Warburton, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Warburton or Warburton Ranges is an Indigenous Australian
community in Western Australia
, just to the south of the Gibson Desert
and located on the Great Central Road
(also known as the "Outback Highway") and Gunbarrel Highway
. At the 2006 census
, Warburton had a population of 571.
research indicated that:
The settlement has been an Aboriginal
mission
since 1934, when Will Wade, his wife and his children established the mission under the auspices of the UAM (United Aborigines Mission). It is named after explorer Peter Warburton
, the first European to cross the Great Sandy Desert
.
The ABC
later adds:
The town was hit by a flash flood
in February 2011. Water levels in some parts of town reached as high as 2 metres (7 ft) resulting in 60 homes being evacuated. Water flowed through 15 homes to a height of 30 centimetres (12 in) and two people had to be rescued from a stranded 4WD that had water reach window level.
which is extremely isolated, stretching east to the Northern Territory
border. Beyond there the first major settlement is Yulara, near Uluru
. The closest town is Laverton 560 km south west along the Great Central Road.
Warburton is situated on the Elder Creek.
The area around Warburton continues to be of interest for mining exploration predominantly copper and nickel but also, uranium and gold.
Average rainfall is 247.7 millimetres, with February tending to be the wettest month and September the driest month. Warburton is therefore more affected by the tropical rain systems from the north of Australia rather than the rain-bearing cold fronts arriving from Antarctica towards the south of Australia.
The 2001 Census indicated a population of 571 residents, 91.1% of whom were Indigenous Australians
.
Wilurarra Creative Centre is a community facility which is activated by a year round program, for young people aged between 17–30 years. Within Wilurarra Creative's Centre people work on a range of different practices including music, fashion performance, land & cultural practice, digital media, print media and art. Wilurarra Creative engages with the demand from Warburton's young people for the activities that link the reality of contemporary cultural context within which Ngaanyatjarra life operates.
The centre was built in 1994, the first dedicated music recording studio in the Ngaanyatjarra region, and its programs have been across various art and cultural forms, subject matter and involving a range of community people.
In 2007, a video produced by Warburton Youth Artists Nerida Lane & Prudence Andy won the prestigious Heywire Award .
The Wilurarra Creative program is based on empowerment, equality and collaboration. Wilurarra also utilises the democratising power of youtube The Studio and its programs are currently funded by the Federal Attorney General's Department and occur in the town of Warburton on the Ngaanyatjarra Lands
The local art gallery exhibits Aboriginal arts and crafts from Warakurna Artists, Papalunkutja Artists, Kayili Artists, Tjanpi Weavers and Wilurarra Creative. The Warburton Arts Project was commenced in 1990 to preserve local tradition and culture .
Ngaanyatjarra Community College was opened in August 1996 to provide a range of adult education options for the community. The only current service offered at the college is a telecentre .
Warburton is a "dry" community where the use and import of alcohol is prohibited under local by-laws.
Tourists and visitors need a permit from the Ngaanyatjarra Council to enter the town and use any of the highways in the area.
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
community in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, just to the south of the Gibson Desert
Gibson Desert
The Gibson Desert covers a large dry area in the state of Western Australia and is still largely in an almost "pristine" state. It is about in size, making it the 5th largest desert in Australia, after the Great Sandy, Great Victoria, Tanami and Simpson deserts.-Location and description:The Gibson...
and located on the Great Central Road
Great Central Road
The Great Central Road is a mostly unsealed Australian outback highway that runs 1126 km from Laverton, Western Australia to Yulara, Northern Territory ....
(also known as the "Outback Highway") and Gunbarrel Highway
Gunbarrel Highway
The Gunbarrel Highway is an isolated desert track in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. It consists of about of washaways, heavy corrugations, stone, sand and flood plains...
. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Warburton had a population of 571.
History
Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
research indicated that:
The Aboriginal people of the western desert were nomadic people, moving around in search of food and water. This changed with the arrival of missionaries and the beginning of 'settlement' at Warburton in 1933.
...
By 1954, between 500 and 700 Aboriginal people were living at Warburton. Children stayed in the children's home and were sent to school where they were taught in English, a policy that contributed to the breakdown of traditional culture. Women and girls were trained in sewing, kitchen skills and cooking, and men made money by collecting dingo scalps or working as shearers or builders for the mission. A nearby copper mine drew even more people to the settlement and by the 1970s the last of the nomadic people had come in from the bush .
