Warmun Community, Western Australia

Warmun Community (also known as Turkey Creek) and Warmun are a township and locality in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, located on the Great Northern Highway, 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) northeast of Perth, Western Australia.[3] The closest populated town is Halls Creek, about 160 km (99 mi) to the south.[4] It is about 200 km (120 mi) south of Kununurra.[5] Turkey Creek is a small creek that runs through the community.

Warmun Community
Western Australia
Warmun Community is located in Western Australia
Warmun Community
Warmun Community
Coordinates17°02′00″S 128°13′00″E
Population457 (SAL 2021)[1][2]
Postcode(s)6743
Elevation207 m (679 ft)
Area20.3 km2 (7.8 sq mi)
Location
  • 3,009 km (1,870 mi) north east of Perth, Western Australia
  • 858 km (533 mi) east of Broome
LGA(s)Shire of Halls Creek
State electorate(s)Kimberley
Federal division(s)Durack

History

The Gija people are the traditional owners of the area, having inhabited it for thousands of years.[6][7]

The area was settled by European pastoralists in the 19th century but the community was established in 1901 when the state government built a ration depot at Turkey Creek.[8]

Mistake Creek massacre
Main article: Mistake Creek massacre

In March 1915, Michael Rhatigan, a telegraph linesman based at Turkey Creek, together with his two Aboriginal employees, Joe Wynne and Nipper, shot dead twelve Gija people at Mistake Creek in the East Kimberley, in an incident which became known as the Mistake Creek massacre. They initially rushed an Aboriginal camp killing six men, burning their remains. Six women were later rounded up and shot dead. A police squad was sent to track down and capture Rhatigan and his accomplices.[9] Rhatigan and Nipper were arrested, while Wynne was shot dead by police. A coroner's inquest held at Turkey Creek acquitted Rhatigan of any wrongdoing, while Nipper was ordered to face trial for the murder of eight people.[10] Nipper was found not guilty and was released. He later worked at the police stables in Perth. According to local Aboriginal oral history, the massacre was in reprisal for the killing of Rhatigan's cow; the cow was later claimed to have been found alive after the massacre had taken place.[11]

Rhatigan remained a telegraph linesman at Turkey Creek until his death in 1920.[12] His son, John Rhatigan, became a long serving Labor Party politician in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly.[13]

2011 floods

Devastating flash flooding occurred in March 2011, affecting most of the houses, the school, the clinic, and the Warmun Art Centre, including its new gallery. At that time, Turkey Creek ran through the centre of the community.[14] The whole community was evacuated, but there were no deaths, and all buildings were eventually rebuilt on higher ground.[15]

Governance

The community is managed through its incorporated body, Warmun Community (Turkey Creek) Incorporated, which was incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act, 1895-1969 (WA) in 1977.

Facilities and attractions

The Ngalangangpum School was established in town at the request of the community. Built in 1979, the school allowed students to stay in town rather than attend St Joseph's School in Wyndham and only come home over the holidays. The school was significantly upgraded in 1987, then again in 1990 so that secondary schooling could occur in town, and again in 2001.[16]

Art

Warmun art has an international reputation.[14] In 1975, artists Rover Thomas and Paddy Jaminji began to collaborate in their art practice at Warmun, setting the course for contemporary Aboriginal art in the east Kimberley.[17] Significant past artists, leaders and elders at Warmun include Queenie McKenzie, Madigan Thomas, Hector Jandany,[18] George Mung Mung (c.1921–1991),[19] and Jack Britten.[20] Rover Thomas and Queenie MacKenzie in particular are recognised as pioneers of contemporary Indigenous art in Australia.[14]

History

Warmun Art Centre was established in 1998 by Rover Thomas, Queenie McKenzie, Madigan Thomas, Hector Jandany, and others, as a community-owned and -controlled centre that maintains, supports and promotes Gija art, language and culture.[18]

