Roebourne, Western Australia
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Roebourne , also known by its Ngarluma name Ieramugadu (also spelled Yirramagardu), is a town in
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 ...
's
Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...
region. It is 35 km from Karratha, 202 km from
Port Hedland A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inla ...
and 1,563 km from
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, the state's capital. It is the only town on the North West Coastal Highway between Binnu and Fitzroy Crossing; over 2,000km. It is located within the
City of Karratha The City of Karratha is one of the four local government areas in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It covers an area of and had a population of about 21,500 as at the 2016 Census, most of which is located in its seat of government, the ...
. 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

Roebourne is on the traditional lands of the Ngarluma people, who have occupied the area for tens of thousands of years. Many Ngarluma people, alongside other
traditional owner Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title right ...
populations, continue to live in Roebourne, and continue to practise traditional law, culture and language. Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi people are represented by the Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd and their respective prescribed body corporates. Ngarluma people hold native title rights for the Roebourne area. The name Ieramugadu, also spelt Yirramagardu, which is used by the local Aboriginal community to describe Roebourne, is the Ngarluma word for a native fig (''
Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family (biology), family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few spe ...
'') species that is found in and around the area. The fig is a food source for
traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...
. Archaeological evidence indicates human occupation of the area for over 40,000 years. Roebourne's name honours John Septimus Roe, the first
Surveyor General of Western Australia The Surveyor General of Western Australia is the person nominally responsible for government surveying in Western Australia. In the early history of Western Australia, the office of surveyor general was one of the most important public offices. ...
. The
Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...
region was 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 British 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 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 A resident minister, or resident for short, is a government official required to take up permanent residence in another country. A representative of his government, he officially has diplomatic functions which are often seen as a form of ind ...
, Robert John Sholl, 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 was justice of the peace, district registrar and magistrate, and he was concerned with the plight of the local Aboriginal people and made submissions to the Government to ensure they had basic rights. Many European men located in Roebourne in the late 1800s were directly and indirectly perpetrators of the Flying Foam massacre committed on the Murujuga area against the Yaburrara people. There are streets in Roebourne that are still named after those connected with the atrocities, including Sholl Street. 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 This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...
architect
George Temple-Poole George Thomas Temple-Poole (born George Thomas Temple, 29 May 1856 – 27 February 1934) was a British architect and public servant, primarily known for his work in Western Australia from 1885. As Superintendent of Public Works, and then Pri ...
. 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 temperatures in the area can reach and cells have no air-conditioning. The site of the Withnells' house, which was rebuilt in 1937 by a later owner, is on Hampton Street at the foot of Mount Welcome.
Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
from Nullagine, discovered in 1878, and surrounding
copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...
and
tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...
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 Pope's Nose bridge 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 Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...
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 The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...
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 A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...
traffic and tourism, especially as the gateway to many
national parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
in the interior. The town's education needs are met by the Roebourne School (built in 1905), a K-12 school serving about 250 Aboriginal students. Roebourne also contains a
TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE () is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known ...
campus, library and
telecentre A telecentre is a public place where people can access computers, the Internet, and other digital technologies that enable them to gather information, create, learn, and communicate with others while they develop essential digital skills. Telecent ...
, 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.


Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd

The Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd (NYFL) is the lead Traditional Owner organisation in Roebourne. NYFL is made up by two First Nations, the Ngarluma people and the Yindjibarndi people. The two nations came together in 1998 to form NYFL as the traditional owner representative organisation to deliver social impact and self-determination for the Roebourne community and NYFL membership. NYFL is a party to the Land Access Agreement for the area on which the Woodside-operated North West Shelf project operates. However, NYFL does not receive royalties under this agreement. For decades, NYFL has delivered the award winning Warrgamugardi Yirdiyabura (WY) Program, which promotes economic self-determination for Roebourne Ngarda-ngarli (Aboriginal people). In 2018 NYFL entered voluntary administration, having accumulated a major tax debt under former CEO Evan Maloney. General Manager Bruce Jorgensen was provided an opportunity as CEO, howeve, he too was removed as CEO by 2020 Jorgensen by the newly elected Board of Directors, led by renowned First Nations leader Michael Woodley. However, Jorgensen was given a second chance to lead NYFL’s subsidiary commercial arm. However, by mid 2022, the Commercial Arm, which had been temporarily rebranded as Garlbagu, lost approximately a $1,700,000 in a single financial year with Jorgensen’s at the helm. During JorgensenMa short tenure, the entity accumulated major tax liabilities and was forced to sell assets, much to the frustration of Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi members. By late 2022, Jorgensen was fully removed by NYFL. As such the Board decided to bring in entirely new leadership. A temporary executive, in Graeme Sheard, was appointed to recruit a new CEO and restructure the organisation. In August 2022 the NYFL Board appointed Sean-Paul Stephens to lead the restructure, revamp the Foundation and Trust, and to renegotiate major agreements. By early 2023, under the new leadership, NYFL returned to a strong financial position and was recognised as the ‘best community organisation’ by the Karratha Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This was recognised as a remarkable turnaround, led by Michael Woodley as Chair and Sean-Paul Stephens as CEO, for an organisation which had been in major financial difficulty in previous years. Furthermore, the ''
National Indigenous Times The ''National Indigenous Times'' (NIT) is an Indigenous Australian affairs website, originally published as a newspaper from February 2002. History ''National Indigenous Times'' was first published in newspaper form on 27 February 2002. It was ...
'' reported that NYFL, alongside elders and community leaders, had transformed the town of Roebourne and returning a sense of pride. NYFL success since late 2022 has been attributed to strong leadership from the Traditional Owner board and new executive leadership. By 2024, NYFL had expanded its strategic focus, and entered into a partnership with the Australian National University. Under the leadership of Michael Woodley and Sean-Paul Stephens, NYFL was nominated and won a series of social impact awards, including for sustainability, social enterprise and regional impact. As of 2025, NYFL delivers a suite of social impact and empowerment programs which include Ieramagadu Store Maya, located at the Old Roebourne General Store, a social enterprise café where local Aboriginal people undertake training and employment upskilling, and the NYFL Employment and Training program (which includes Warrgamugardi Yirdiyabura), aimed at increasing vocational employment and economic self-determination. The '' Pilbara News'' reported that community-led facilities and support, such as those led by NYFL’s new leadership have been key to Roebourne's changing identity. Under the leadership of the new board and executive, NYFL achieved record First Nations employment and training outcomes for the Roebourne community through the NYFL Employment and Training program, which includes the Warrgamugardi Yirdiyabura Program. According to the ''National Indigenous Times'', the Roebourne-based NYFL program is recognised as the most successful Aboriginal-run employment program in the West Pilbara, running a unique model supporting Aboriginal people who live in, or have a strong connection to, Roebourne. NYFL operates the not-for-profit "social supermarket" at the Old Roebourne General Store located on the North West Coastal Highway, also known as Roe Street, in Roebourne-town. The store is known as the Ieramugadu Store Maya. The store serves Roebourne and outlying communities of Cheeditha, Ngurrawaana, Mingullatharndo and Weymul.


In the arts

Ieramugadu is the location of collaborative projects initiated by Big hART, with the 2011-2015 project Yijala Yala leading to the creation of a successful interactive comic book '' Neomad'', along with films, theatre productions, and exhibitions. A legacy project, called New Roebourne, continues, developing workshops, performances, video, and music programs. In 2021-22 it delivered five project streams, including NEO-Learning, an education platform suitable for primary schools, with digital content created by Roebourne children. The 2020
NITV National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the six-day-a-week ''NITV News Updat ...
/ ABC Me series '' Thalu'', produced by local producers Tyson Mowarin and Robyn Marais of Weerianna Street Media, in association with the ACTF, involved extensive community collaboration, and local children and elders feature in the series.


Environment and climate

The Harding River runs through the town of Roebourne. The river runs to the Indian Ocean at the tourism site of Cossack. The Cossack townsite is managed by the NYFL. The Harding River flowed to a much greater extent prior to the construction of the Harding Dam. Today, the river is a series of waterholes, including at the Roebourne townsite. The highest temperature ever measured in the town was on 13 January 2022, it being one of three towns in Western Australia to exceed that day.


See also

* Electoral district of Roebourne (1890–1950) * 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
{{authority control Mining towns in Western Australia Towns in Western Australia City of Karratha