The settlement has been an Aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
mission
Mission (station)
A religious mission or mission station is a location for missionary work.While primarily a Christian term, the concept of the religious "mission" is also used prominently by the Church of Scientology and their Scientology Missions International....
since 1934, when Will Wade, his wife and his children established the mission under the auspices of the UAM (United Aborigines Mission). It is named after explorer Peter Warburton
Peter Warburton
Colonel Peter Egerton Warburton CMG was an English explorer who made one particularly daring expedition from Adelaide to cross the centre of Australia to the coast of Western Australia via Alice Springs in 1872.The younger brother of Rowland Egerton-Warburton, Warburton was educated at home and...
, the first European to cross the Great Sandy Desert
Great Sandy Desert
The Great Sandy Desert is a desert located in the North West of Western Australia straddling the Pilbara and southern Kimberley regions. It is the second largest desert in Australia after the Great Victoria Desert and encompasses an area of...
.
The ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
later adds:
In 1973, the United Aborigines Mission handed control of the Warburton settlement to the Aboriginal people, and responsibility for economic development was undertaken by the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority of the state government of Western Australia. Since then, Warburton has worked under the umbrella of the Ngaanyatjarra Council.
The town was hit by a flash flood
Flash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
in February 2011. Water levels in some parts of town reached as high as 2 metres (7 ft) resulting in 60 homes being evacuated. Water flowed through 15 homes to a height of 30 centimetres (12 in) and two people had to be rescued from a stranded 4WD that had water reach window level.
Geography
Warburton is the centre of a very large Aboriginal reserve, NgaanyatjarraNgaanyatjarra
Ngaanyatjarra is an Indigenous Australian cultural group in the Western Desert, Central Australia.-Meaning and origin of the name:Ngaanya literally means 'this' and -tjarra means 'with/having' ; the compound term means 'those that use "ngaanya" to say "this"'...
which is extremely isolated, stretching east to the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
border. Beyond there the first major settlement is Yulara, near Uluru
Uluru
Uluru , also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park....
. The closest town is Laverton 560 km south west along the Great Central Road.
Warburton is situated on the Elder Creek.
The area around Warburton continues to be of interest for mining exploration predominantly copper and nickel but also, uranium and gold.
Climate
Climate records have been collected at Warburton Airfield since 1940 . January is the hottest month of the year, with a mean maximum temperature of 37.6 degrees Celsius and overnight minima of 22.6 degrees. July is the coldest month with a mean maximum temperature of 20.4 degrees and mean minimum temperature of 5.5 degrees.Average rainfall is 247.7 millimetres, with February tending to be the wettest month and September the driest month. Warburton is therefore more affected by the tropical rain systems from the north of Australia rather than the rain-bearing cold fronts arriving from Antarctica towards the south of Australia.
Population
The demographics of the population are likely matched by the overall data indicated for the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku 2006 Census.The 2001 Census indicated a population of 571 residents, 91.1% of whom were Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
.
Facilities
Warburton is in the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku . Information on travel and tourism in the area can be found on their website. The town has an international air strip, one community store, health clinic, school, youth drop-in centre, open air swimming pool, sports field, gallery and coffee shop (open Sunday mornings), and roadhouse. The town is serviced by Australia Post and the Flying Doctor Service.Wilurarra Creative Centre is a community facility which is activated by a year round program, for young people aged between 17–30 years. Within Wilurarra Creative's Centre people work on a range of different practices including music, fashion performance, land & cultural practice, digital media, print media and art. Wilurarra Creative engages with the demand from Warburton's young people for the activities that link the reality of contemporary cultural context within which Ngaanyatjarra life operates.
The centre was built in 1994, the first dedicated music recording studio in the Ngaanyatjarra region, and its programs have been across various art and cultural forms, subject matter and involving a range of community people.
In 2007, a video produced by Warburton Youth Artists Nerida Lane & Prudence Andy won the prestigious Heywire Award .
The Wilurarra Creative program is based on empowerment, equality and collaboration. Wilurarra also utilises the democratising power of youtube The Studio and its programs are currently funded by the Federal Attorney General's Department and occur in the town of Warburton on the Ngaanyatjarra Lands
The local art gallery exhibits Aboriginal arts and crafts from Warakurna Artists, Papalunkutja Artists, Kayili Artists, Tjanpi Weavers and Wilurarra Creative. The Warburton Arts Project was commenced in 1990 to preserve local tradition and culture .
Ngaanyatjarra Community College was opened in August 1996 to provide a range of adult education options for the community. The only current service offered at the college is a telecentre .
Warburton is a "dry" community where the use and import of alcohol is prohibited under local by-laws.
Tourists and visitors need a permit from the Ngaanyatjarra Council to enter the town and use any of the highways in the area.