DEVELOPMENT IN THE EAST KIMBERLEY

In 1988, white Australians promote an illusion that the entire continent of Australia was brought under British control 200 years ago. The East Kimberley region was ‘settled’, very sparsely, by white Australians just over 100 years ago. Since that time, Aborigines have faced three waves of intensive development which have transformed their existence.

In the first wave during the 1880s, the establishment of pastoral properties, the Halls Creek gold rush and associated services were accompanied by the massacre of many Aborigines and the appropriation of nearly all of their land. The gold rush was short-lived, but the service towns of Wyndham and Halls Creek remained. Aborigines were gradually incorporated into the pastoral operations and small service industries as an unpaid workforce. This lifestyle, though hard, at least allowed them to continue occupancy of their lands and maintain cultural continuity.

During the second wave in the 1950s, large agricultural developments were planned around the damming of the Ord River to create Lake Argyle. This is the country's largest artificial lake, yet agricultural production based around it has been marginal. Miriwung and Gadjerrong people lost much of their land, including sacred sites, under the lake and through associated works programs.