The 2011 floods rose quickly around the art centre, causing around 600 works in the gallery to float away in the water. The Warmun community collection, an art collection of great significance consisting of around 400 works, was locked away in a secure room, and although they were water-damaged, they were able to be restored by expert conservationists at Melbourne University. The artworks were returned to the art centre in June 2013,[15] after the building had been rebuilt, located on a riverbank opposite the residential area.[21]

The art centre was closed for two years and two months during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. During this time the interior was redecorated, and works were shown through new virtual software, while the artists worked from home. Online sales continued and strong demand continued. The centre reopened in May 2022, owing to its location away from the residents, to whom access continued to be restricted. Visitors are obliged to follow COVID-19 prevention protocols, including taking a rapid antigen test before entry.[21]

Goals, style and themes

The primary goal of the centre is "the conservation of culturally and socially significant objects and knowledge systems", using art to achieve this.[22] All profits are returned to the community.[23]

Artists at the centre are known for their distinctive style, using ochre and other natural pigments on canvas to represent traditional Dreaming stories as well as everyday life of the people.[23] The typical style is described as "simple and uncluttered, painted with natural ochre, with shapes being defined by rows of white dots". The Gija artists' work often includes topographical maps in painted with ochre, sometimes using gum gathered from local bloodwood trees as a fixative.[17]

Members of the Gija people from the Warmun community have depicted the Mistake Creek massacre in their artworks.[24]

Collections and contemporary artists

The work of Warmun artists is held and has been exhibited in significant local and international collections, including the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, the National Gallery of Australia and National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).[23]

Mabel Juli,[23][22] Shirley Purdie[23][21] and Lena Nyadbi[25] are particularly well-known names in the art world.[23]

Other notable contemporary artists among the more than 60 artists[5] at the centre include:

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Warmun (Suburb and Locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
  2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Warmun Community (Suburb and Locality)". Australian Census 2021. 
  3. "Main Roads WA - Distance from Perth". 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  4. "Turkey Creek to Halls Creek". Google Maps. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  5. "Warmun Art Centre". Desert River Sea. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  6. Horton, David R. (1996). "Map of Indigenous Australia". AIATSIS. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  7. "AusAnthrop Australian Aboriginal tribal database". 2005. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  8. "History of the Warmun Community". 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  9. "Sensational charges". The West Australian. Western Australia. 1 April 1915. p. 7. Retrieved 15 January 2020 – via Trove.
  10. "North-west sensation". The West Australian. Western Australia. 27 April 1915. p. 8. Retrieved 15 January 2020 – via Trove.
  11. Deane, William (27 November 2002). "Decrying the memories of Mistake Creek is yet further injustice". Sydney Morning Herald. Opinion. Retrieved 17 June 2006.
  12. "Family Notices". The West Australian. Western Australia. 30 March 1920. p. 1. Retrieved 15 January 2020 – via Trove.
  13. "John Joseph Rhatigan". Parliament of Western Australia. Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  14. McDowell, Clancy (14 March 2011). "Warmun floods devastate a community and its art". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  15. Smale, Hilary; Collins, Ben (14 June 2013). "Flood damaged Warmun art returns home to the East Kimberley" (Audio + text). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  16. "Ngalangangpum School - Its History". 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  17. "Warmun Aboriginal Art & Artists". Japingka Aboriginal Art Gallery. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  18. "Warmun Art Centre". Art Gallery of South Australia. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  19. "Artists". National Gallery of Victoria. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  20. "ANKA". ANKA. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  21. Mills, Vanessa (22 May 2022). "Kimberley's Warmun Art Centre in WA reopens after COVID pandemic closure". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  22. "Warmun Art Exhibition" (PDF). Lander & Rogers Lawyers.
  23. "Warmun Art Centre". Aboriginal Contemporary. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  24. Carrington, Betty. "Mistake Creek Massacre". DesertRiverSea. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  25. "Warmun painter Lena Nyadbi recognised as one of nation's most significant artists". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  • Warmun travel guide from Wikivoyage
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