The Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku is a remote local government area in

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 ...

near the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

n border. It is from

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. It was formed on 1 July 1993 following a report of the Local Government Boundaries Commission in 1992. The

Shire of Wiluna The Shire of Wiluna is a local government area in the Goldfields-Esperance region (since 2021) of Western Australia, about northeast of the state capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of , and its seat of government is the town of Wiluna ...

was divided with the eastern area becoming the new Shire. It is a community of interest within the traditional lands of the

Ngaanyatjarra The Ngaanyatjarra, also known (along with the Pini) as the Nana, are an Indigenous Australian cultural group of Western Australia. They are located in the Goldfields-Esperance region, as well as Northern Territory. Language Ngaanyatjarra is ...

people of the

Central Desert Deserts cover about , or 18%, of the Australian mainland, but about 35% of the Australian continent receives so little rain, it is practically desert. Collectively known as the Great Australian desert, they are primarily distributed throughout ...

of Western Australia. The 99-year leases held by the Ngaanyatjarra Land Council on behalf of the

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

also form the boundaries of the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku. The Shire has of gravel road and is far from bitumen roads. The

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...

on 29 June 2005 consented to the

native title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty to that land by another colonising state. The requirements of proof for the recognition of ab ...

claim over approximately (about the size of

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

) of land in the Central Desert Region in the Shires of Laverton and Ngaanyatjarraku.

is the first language of most residents (65%, see below) with the other language significantly represented being

Pitjantjatjara The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are v ...

Population

The 2021 ABS Census indicated that the region's 1,358 residents comprised 48.5% males and 51.5% females, with 84.5% of the population being

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

. The Ngaanyatjarraku community has a greater proportion of younger people than the overall Australian population and a lesser proportion of older people, reflected by the median age of 30 years of age compared with 38 Australia-wide. Some other statistics: * 84.5% of the population identify as

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

* 71.4% (970) speak

at home * 9.9% speak English only at home (cf 72.0% nationwide)

Communities and localities

The Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku covers and is the

local government authority A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The phras ...

responsible for the provision of services to the communities. There are 10 small local centres within the Ngaanyatyarra Lands. The communities and localities of the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku with population and size figures based on the most recent

Australian census The Census in Australia, officially the Census of Population and Housing, is the national census in Australia that occurs every five years. The census collects key demographic, social and economic data from all people in Australia on census nig ...

Kiwirrkurra Kiwirrkurra, gazetted as Kiwirrkurra Community, is a small community in Western Australia in the Gibson Desert, east of Port Hedland, Western Australia, Port Hedland and west of Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Alice Springs. It had a popul ...

and Yilka (Cosmo Newbery) lie outside the Lands, but are served by the Shire.

Giles Weather Station Giles Weather Station (also referred to as Giles Meteorological Station or Giles) is located in Western Australia near the Northern Territory border, about west-south-west of Alice Springs and west of Uluru. It is the only staffed weather sta ...

is also within the Shire.

Council statistics

*Location: Gibson /

Great Victoria Desert The Great Victoria Desert is a sparsely populated desert ecoregion and Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion in Western Australia and South Australia. History In 1875, British-born Australian explore ...

s *Length of Sealed Roads (km): 12.6 *Length of Unsealed Roads (km): 1,444 *Population: 1,335 (2006 Census) *Educational Institutions **Colleges 1 **Primary & High Schools (K −10) 8

Ngaanyatjarra Council (Aboriginal Corporation)

The associated Ngaanyatjarra Council operates *Air services (contracted to Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF)) *

Tertiary education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

( Ngaanyatjarra Community College, Warburton) *Communities *Land Management *

Native Title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty to that land by another colonising state. The requirements of proof for the recognition of ab ...

Representative Body *Ngaanyatjarra Agencies and Transport Services Inc (NATS) *Ngaanyatjarra Services (Aboriginal Corporation) *Roadhouses ** Tjukayirla **Warakurna **Warburton *Service Stations **

Caltex Caltex is a petroleum brand name of Chevron Corporation used in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East, and Southern Africa. Headquartered in Singapore, it is also the brand name of non-Chevron petroleum companies in some countries (such as ...

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

fuel franchise supplies Caltex fuel and petroleum products to all Ngaanyatjarra communities, workshops and roadhouse facilities. **Caltex Roadhouse – Alice Springs

Heritage-listed places

As of 2023, two places are heritage-listed in the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku, the

Giles Meteorological Station Giles Weather Station (also referred to as Giles Meteorological Station or Giles) is located in Western Australia near the Northern Territory border, about west-south-west of Alice Springs and west of Uluru. It is the only staffed weather sta ...

and the Warakurna Multi-Function Police Facility, neither of which are on the

State Register of Heritage Places The State Register of Heritage Places is the heritage register of historic sites in Western Australia deemed significant at the state level by the Heritage Council of Western Australia. History In the 1970s, following its establishment of the N ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shire Of Ngaanyatjarraku Ngaanyatjarraku, Shire of Aboriginal communities in Goldfields–Esperance