51-558: Roebourne / ˈ r oʊ b ər n / , also known by its Ngarluma name Ieramugadu (also spelt Yirramagardu ), is a town in Western Australia 's Pilbara region. It is 35 km from Karratha, 202 km from Port Hedland and 1,563 km from Perth , 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
102-585: A considerable time the department was housed in buildings adjacent to and extending west from The Barracks Arch in Perth . In 1966 both the P.W.D. and Metropolitan Water Board moved into new office accommodation at Dumas House , on Kings Park Road in West Perth . Mechanical and Electrical workshops of the P.W.D. were located for a long time in the former Jewell St in East Perth . Another major workshop
153-563: A decision was made that it was generally substandard so the construction was handed over to the P.W.D. in 1904. The department needed to strengthen 145 miles (233 km) of the fence before resuming construction. The project was overseen by Richard John Anketell who set up a workforce comprising nine construction parties, 189 camels and 128 horses. The P.W.D. was also responsible for providing mechanical and electrical services to numerous agricultural research stations based remotely around Western Australia. The department also built and maintained
204-461: A dialect of Martuthunira (see below). While Ngarluma and Kariyarra, as parts of a continuum, are mutually intelligible , they are considered distinct languages by their speakers, reflecting an ethnic division between the Ngarluma and Kariyarra peoples . As such they may be regarded as a single, pluricentric language . Under Carl Georg von Brandenstein 's 1967 classification scheme, Ngarluma
255-600: A sub-group of the Ngarluma people and lands – is controversial. There are two reasons for this: the Jaburara dialect is sometimes considered a dialect in its own right, or a dialect of Martuthunira. There is evidence for the latter theory in the word jaburara , which means "northerners" in the languages of the region: the traditional lands of the Jaburara, on and around the Burrup Peninsula , are generally to
306-548: Is a part of the Ngayarda language group of Western Australia , in the Pama–Nyungan language family . Some sources suggest that an extinct dialect , Jaburara , was a third member of the continuum. However, it is clear that Jaburara had a distinct identity that has been partly obscured by a collapse in the numbers of Jaburara speakers during the late 19th century, and there is some evidence that Jaburara may have instead been
357-475: 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. The Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd (NYFL)
408-602: 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
459-651: The ACTF , involved extensive community collaboration, and local children and elders feature in the series. 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
510-620: The Camballin Irrigation Scheme which was constructed to grow rice in the Kimberley, as well as numerous other irrigation infrastructure around the state. Responsibility for agricultural matters and the rabbit proof fence were handed on to: The P.W.D. began issuing electrical licences in 1925. These tasks were later handled by: The department was responsible for the construction of Fremantle Harbour and many other smaller regional jetties and wharves. Day labour from
561-627: The City of Karratha . It prospered during its gold boom of the late 19th century and was once the largest settlement between Darwin and Perth. At the 2016 census , Roebourne and the surrounding area had a population of 981. 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 populations, continue to live in Roebourne, and continue to practise traditional law , culture and language. Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi people are represented by
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#1732773404884612-680: 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 architect George Temple-Poole . The Old Roebourne Gaol commenced construction in 1896,
663-750: The Rottnest Island settlement. Henry Trigg was succeeded as Superintendent of Public Works in 1851 by James Austin . Austin served for two years until 1853 when he resigned and was replaced by Richard Roach Jewell who was given the title Clerk of Works of the Colonial Works Office, where he served until he retired in 1884. James Manning was also made a Clerk of Works and worked in parallel with Jewell, who worked in Perth while Manning worked from Fremantle. Jewell had been promoted to Superintendent of Public Works before he retired and in 1880
714-658: The Round House in Fremantle and the Old Perth Courthouse in Perth using convict and military labour, along with contract labour. He was also involved with building roads and bridges, jetties and tunnels. Reveley's position was downgraded after his departure and his replacement, Henry Trigg , was given the title of Superintendent of Public Works. He held this role from 1839 until 1851, with most of his early work focused on jetties, The Perth Causeway and
765-500: 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 tax debt under former CEO Evan Maloney. A new CEO, Bruce Jorgensen
816-636: The Board decided to bring in entirely new leadership. A temporary CEO 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
867-818: The Jaburara lands) covers the area southward from Point Samson , Cossack , Wickham , Roebourne , to the northern boundary of Millstream-Chichester National Park and; from the east side of the mouth of the Maitland River to the west side of the Peawah River near Whim Creek , including the towns of Dampier and Karratha . However, this boundary is controversial for two reasons: it includes areas also regarded as traditional country by many Martuthunira people and; for legal reasons, it does not include areas that many Ngarluma people consider to fall into their traditional country. Public Works Department (Western Australia) The Public Works Department (PWD)
