Jigalong, Western Australia

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Jigalong
state = wa


caption =
loc-x = 109
loc-y = 139
lga = Shire of East Pilbara
postcode =
est = 1907
pop = 278 (2006)
pop_footnotes=Census 2006 AUS|id=ILOC2500901|name=Jigalong (Indigenous Location) | quick=on | accessdate=2008-07-17]
elevation= 524
elevation_footnotes=
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
stategov = Pilbara
fedgov = Kalgoorlie
dist1 = 1070
dir1 = NNE
location1= Perthcoord|-23.358|120.781|type:city(273)_region:AU-WA_scale:100000|format=dms|display=title

Jigalong is a remote Australian Indigenous community of approximately 300 people located in Western Australia.

Location

Jigalong is located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, approximately convert|165|km|mi|0 east of the town of Newman in the Shire of East Pilbara Local Government Area. The community is located in an Aboriginal Lands Trust reserve on the western edge of the Little Sandy Desert. [http://www.wapc.wa.gov.au/Initiatives/Planning+for+Aboriginal+communities/CLP+maps/Downloads_GetFile.aspx?ID=1097&File=Jigalong_Report_May06.pdf Jigalong Community Layout Plan No. 2 Planning Report & Provisions] , Western Australian Planning Commission, September 2005.]

Demographics and facilities

The 2006 Australian Census recorded the population of Jigalong as 278 people, of which 91.4% were Aboriginal.

The Jigalong Remote Community School provides education from kindergarten to Year 12 level, with six teachers for a student enrolment of around 120 children. [ [http://echidna.teachlive.org.au/jigalong_remote_community_school.html Jigalong Remote Community School] , "TeachLive", 2005.]

The community has a medical centre, but patients with serious illnesses and injury are usually flown to Port Hedland – convert|400|km|mi west of Jigalong – by the Royal Flying Doctor Service. [ [http://www.flyingdoctor.net/RFDS-and-the-People-We-Are-Proud-to-Serve.html The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (RFDS) and the people we are proud to serve] , Royal Flying Doctor Service, 12 February 2008.]

History

Jigalong was established in 1907, as the location for a maintenance and rations store for workmen constructing the Rabbit-proof fence. In the 1930s, it was used as a camel-breeding site, but this use was abandoned once the motor car superseded the camel as a mode of transport. In 1947, the land was granted to the Apostolic Church, who used it as a Christian mission, and set up the Aboriginal community. The land was returned to the Australian government in 1969, and was granted to the Martu people in 1974. [ [http://www.lookingwest.communitydevelopment.wa.gov.au/pdf/05e_k.pdf Education and School — State Records Office] , State Records Office of Western Australia.]

"Rabbit-Proof Fence"

Jigalong was the home of Molly Craig, the young Aboriginal girl whose 1,600 kilometre trek from the Moore River Native Settlement back to Jigalong was immortalised in the book "Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence" by Molly's daughter Doris Pilkington Garimara. In 2002, the book was made into a film, "Rabbit-Proof Fence", directed by Phillip Noyce, and the film's world premiere was held in the town. [Thompson, Peter: [http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/film_reviews/article_985.asp Film: Rabbit-Proof Fence] , "Sunday" (Nine Network), 24 February 2002.]

References