Yiyili is a small Aboriginal community, located west of

Halls Creek Halls is a plural of the word hall. Halls may also refer to: People * Walter Halls (1871–1953), British trade unionist and politician * Ethel May Halls (1882–1967), American actress * Julian Halls (born 1967), British field hockey player * ...

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 Halls Creek The Shire of Halls Creek is one of the four Local government areas of Western Australia, local government areas in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of northern Western Australia, covering an area of , most of which is sparsel ...

History

Yiyili Community was established in 1981 with the purchase of

Louisa Downs Station Louisa Downs, also commonly just referred to as "Louisa", is a large cattle station midway between Fitzroy Crossing and Halls Creek in the Kimberley region in Western Australia. Description Originally of about is size, the station encom ...

by the Louis Downs Pastoral Aboriginal Corporation. The community was developed on land excised from the station

pastoral lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to Pastoral farming, graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Austral ...

. Louisa Station is still owned and operated by Yiyili community members under the Louisa Downs Pastoral Aboriginal Corporation.

Native title

The community is located within the registered

Gooniyandi The Gooniyandi, also known as the Konejandi, are an Aboriginal Australian people in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Language Gooniyandi, with Bunuba, is one of the two languages of the Bunuban language family. Country Gooniyandi tr ...

Combined 2 (WAD6008/00)

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 area.

Town planning

Yiyili Layout Plan No.2 was prepared in accordance with State Planning Policy 3.2 Aboriginal Settlements and was endorsed by the community in 2010. The layout plan map-set and background report can be viewed at the Planning Western Australia website.

Education

Children of school age at Yiyili attend the Yiyili Community School. The school caters for students in

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

to Year 10 from Yiyili and the surrounding outstations of Ganinyi, Girriyoowa, Goolgaradah, Kurinyjarn, and Rocky Springs. In 2010 there were 72 students enrolled. A daily bus service operated by the school collects students from other nearby communities including Moongardie distant. The school provides lunch for students. Students who progress beyond Year 10 attend boarding school in

Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( Larrakia: ') is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The city has nearly 53% of the Northern Territory's population, with 139,902 at the 2021 census. It is the smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australi ...

and other larger towns.

Governance

The community is managed through its incorporated body, Yiyili Community Indigenous Corporation (formally Yiyili Community

Aboriginal Corporation A Registered Native Title Body Corporate (RNTBC) is a corporation nominated by a group of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people for the purposes of native title in Australia, to represent their native title rights and interests, once that ...

), incorporated under the ''Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976'' on 27 November 1981.

References

External links

*{{cite web , title=Communities , website=Shire of Halls Creek , url=https://www.hallscreek.wa.gov.au/community/communities
Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations

Native Title Claimant application summary
Towns in Western Australia Aboriginal communities in Kimberley (Western Australia)