918-798: 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
969-484: 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 ) species that is found in and around the area. The fig is a food source for traditional owners . Archaeological evidence indicates human occupation of
1020-625: 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. Ieramugadu is the location of collaborative projects initiated by Big hART , with the 2011-2015 project Yijala Yala leading to
1071-431: The P.W.D. maintained a selection of hire cars for visiting government department officers. These along with other P.W.D. transport vehicles and plant such as Malcolm Moore graders, rollers and loaders etc. were maintained by P.W.D. mechanics in P.W.D. workshops. Public Works Department was responsible for water supplies, drainage, irrigation, sewerage and water resource management for many years after assuming this role from
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#17327734048841122-479: The Roebourne townsite. The highest temperature ever measured in the town was 50.5 °C (122.9 °F) on 13 January 2022, it being one of three towns in Western Australia to exceed 50 °C (122 °F) that day. [REDACTED] Media related to Roebourne, Western Australia at Wikimedia Commons Ngarluma language Ngarluma and Kariyarra are members of a dialect continuum , which
1173-799: The Traditional Owner board and new executive leadership. 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. In 2022, NYFL achieved record employment and training results for Roebourne community through
1224-541: The Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage Department (1 January 1912 ~ 31 December 1920). The P.W.D. was responsible for the construction of many dams, reservoirs and conveyancing systems throughout Western Australia. Water and sewerage services in Western Australia were split when the Metropolitan Water Supply, Sewerage and Drainage Board took over responsibility for the metropolitan region while
1275-568: 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 30,000 acres (120 km) at the foot of Mount Welcome. In common with many settlers at
1326-421: The area for over 40,000 years. Roebourne's name honours John Septimus Roe , the first Surveyor General of Western Australia . The Pilbara 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 60 kilometres (40 mi) inland to present-day Millstream Station . Gregory regarded
1377-432: The construction of Mundaring Weir and abandoned upon completion of the required task. Various major railways throughout the state were constructed by the P.W.D.. Prior to the formation of the P.W.D. railways were managed by: Since the P.W.D. these roles have been taken on by: The P.W.D. was responsible for the construction of roads and bridges around the state. This task was later relegated to: The country sections of
1428-719: The country areas remained serviced by the P.W.D. until disbandment. The Metropolitan Water supply Sewerage and Drainage Board were based at Loftus Street Leederville with the head office remaining there, in 1977 the workshops were relocated to Lemnos Street Shenton Park with Mechanical Fitting,(both on site and workshop based), Machining, Welding, Drawing, Automotive Mechanical, instrument sections, sheetmetal, and separate pipe line maintenance crews. There were also smaller depots, among these were Balcatta and Tinga Place at Kelmscott. Smaller waste water treatment plants were located at Swanbourne and Westfield with plants at Beenyup, Woodmans Point and Lemnos Street Shenton Park remaining. There were
1479-561: 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 / ABC Me series Thalu , produced by local producers Tyson Mowarin and Robyn Marais of Weerianna Street Media, in association with
1530-617: The crowded camps and reserves, and from the outlying stations. In later years, Roebourne became notorious for the struggles between Aboriginal people and police 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. Currently Roebourne serves
1581-626: The department also ran the facilities of the harbours. The department was also responsible for conducting surveys of rivers and coastal features. During the Great Depression , a number of works were undertaken on the basis of unemployment relief. One of these was the diversion of the Harvey River between 1931 and 1934 and employed over 2500 men. After the disbanding of the P.W.D. these tasks were taken on by: The department built electrical switchboards for installation on sites around
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1632-640: The department was called the Works and Railways Department. Recommendations made in 1884 were implemented in 1885 which resulted in John Arthur Wright being appointed as Director of Public Works and Engineer in Chief. George Temple-Poole was made the Superintendent of Works and Clayton T. Mason was made General Manager of Railways and Maintenance Engineer. Upon Wright's resignation in 1889 it
1683-518: 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
1734-549: The importance of the P.W.D. with its self-sufficient design and construction skills will probably never be fully appreciated. Construction of infrastructure in the Swan River colony was originally overseen by Henry Willey Reveley , an English civil engineer. Reveley arrived at the colony in 1829 and was initially employed without pay, however in 1830 the matter was raised and a salary awarded retrospectively. He continued in this position until 1839, completing structures such as
