18-626: Ooldea , known as Yuldea and various other names by Western Desert peoples ( Aṉangu ), is a tiny settlement in South Australia . It is on the eastern edge of the Nullarbor Plain , 863 km (536 mi) west of Port Augusta on the Trans-Australian Railway . Ooldea is 143 km (89 mi) from the bitumen Eyre Highway . The site had a permanent waterhole, Ooldea Soak , also known as "Yooldil Kapi" in
36-709: A Western Desert Cultural Bloc (WDCB) society existed before colonisation. The judgment held that such a society existed in 1829, and continues to exist today. A 2018 native title determination determined that the Lappi Lappi and Ngulupi claimants "belong to the Western Desert Cultural Bloc (WDCB) system of laws and customs", and had rights to an area in the western part of the Tanami Desert . South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register , also known as
54-466: A children's dormitory housing around 60 children. In 1938 an Aboriginal reserve was created covering the land around the mission. The mission was visited twice by Norman Tindale and was home for many years to Daisy Bates , both concerned with understanding and protecting Aboriginal culture. A cairn commemorating Bates was designed by F. Millward Grey and erected in 1953. In the 1950s, areas around Maralinga and Emu were used for nuclear testing by
72-418: Is a cultural region in central Australia covering about 600,000 square kilometres (230,000 sq mi), used to describe a group of linguistically and culturally similar Aboriginal Australian nations. The term Western Desert cultural bloc is often used by anthropologists and linguists when discussing the 40 or so Aboriginal groups that live there, who speak dialects of one language, often called
90-998: The Great Sandy and Little Sandy Deserts in the Northern Territory , South Australia and Western Australia . It stretches from the Nullarbor in the south to the Kimberley in the north, and from the Percival Lakes in the west through to the Pintupi lands in the Northern Territory. Ronald Berndt estimated that, before the European colonisation of Australia, the Western Desert peoples may have numbered as many as 10,000, but that by
108-803: The SA Heritage Register , is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia . It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the Heritage Places Act 1993 . It is administered by the South Australian Heritage Council. As a result of the progressive abolition of the Register of the National Estate during the 2000s and the devolution of responsibility for state-significant heritage to state governments, it
126-738: The South Australian Heritage Register . Yooldil Kapi was handed back to the Aṉangu people in 1991 and is as of 2023 closed to the public. In 2023, Bangarra Dance Theatre performed a work choreographed by their artistic director, Kokatha woman Frances Rings , called Yuldea , which tells the story of the colonisation of the area from an Aboriginal perspective. [REDACTED] Media related to Ooldea, South Australia at Wikimedia Commons Western Desert cultural bloc The Western Desert cultural bloc (also capitalised, abbreviated to WDCB , or just Western Desert )
144-421: The Trans-Australian Railway . The soak is a permanent clay pan waterhole surrounded by sand dunes, first discovered by Europeans when Ernest Giles used it in 1875. On 17 October 1917, the final link of the railway was completed at Ooldea, linking the western section from Kalgoorlie to the eastern section to Port Augusta . It was around this time that a severe drought led many desert people to migrate closer to
162-529: The Western Desert language . The term cultural bloc is used by anthropologists to describe culturally and linguistically similar groups (or nations) of Aboriginal peoples of Australia . According to anthropologist Robert Tonkinson : Extending over a million square miles, the Western Desert... covers a vast area of the interior of the continent. It extends across western South Australia into central and central northern Western Australia (south of
180-759: The British Government . Around this time the Australian Government resumed much Anangu land to be used for the Woomera Rocket testing Range . Aboriginal people in the area, who were Pila Nguru (Spinifex people, of the Great Victoria Desert ) were moved to the Ooldea Mission, which closed in 1952 due to internal divisions in the church. The people did not want to move from there, as they were used to ranging
198-484: The Kimberleys) and south-western Northern Territory, and it includes most of the hill country in northern South Australia..The area is marked by an overall similarity in both climatic conditions... and physiographical characteristics. More important, however, is its delineation as a distinct culture area.. its Aboriginal inhabitants share a common language (with dialectal variations), social organization, relationship to
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#1732802110676216-407: The delivery of supplies until 1996 when the train was withdrawn. The longest dead straight section of railway line in the world starts west of Ooldea before Watson at the 797 km post and continues to a point between Loongana and Nurina , a distance of 478 km (297 mi). The historic Ooldea Soak and Former United Aborigines Mission Site and Daisy Bates' Campsite are both listed on
234-696: The desert, and had used the Ooldea Soak as a water source for many generations. The people were forcibly moved to a reserve established by the South Australian Government on a former sheep station at Yalata , where Yalata Mission was established by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Australia . This was an environment quite alien to them, being desert people. The town was dependent on the Tea and Sugar Train for
252-550: The language of the Aṉangu. The presence of the water caused it to became the site of a camp for railway construction workers in the early 20th century, and the Ooldea Mission from 1933 to 1952. The soak dried up and the site was closed to the public in 1991. The soak , known as Yooldil Kapi to the Aboriginal peoples of the area, and Ooldea Soak to the European settlers, made it an important camp during construction of
270-591: The late 1950s, their numbers were down to between 1,371 and 2,200. Apart from the Canning Stock Route and the Rabbit-proof fence , white contact with this part of Australia was very rare, until the 1960s. Terry Long, a Native Patrol Officer employed by Weapons Research Establishment, observed: No one had been out there. The desert, as far as the Department [WA Dept of Supply] was concerned...
288-465: The natural environment, religion and mythology and aesthetic expression. The term Western Desert, then refers to both a cultural bloc and a geographical entity. The WDCB covers around 670,000 km (260,000 sq mi) and extends across much of Western Australia , parts of South Australia , and parts of the Northern Territory . includes the Gibson Desert , the Great Victoria Desert ,
306-498: The waterhole, increasing pressure on the limited water resources now largely reserved for use by trains. A centenary celebration was held at the siding in 2017. The settler town that sprung up was named Ooldea, but was also referred to as Yuldea, Youldul, Yuldeh, or Yultulyngya. It was the site of a mission known as Ooldea Mission, established by the United Aborigines Mission (UAM) in 1933. It later included
324-612: Was an unknown, as it was to the whole of Western Australia. The Warburton Ranges [were] as far as anybody got. People in those days knew absolutely nothing about Aborigines. Terry Long, (WRE) to help "clear" the desert beneath the trajectory of the Blue Streak missile .'. A 2007 court case held by the Federal Court of Australia to determine "whether there was authorisation to apply for native title determination by all holders of native title claimed" had to determine whether
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