Mowanjum Community
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Mowanjum is a medium-sized Aboriginal community, located south east of
Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...
in the
Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...
region of
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, within the
Shire of Derby-West Kimberley Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...
. At the
2016 Australian census The 2016 Australian census was the 17th Census in Australia, national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was count ...
, Mowanjum had a population of 311. The settlement began after the establishment of a
mission station A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and ...
by the
Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...
in 1912, first called the Port George IV mission and later Kunmunya.


History

After an initial attempt to set up a mission near
Walcott Inlet Walcott Inlet is an estuary located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It flows into Collier Bay, in the Indian Ocean, via a narrow gap known as Yule Entrance. The inlet was named on 19 June 1865 by Trevarton Charles Sholl after St ...
by Dr. John Yule had been abandoned by the lay missionaries who followed, Robert and Frances Wilson, owing to lack of
fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...
at the site, a fresh site was sought. In 1912 Rev. R.H. Wilson and his party selected a new site at Port George IV, not far away. Within a few more years, sometime before 1930, this site too had to be abandoned, owing to lack of water and
arable land Arable land (from the , "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the purposes of a ...
, with the new site known as Kunmunya. Rev. J.R.B. Love was in important figure in the history of the mission, although he was away from the outbreak of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
in 1914, when he enlisted in the
First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main Expeditionary warfare, expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following United Kingdom of Great Bri ...
(A.I.F.) in 1914, and only returned in 1927. He subsequently remained as superintendent until 1941. Love translated the gospel of Saint Mark and
Saint Luke Luke the Evangelist was one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical gospels. The Early Church Fathers ascribed to him authorship of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Prominent figu ...
into the
Worrorra language Worrorra, also written Worora and other variants, and also known as Western Worrorran, is a moribund Australian Aboriginal language of northern Western Australia. It encompasses a number of dialects, which are spoken by a group of people known ...
, and mission children were taught in both English and Worrorra. In 1949, the land, livestock and equipment of Munja Aboriginal Cattle Station was handed over to the missionaries, which overstretched the capacity of the missionaries. In the meantime, Kumunya experienced crop failures, and after deliberations among the various groups, they all relocated in 1951 to Wotjulum, near
Yampi Sound Yampi Sound is a part of the Indian Ocean off the coast of north-western Australia, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It is located between King Sound and Collier Bay. It lies between the Yampi Peninsula and the islands of the Bucca ...
, about south-west of Port George, near Coppermine Estuary. finally to the outskirts of Derby near the airport in 1956. The name Mowanjum was inscribed in the Derby marsh in 1956 by David Mowaljarlai. It means "settled" or "on firm ground. The three men attributed to founding the Mowanjum Community are Albert Barunga, Alan Mungulu and David Mowaljarlai. The community was again shifted in 1975 to its present site east of Derby, following government requirements for additional land for the Derby Airport.


Description

Strong links to traditional country have been preserved and the numerous outstations, including Pantijan, Kunmunya, Dodnun and Yallon, are directly linked to both European and traditional history. Mowanjum's outstations are under Mowanjum community management. Mowanjum includes people from three main language groups: *
Wunambal The Wunambal (Unambal), also known as Wunambal Gaambera, Uunguu (referring to their lands), and other names, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the northern Kimberley region of Western Australia. People The Wunambal were, according to Norma ...
* Worrora *
Ngarinyin The Ngarinyin or Ngarinjin are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia. Their language, Ngarinyin language, Ngarinyin, is also known as Ungarinyin. When referring to their tradit ...
Between 300 and 500 people reside at Mowanjum Community depending on seasonal conditions in surrounding language group areas.


Art and culture

Mowanjum Community has its own art and cultural organisation, the Mowanjum Aboriginal Art & Culture Centre (MASWAC). It was founded in 1998 by Mowanjum Community Administrator Maxine Clarke, Mowanjum Kimberley
TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE () is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known ...
Arts lecturer Mark Norval, and its first chairperson Donny Woolagoodja. In 2002 community administrator John Oster and MASWAC compiled a business plan to build a gallery-museum at Mowanjum. During 2004 and 2006 this new art centre was constructed. The artists from MASWAC have had major exhibitions across the country and overseas.
Wandjina The Wandjina, also written Wanjina and Wondjina and also known as Gulingi, are cloud and rain spirits from the Wanjina Wunggurr cultural bloc of Australian Aboriginal mythology, Aboriginal Australians, depicted prominently in rock art in northw ...
artists since the formation of MASWAC include Donny Woolagoodja, Mabel King, Gordon Barunga, Sandra Mungulu and Leah Umbagai, while prior to MASWAC, there were Wattie Karrawarra, Jack Wheera, Charlie Numblemoore, Alan Mungulu, David Mowaljarlai, Sam Woolagoodja, Spider Burgu, Paddy Morlumbun, Guduwola Mungulu and Pudjuwola Barunga. The Mowanjum Arts and Cultural Festival is one of Australia's longest-running Indigenous festivals, having run annually since 1998.


Governance

The community is managed through its incorporated body, Mowanjum Aboriginal Corporation, incorporated under the ''Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976'' on 23 January 1981.


Town planning

Mowanjum Layout Plan No.1 was prepared in accordance with State Planning Policy 3.2 Aboriginal Settlements. Layout Plan No.1 was endorsed by the community on 23 July 2003 and the
Western Australian Planning Commission The Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) is an independent statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia that exists to coordinate strategic and statutory planning for future urban, rural, and regional land use. The WAPC f ...
on 23 September 2003. It has had several amendments since.


Notable people

* Elkin Umbagai (1921–1980), community co-founder, leader, and educator *Vinka Barunga, who grew up in Mowanjum and Derby, graduated from the
University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...
with an
MBBS A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...
in 2016, and is the first Worrora doctor and the first Aboriginal doctor in Derby.


References


External links

* {{cite web, url=https://register.oric.gov.au/document.aspx?concernID=100090, website= Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, title=Documents for Mowanjum Aboriginal Corporation Aboriginal communities in Kimberley (Western Australia)