1785-582: The north of the Martuthunira lands (whereas the Jaburara are mostly west of the Ngarluma lands). A pidginized form of Ngarluma was once used as a contact language in the area. Kariyarra people, prior to European settlement occupied an area from the Yule River east to Port Hedland and south to the Hamersley Range . The official Ngarluma Native Title Determination Area (including
1836-480: The passing highway traffic and tourism, especially as the gateway to many national parks 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 campus, library and telecentre , as well as a small hospital. Many other services are provided from Karratha , 40 km away. The area
1887-484: 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
1938-830: The state. Many of the old P.W.D. switchboards can still be seen at ports and water and sewerage installations. These were generally constructed in the Jewell St workshops. The department was also the forefather of the State Engineering and Implement Works which later became the State Engineering Works with a workshop in North Fremantle . The P.W.D. was responsible for the construction of various government buildings such as police stations, schools, hospitals, lighthouses, military buildings, agricultural research stations, courthouses and prisons. This
1989-401: 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 50 °C (122 °F) and cells have no air-conditioning. The site of the Withnells' house, which
2040-535: 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 , Robert John Sholl , arrived in November 1865 from
2091-578: 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
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2142-440: 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 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
2193-472: Was appointed. However, in 2020 Jorgensen was removed as CEO by a new Board of Directors led by prominent First Nations leader Michael Woodley. Jorgensen was given the opportunity to lead NYFL’s 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 and accumulated major tax liabilities. As such
2244-483: Was classed as a "Coastal Ngayarda" (or Ngaryarta) language, but the separation of the group into "Coastal" and "Inland" groups is no longer considered valid. Apart from the division between Ngarluma and Kariyarra, there are either three or four sub-dialects within Ngarluma. However, the inclusion of Jaburara – which parallels a belief amongst Ngarluma people that the Jaburara people and their traditional land were
2295-705: Was decided to split the Works and Railways with Mason becoming Acting Commissioner of Railways and Poole becoming Acting Director of Public Works. In 1891 C. Y. O'Connor arrived in Perth to take up the role of Engineer in Chief. The department started on 1 January 1901 with O'Connor as the Engineer in Chief having succeeded the Department of Works & Buildings. Engineer in Chief: Director of Public Works Principal Architects For more details, refer to Western Australia Government Architect . For
2346-646: Was in Welshpool . Most country towns had depots and offices designed to service staff based regionally, which were built to cater for the specific tasks of the workforce. The Public Works Department became the Building Management Authority on 1 January 1985. The three supposed rabbit-proof fences were initially constructed by the Agriculture Department but after inspections of 465 miles (748 km) of completed fence
2397-546: Was often undertaken on a contractual basis with design and maintenance also undertaken by the department. Some notable buildings were: In the wake of the breakup of the P.W.D., these roles were assumed by: See also List of railways constructed by the Public Works Department of Western Australia The department built and maintained minor railways which serviced regional infrastructure (generally wharves). Other railways were built for specific tasks such as
2448-440: Was rebuilt in 1937 by a later owner, is on Hampton Street at the foot of Mount Welcome. Gold from Nullagine , discovered in 1878, and surrounding copper and tin 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
2499-616: Was recognised as the ‘best community organisation’ by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This was recognised as a remarkable turnaround for an organisation which had been in major financial difficulty in previous years. Furthermore, the National Indigenous Times reported that NYFL, alongside elders and community leaders, had transformed the town of Roebourne and returning a sense of pride. NYFL recent success since late 2022 has been attributed to strong leadership from
2550-475: Was the State Government Agency of Western Australia , which was charged with providing and maintaining public infrastructure such as dams , water supplies , schools , hospitals , harbours and other public buildings. The department is no longer operational, having its responsibilities reassigned to other State Government Departments and corporate entities since 1985. The acronym PWD
2601-423: Was used over time to indicate the department. The history of the department is difficult to accurately describe given the broad range of tasks performed by the department and also the evolutionary development of the organisation. The department was instrumental in the success of Western Australia, aiding in transforming it from a colonial settlement to a prosperous state. Given the remoteness of Western Australia,
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