoral settlement. The first settlers, including Gregory's cousin Emma Withnell and her young family, arrived in the Roebourne area in 1863. The Withnells established themselves on the banks of the Harding River 13 km from the coast, where they had access to a reasonable fresh water supply, and took up 30,000 acres (120 km²) at the foot of Mount Welcome. In common with many settlers at the time, they hired local Aboriginal people to work on their properties as shepherds, labourers and shearers.

By 1865, the population of the area had grown to about 200, and the Withnells' property served as a local hub, with John Withnell opening a store and providing cartage services to the other settlers. Prior to the construction of a church in the area, services were held in their home.

The Government Resident, Robert John Sholl (1819–86), arrived in November 1865 from the failed Camden Harbour settlement (near Kuri Bay) to provide assistance in developing the region and set up camp near the Withnells' home while trying to find a suitable townsite. He eventually decided to locate the town at his camp and, on 17 August 1866, after surveyor Charles Wedge drew a draft plan consisting of 106 lots, Roebourne became the first gazetted town in the North West. It became the region's administrative centre and various government buildings, shops, services and hotels set up business. Sholl himself served as Justice of the Peace, district registrar and magistrate, and he was concerned with the plight of the local indigenous people and made submissions to the Government to ensure they had basic rights.

In 1872, the town was destroyed by a cyclone. Many of the buildings from shortly after this time are heritage-listed. A number of the heritage buildings were the work of the eminent Public Works Department architect George Temple-Poole.

File:Roebourne, Holy Trinity Church.jpg, Holy Trinity Anglican Church
File:Former Roebourne Gaol by G Temple-Poole.jpg, Former Roebourne Gaol by G Temple-Poole
File:Roebourne Courthouse, G Temple Poole (1886).jpg, Roebourne Courthouse, G Temple Poole (1886)
File:Former Roebourne Shire Offices (1888).jpg, Former Roebourne Shire Offices (1888)
File:Roebourne Post Office by G Temple-Poole (1887).jpg, Roebourne Post Office by G. Temple-Poole, built by Bunning Bros (1887)

The Old Roebourne Gaol commenced construction in 1896, the stones being quarried and laid by Aboriginal prisoners who were detained there in extremely harsh conditions between 1896 and 1923. It was used again between 1975 and 1984 before the opening of a new Roebourne Regional Prison, which remains controversial as cells can swelter in 50-degree-Celsius temperatures with no air-conditioning.

The site of the Withnells' house, which was rebuilt in 1937 by a later owner, is located on Hampton Street at the foot of Mount Welcome.

Gold from Nullagine, discovered in 1878, and surrounding copper and tin mines contributed to Roebourne's prosperity in the 1880s and 1890s. With the decline of both, Roebourne lost the majority of its European population and became a shadow of its former self. Remnants from that era of prosperity are various National Trust buildings around the town.

The area was struck by another cyclone in 1925 that destroyed the Port Samson jetty and lifted the bridge to Pope's nose from the river bed. Several buildings were also destroyed with the town's residents seeking refuge in public brick buildings during the storm.

Until the 1960s, Roebourne was a non-indigenous town operating as a regional administrative centre, with strict controls and curfews placed on movement of Aboriginal people to, from and within the town. Most Aboriginal people were confined to camps and reserves a few kilometres away. However, as mining companies seeking to exploit the iron ore in the region constructed other company towns such as Dampier and Wickham for their workers, and as pastoralism declined, and with changing attitudes to Aboriginal welfare at governmental level in the late 1960s, Roebourne became a majority Aboriginal town as people moved out of the crowded camps and reserves, and from the outlying stations.

In later years, Roebourne became notorious for the struggles between Aboriginal people and police that were documented in a federal report dealing with Aboriginal deaths in custody, which were documented as a major issue in Aboriginal affairs from the 1980s onwards. The report showed that Roebourne (with a largely Aboriginal population of 1,200) had ratios of police to citizens that were five times that of towns in more settled parts of Western Australia.

Present day

Currently Roebourne serves the passing highway traffic and tourism, especially as the gateway to many national parks in the interior. The town's education needs are met by the Roebourne School (1905), a K-12 school serving about 250 Aboriginal students. Roebourne also contains a TAFE campus, library and telecentre, as well as a small hospital. Many other services are provided from Karratha, 40 km away.

The area is home to the Ngarluma people, but many Yindjibarndi and Banyjima people previously from outlying stations also live in the town.

The Ganalili Centre is an Aboriginal-owned cultural space. It is a reclamation of the Victoria Hotel, infamous for a 1983 incident where police officers assaulted and killed John Pat, a sixteen-year-old Yindjibarndi boy.

The Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd (NYFL), which is the Traditional Owner representative organisation for the area on which the Woodside-operated North West Shelf project operates, is headquartered in Roebourne. In 2022, the National Indigenous Times reported that NYFL, alongside Elders and community leaders, have been transforming the town of Roebourne and returning a sense of pride. NYFL programs include Foundation Food, located at the Old Roebourne General Store, and the Warrgamugardi Yirdiyabura YEmployment and Training Program, intended to increase vocational employment. In September 2022, the Pilbara News reported that community-led facilities and support, such as those led by the Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd (NYFL) have been key to Roebourne’s changing identity.

Climate

The highest temperature ever measured in the town was on 13 January 2022, being one of three towns in Western Australia to exceed that day.

See also

* Electoral district of Roebourne (1890–1950)
* Roebourne Regional Prison
* List of extreme temperatures in Australia

Notes

Further reading

* (254 pages

* (134 pages)
* (179 pages)

External links

Shire of Karratha

Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation

Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation

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Mining towns in Western Australia
Towns in Western Australia
City of Karratha