Oombulgurri, also written as Umbulgara, was an Aboriginal community in the eastern

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 ...

, by air and about by road northwest of

Wyndham Wyndham may refer to: *Wyndham (name), a surname and given name Places Australia *City of Wyndham, an LGA (local government area) in Victoria * Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley, a LGA in Western Australia * Wyndham Important Bird Area, Western Aust ...

. It was first established as the Forrest River Mission in 1913. It had a population of 107 as of the 2006 census. It was inhabited by the

Yeidji The Yeidji, also spelt Yiiji and other variants, commonly known as Gwini or Kwini, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley area of Western Australia, who also self-identify as . Name In contemporary accounts, the Yeidji are often ...

people who now self-identify as Balanggarra. In 2011, the

government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia is the States and territories of Australia, Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government or the Western Australian Governmen ...

encouraged residents of Oombulgurri to move elsewhere, after it deemed the community unsustainable. The last residents from Oombulgurri were relocated to Wyndham just before Christmas 2011. There is still a

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

with this name that includes the surrounding area, which had a population of 27 at the 2021 census.

History

Mission establishment

The Anglican Forrest River Mission for Aborigines was founded in 1896–97 by Harold Hale but was abandoned after a few months. A permanent mission, known as the Forrest River Mission, was established on the site in 1913 by the bishop of the north west,

Gerard Trower Gerard Trower (3 December 1860 – 25 August 1928) was an Anglican bishop. Early life Trower was born in Hook, Yorkshire, the son of the Rev Arthur Trower (1819 - 1891) and Jane Lawford. His father's cousins included Bishop Walter Trower (1804 ...

. In December 1913, Anglican priest

Ernest Gribble Ernest Richard Bulmer Gribble (23 November 186818 October 1957) was an Australian missionary. Though considered to be temperamentally unsuited to his vocation, he became a strong advocate for better treatment of Australian Aboriginal people, savi ...

took charge, three years after he was forced to resign as superintendent at

Yarrabah Yarrabah (traditionally ''Jarrabah'' in the Gunggandji language spoken by the indigenous Gunggandji people) is a coastal town and locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Yarrabah, Queensland, Australia. It is an Aboriginal community. In the , t ...

. His key assistants included

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

and Angelina Noble. Gribble remained as superintendent until the early 1930s. In 1926 the mission was plagued by an

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

epidemic and impacted by the Forrest River massacre, where police killed a number of Aboriginal people. The mission was closed in 1969, after the 1967 Aboriginal referendum. In 1973, fifty Aboriginal people decided to resettle their abandoned tribal land and rename it ''Oombulgurri''. Within a year, the population had grown to 200. Infrastructure and welfare programs were set up in the 1970s and 1980s to provide the residents with basic amenities and to allow the town to become self-sufficient.

Child sex investigation

After a report was compiled on an alleged paedophile ring at the Aboriginal community of Kalumburu in the Kimberley, a police investigation in 2007 resulted in the arrests of three men and a juvenile from Oombulgurri, including a former chairman of the community; two men and the juvenile were charged.

Coronial inquest into Aboriginal deaths

In 2007 a coronial inquiry began into Aboriginal deaths in the Kimberley, including five in Oombulgurri. It revealed high levels of alcohol abuse, suicide and child neglect in Oombulgurri. Following the inquest, in November 2008 alcohol was banned in Oombulgurri.

Closure

In October 2010, the government of Western Australia announced plans to close the community of Oombulgurri, as its population had decreased from 150 to less than 50. In February 2011, the government was reportedly considering a number of proposals about the community's future once all the residents had moved out, including converting it into a tourism retreat or a juvenile justice facility. On 1 March 2011, the community's only store was dismantled and removed by boat. As of 2 March 2011, only seven residents still remained in Oombulgurri. Shortly before Christmas of 2011, the remaining residents were relocated to

. In 2014 the state government demolished most of the buildings at the site, despite opposition by former residents and a campaign to prevent the demolition by

Amnesty International Australia Amnesty International Australia is a section of the Amnesty International network, and is part of the global movement promoting and defending human rights and dignity. Concerns and campaigns Human rights in the Asia-Pacific region is a key con ...

Access

Oombulgurri is only reliably accessible by boat or by air, as the unsealed track leading from

Home Valley Station Home Valley or Home Valley Station is a pastoral lease and cattle station in Western Australia. Location It is located along the Gibb River Road west of Kununurra in the Kimberley region. History The pastoral lease is currently owned by the ...

to the community is washed out most of the year due to the wet season; the total road distance from the nearest town, Wyndham, is about . There is an airstrip nearby for light aircraft. Access is also possible via a dirt road from Kalumburu; the distance from there to Oombulgurri is .

Notes

References

Book review of related books
Retrieved 9 November 2005
Western Australian education records summary (pdf)
Retrieved 9 November 2005
Guide to indigenous records(pdf file)
Retrieved 9 November 2005

Retrieved 10 November 2005
Aboriginal Lands trust estate (pdf file)
Retrieved 10 November 2005

Retrieved 10 November 2005