Wiluna, Western Australia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids WilunaWestern Australia |
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Main Street in Wiluna
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 Wiluna
Location in Western Australia
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| Established | 1898 | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6646 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 521 m (1,709 ft) | ||||||||
| Area | [convert: needs a number] | ||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Shire of Wiluna | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | North West Central | ||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | O'Connor | ||||||||
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Wiluna is a small town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. It sits on the edge of the Western Desert. Wiluna is known as a starting point for the Canning Stock Route and Gunbarrel Highway.
The town serves as a hub for the local Martu people, the farming industry, and the Wiluna Gold Mine. Many people also work at other mines nearby. Some workers travel to and from the mines by plane, which is called "fly-in/fly-out".
Wiluna has a hot and dry climate. It gets about 258 mm (10.2 in) of rain each year. In July, the average high temperature is 19 °C (66 °F). In January, it can reach 38 °C (100 °F).
The closest larger town with services is Meekatharra.
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About Wiluna Town
Wiluna is home to between 200 and 600 Aboriginal people. The number changes depending on traditional ceremonies happening in the Central Desert region.
The original Aboriginal owners of this land were affected by British settlement in the 1800s. In the 1950s, a church group started a mission with government support. The traditional people lost their lands due to things like farming leases and the discovery of gold.
After atomic nuclear tests near Maralinga in the 1950s, many Aboriginal people from different groups came to live at the mission. Today, the Aboriginal residents and visitors still have a lot of traditional knowledge and skills.
The town has a general store, a petrol station, and a caravan park. There is also a sports oval, a school, and a health clinic.
Local water holes offer a cool place to relax on hot summer days. The roads around Wiluna are unsealed dirt roads. During the wet season, large lakes can form, attracting lots of wildlife. You might see snakes, kangaroos, bungarras (large lizards), bush turkeys, donkeys, horses, camels, and dingoes in the area.
Wiluna is also home to VMW, a special radio transmitter. It sends out marine weather information for the Bureau of Meteorology.
Gold and Other Mines
Lawrence Wells explored the Wiluna area in 1892. Gold was found there in 1896. Within a few months, over 300 gold prospectors arrived. The town of Wiluna was officially named in 1898. The name Wiluna comes from an Aboriginal word for the area. It means "Place of wind" or "Windy place".
By the 1930s, Wiluna had more than 9,000 people. However, World War II caused many gold mines to close. By 1963, the population dropped to less than 100. Gold mining started again in 1981.
The Wiluna Gold Mine is very close to town, about 3 kilometers south. It was closed for upgrades in 2007 but reopened in 2008. The mine plans to process up to 1 million tonnes of ore each year. It aims to produce 150,000 to 200,000 ounces of gold annually.
The Yeleeri mine site, 100 kilometers south, has uranium ore. The region within 300 kilometers of Wiluna has many valuable minerals.
The Paroo Station lead mine is 30 kilometers west of Wiluna. It was temporarily closed in 2015 because lead prices were low.
Wiluna and the Mid-West region are important for uranium mining in Western Australia. Three uranium projects are being planned nearby: the Lake Maitland uranium project, the Lake Way uranium project, and the Yeelirrie uranium project. These are all within 100 kilometers of Wiluna.
Some environmental groups and local people are against these mines. The Yeelirrie project has faced strong opposition from Traditional Owners for over 40 years.
Meteors Falling to Earth
In October 1960, two workers saw a bright fireball fall near Wiluna. This happened 11 kilometers from Wiluna on the Millbillillie-Jundee track. The pieces of this meteor are called the Millbillillie meteorite. Scientists believe these pieces came from the asteroid Vesta. It is thought that a collision in the asteroid belt knocked them off Vesta. Even though official pieces were not found until 1970, local Aboriginal people had collected some earlier.
Another Meteorite fall happened near Wiluna on September 2, 1967. This meteorite was an H5-class object. Pieces of it are now kept at the Western Australian Museum.
Education in Wiluna
Wiluna Remote Community School teaches students from Year 1 to Year 12. The school usually has between 85 and 115 students.
The school provides a bus to help students get to and from school. The local Indigenous language is Martu Wangka dialect. However, most students speak Aboriginal English.
Wiluna's Climate
Wiluna has a desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh). Like much of inland Western Australia, its rainfall has increased by about 40 percent since 1967. The most rain ever recorded was in April 1900. The town received 527.1 millimetres (20.75 in) then, which is two and a half times its normal yearly rainfall.
| Climate data for Wiluna | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 48.0 (118.4) |
46.8 (116.2) |
44.0 (111.2) |
40.0 (104.0) |
37.2 (99.0) |
32.2 (90.0) |
29.0 (84.2) |
33.4 (92.1) |
37.5 (99.5) |
42.9 (109.2) |
43.3 (109.9) |
46.9 (116.4) |
48.0 (118.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 38.0 (100.4) |
36.5 (97.7) |
34.0 (93.2) |
29.2 (84.6) |
23.8 (74.8) |
19.9 (67.8) |
19.4 (66.9) |
21.9 (71.4) |
26.3 (79.3) |
30.3 (86.5) |
34.0 (93.2) |
36.8 (98.2) |
29.2 (84.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.9 (73.2) |
22.1 (71.8) |
19.6 (67.3) |
15.1 (59.2) |
10.0 (50.0) |
6.7 (44.1) |
5.4 (41.7) |
6.8 (44.2) |
9.9 (49.8) |
13.9 (57.0) |
17.8 (64.0) |
21.1 (70.0) |
14.3 (57.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 8.3 (46.9) |
12.1 (53.8) |
9.4 (48.9) |
3.9 (39.0) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
1.2 (34.2) |
4.2 (39.6) |
4.4 (39.9) |
8.3 (46.9) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 35.1 (1.38) |
38.0 (1.50) |
35.8 (1.41) |
29.0 (1.14) |
25.2 (0.99) |
23.8 (0.94) |
15.1 (0.59) |
10.2 (0.40) |
4.6 (0.18) |
7.1 (0.28) |
11.2 (0.44) |
22.3 (0.88) |
257.4 (10.13) |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology | |||||||||||||
Wiluna's Railways
Wiluna was the farthest point reached by the Western Australian Government Railways system. This railway used a narrow gauge track. The Wiluna branch line connected to the main Northern Railway at Meekatharra. The line to Wiluna opened on November 2, 1932. However, it was closed on August 5, 1957.
Famous People from Wiluna
The Indigenous people who have always lived in this region come from different tribal groups. They are skilled hunters, craftspeople, and bush mechanics. Many other talented people live in the community today.
Major General Michael Jeffery, who used to be the Governor-General of Australia, was born in Wiluna. He was born on December 12, 1937. After he visited Wiluna in 2006 and saw the old school, a new primary school was built.
Warri and Yatungka were a well-known Aboriginal couple. They passed away in Wiluna in 1979. They were the last of the Mandildjara people to leave their traditional lands and their hunter-gatherer way of life. Their story is like a "Romeo and Juliet" tale. It was written about in the book The Last of the Nomads by Dr W J Peasley.
Warri's brother, Moodjeren, was worried about them during a long drought. He asked Stan Gratte to help find them. The couple were very thin and close to death when they were brought to Wiluna. There, their people forgave them for breaking Mandildjara marriage laws many years before. They both died in 1979, within four weeks of each other.
