Yungngora is a medium-sized Aboriginal community in the

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

region in northern

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, situated approximately 280 km east-south-east of Broome and 100 km south-west of

Fitzroy Crossing Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People Given name * Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: ** FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort (Henry Charles ...

. At the , Yungngora had a population of 378.

Background

The community is located on the

Noonkanbah Station Noonkanbah Station (or just Noonkanbah) is a pastoral lease, both a cattle station, cattle and sheep station, on the Fitzroy River (Western Australia), Fitzroy River between Camballin, Western Australia, Camballin and Fitzroy Crossing, Western ...

on the banks of the Fitzroy River between Camballin and

. Yungngora is the gateway to communities further inland such as Kadjina Community and Yakanarra Community. The main access road is unpaved and so becomes inaccessible during the

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

History

Some members of the Yungngora people were removed to Beagle Bay Community as part of the

Stolen Generation The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church mis ...

. The pastoral lease at Noonkanbah was purchased for the community in 1976. Great controversy surrounded the township when its citizens opposed the exploratory oil drilling at a

sacred site A sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, holy place or holy site is a location which is regarded to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through ...

on the station by the American oil miner AMAX in 1979. In 2001 land on Noonkanbah was returned to the community.

Education

Yungngora Community has a school, Kulkarriya Community School, which was established in 1978 for students from pre-primary to Year 12 in the Western Australian education system. The primary and secondary school population for the year 2007 was 87.

Town planning

Yungngora Layout Plan No.2 was prepared in accordance with State Planning Policy 3.2 Aboriginal Settlements and was endorsed by the community and

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 WAPC f ...

in 2009. The layout plan map-set and background report can be viewed at Planning Western Australia's web site.

Facilities

Electricity supply

Electricity supply is currently regularised and now managed by

Horizon Power Horizon Power is a power company that provides power supplies to Western Australia owned by the Government of Western Australia. Horizon Power was established on 1 April 2006 after Western Power Corporation was split up. It operates in the Pil ...

, under the state government-funded Aboriginal and Remote Community Power Station Project. The power station has four 300kW Scania diesel engines and a 200kW solar

photovoltaic Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially ...

array (fixed). It uses battery storage to smooth any fluctuations in the solar output. Horizon Power contracted GHD to deliver the solar power integration into the diesel power station and MPower were engaged as the site contractor to deliver the solar installation. As with many remote Aboriginal communities, residents and businesses will use pre-payment cards to pay for electricity and will be eligible to receive electricity at government-gazetted uniform tariff rates.

Water

There are two bores next to the power station which pump into the ground tank. The bores pump the water from approximately 100 metres from below the ground level, despite the community being situated on the banks of the Fitzroy River. A transfer pump station then pumps the water into the high level tank. The water has been recorded as coming out of the ground at between 50 and 60 degrees C. It is this condition which has prompted the installation of cooling towers. There are occasional interruptions.

Sewerage

There is a sewer system in place in the community which comprises one pump station near the football oval and treatment ponds on the northern outskirts of the community.

Recreation

The community has basketball courts and a football oval. Yungngora fields a team in the

Central Kimberley Football League The Central Kimberley Football League is an Australian rules football competition in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia. The league was formed in 1991, and a number of the clubs represent local Australian Ab ...

called the "Noonkanbah Blues". Bush walking, some fishing and camping are the dominant pursuits for tourists visiting. Visitors are required to apply for a permit prior to entering the Community.

Shopping

There is one store in town, owned and operated by the Community. All items are quite expensive compared to major centres but due to transport costs to remote locations. Mechanical repairs may be effected at the mechanical workshop.

References

External links

ABC Radio NationalDreaming Online: Timeline - Contact 1970 - 2000
(National Native Title Tribunal, 23 December 2004) {{Towns Kimberley WA Aboriginal communities in Kimberley (Western Australia)