Warralong Community facts for kids
Quick facts for kids WarralongWestern Australia |
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 Warralong
Location in Western Australia
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| Population | 174 (2011 census) | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6760 | ||||||||
| Location | 120 km (75 mi) SE of Port Hedland | ||||||||
| LGA(s) | East Pilbara | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Pilbara | ||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Durack | ||||||||
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Warralong is a small Aboriginal community in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south-east of Port Hedland. It's also 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Marble Bar. The community is located between the Shaw River and the De Grey River. It is part of the Shire of East Pilbara.
History of Warralong
Indigenous Australian people have lived in this area for thousands of years. The first European to visit was Francis Thomas Gregory in 1861. Soon after, people who raised sheep and cattle, called pastoralists, came to the area. They set up large farms, known as stations. This meant the Indigenous people were moved from their lands. However, many Indigenous people then worked on these stations for low wages. This led to important events like the 1946 Pilbara strike.
Warralong community started from the Strelley Station. This was a large farm that first raised sheep and then cattle. In 1972, an Indigenous group called the Nomads bought several of these farms. These included the Coongan and Strelley stations. The Aboriginal community at Strelley once had over 800 people. Later, some challenges caused many people to move from Strelley to other places, including Warralong. The farms continued to operate and were never given up.
Native Title Rights
The Warralong community is located within the Nyamal people's native title area. Native title means that Indigenous people have special rights to their traditional lands and waters. These rights are recognized by Australian law.
Education and Learning
A school was first opened at Strelley in 1976. Later, schools were also set up at Warralong and Woodstock. Children in Warralong attend the Strelley Community School. This school has campuses at Warralong and Strelley. It focuses on teaching traditional languages and learning about the land.
The school at Strelley was badly damaged by Cyclone George in 2007. It reopened in 2009. The Woodstock campus closed in 2008 because fewer students were attending. The school is a very important part of community life. It helps solve community problems, like littering, through education.
Community Governance
The way Warralong is managed is set out in an agreement. This agreement is between the Western Australian Government Housing Authority and the owners of the Coongan Pastoral Lease. The Nomads Charitable & Educational Foundation runs the community school at Warralong. Don McLeod and Ray Butler started this foundation in 1971.
The Nomads group also runs a remote Aboriginal community school at Strelley. This school is the oldest of its kind in Australia that has been open continuously.
