Tjuntjuntjara Community Explained

Type:town
Tjuntjuntjara
State:WA
Coordinates:-29.3397°N 127.0969°W
Pushpin Label Position:left
Pop:280
Pop Year:2017
Established:1988
Postcode:6436
Timezone:WST
Dist1:650
Dir1:north-east
Location1:Kalgoorlie
Lga:Shire of Menzies
Region:Great Victoria Desert
Stategov:Goldfields–Esperance
Fedgov:O'Connor
Rainfall:162

Tjuntjuntjara, also spelt Tjuntjuntjarra, is a large Aboriginal community located north east of Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, within the Shire of Menzies in the southern part of the Great Victoria Desert.

History

The community was established in 1988 after a water bore was drilled at the location.

The Tjuntjuntjara community members are part of a larger group known as the Spinifex people, who were removed from their homelands (which range across the WA and SA border lands) prior to the British nuclear tests at Maralinga in the 1950s and 1960s.[1]

Tjuntjuntjara 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 3 December 2003 and the Western Australian Planning Commission on 4 May 2004.[2]

Description and governance

Tjuntjuntjara community is a large Aboriginal community located north east of Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, within the Shire of Menzies in the southern part of the Great Victoria Desert.[3] It is also sometimes spelt Tjuntjuntjarra. It is located within the fully determined Spinifex People (WAD6043/98) native title claim area.[4] [5]

The community relies upon regular supplies trucked from Ceduna in South Australia.[6] [7]

The community is managed through its incorporated body, Paupiyala Tjarutja Aboriginal Corporation, incorporated under the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976 on 19 April 1989.[3]

Art centre

The Spinifex Arts Project is a non-profit Aboriginal-owned art centre at Tjuntjuntjara.[8] It is a member of Desart.[9]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tjuntjuntjara Tjukupa. Tjuntjuntjara Community Resource Centre. 25 February 2013.
  2. Web site: Layout plans. Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage. 2019-09-01. 2024-03-31.
  3. Web site: Home . spinifex.org.au.
  4. Web site: Spinifex . https://web.archive.org/web/20230131031118/https://centraldesert.org.au/native-title-item/spinifex/ . 2023-01-31.
  5. Web site: Mark Anderson on behalf of the Spinifex People v Stateof Western Australia .
  6. News: 'Mercy dash' airlifts vital supplies to feed remote WA Aboriginal community. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 8 February 2017. 27 October 2020.
  7. News: Outback truckie drives 28 hours every fortnight getting food to community's only grocery shop. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 January 2023. 7 January 2023.
  8. Web site: Spinifex Arts Project . Instagram . 28 January 2024.
  9. Web site: Member art centres . Desart . 7 December 2023 . 28 January 2024.