Image by: G Temple Poole
Roebourne is located beside a permanent pool on the Harding River or Ngurin, 13 kilometres from the once-port of Cossack on the coast. It is known to the Ngarluma people, on whose land it sits, as Yirramagardu – spelt also as Ieramagadu.
Originally, most Aboriginal people were confined to camps and reserves a few kilometres away, but now Ngarluma people live alongside other traditional owner populations in Roebourne – in particular the Yindjibarndi people, whose country is to the south.
Roebourne is named after John Septimus Roe, the first Surveyor General of Western Australia. The town was gazetted in 1866, having been settled three years earlier in 1863.
Some of the early settlers included John and Emma Withnell and their young family. Emma was the first white woman to settle in the region and she became known as the “Mother of the north-west”. Her story is well told in the book: A Saga of the North West: Yeera-Muk-A-Doo: An Authentic History of the First Settlement of North West Australia.
The site of the Withnell’s house, which was rebuilt in 1937 by a later owner, is located on Hampton Street at the foot of Mount Welcome.
The Old Roebourne Gaol commenced construction in 1896 and is one of the town’s landmarks. The stones were quarried and laid by Aboriginal prisoners who were detained there in extremely harsh conditions between 1896 and 1923. Today, the gaol contains a range of artefacts and photographs from the town’s early days.
Other impressive 19th century buildings include the Court House and the Post Office.
Image by: G Temple Poole
Roebourne is located beside a permanent pool on the Harding River or Ngurin, 13 kilometres from the once-port of Cossack on the coast. It is known to the Ngarluma people, on whose land it sits, as Yirramagardu – spelt also as Ieramagadu.
Originally, most Aboriginal people were confined to camps and reserves a few kilometres away, but now Ngarluma people live alongside other traditional owner populations in Roebourne – in particular the Yindjibarndi people, whose country is to the south.
Roebourne is named after John Septimus Roe, the first Surveyor General of Western Australia. The town was gazetted in 1866, having been settled three years earlier in 1863.
Some of the early settlers included John and Emma Withnell and their young family. Emma was the first white woman to settle in the region and she became known as the “Mother of the north-west”. Her story is well told in the book: A Saga of the North West: Yeera-Muk-A-Doo: An Authentic History of the First Settlement of North West Australia.
The site of the Withnell’s house, which was rebuilt in 1937 by a later owner, is located on Hampton Street at the foot of Mount Welcome.
The Old Roebourne Gaol commenced construction in 1896 and is one of the town’s landmarks. The stones were quarried and laid by Aboriginal prisoners who were detained there in extremely harsh conditions between 1896 and 1923. Today, the gaol contains a range of artefacts and photographs from the town’s early days.
Other impressive 19th century buildings include the Court House and the Post Office.
Two well-respected Aboriginal-owned corporations located in Roebourne are NBAC and NYFL.
Ngarliyarndu means “the people of the coastal Pilbara”and Bindirri means “star” and the corporation was started in 1970 by local Aboriginal people to tackle issues impacting the people of Roebourne.
With exemplary and stable governance NBAC has stood firm through devastating policy impacts, cyclones, construction booms and busts and the toxic tensions of Native Title negotiations. It originated the 6718 Advantage Plan to attack entrenched social disadvantage of Aboriginal people in Roebourne.
It is a not-for-profit organisation, proudly 97% self-funded, offering a wide range of services including the Red Dirt Driving Academy, Ways2Work, the Yirramagadu Crew and Brida – “the largest and proudest Aboriginal business in the Pilbara”. Brida’s joint venture with KBSS provides a wide range of work opportunities for Aboriginal people while simultaneously supporting NBAC’s other services as well.
NYFL is the traditional owner representative organisation for the area on which the Woodside-operated North West Shelf project operates. It is headquartered in Roebourne and runs the Warrgamugardi Yirdiyabura Employment and Training program. It also runs a not-for-profit ‘social supermarket’ at the Old Roebourne General Store – Ieramagadu Store Maya – also known as Foundation Food. NYFL also runs the historic ‘ghost town’ of Cossack on behalf of the State Government.
The Ganalili Centre is an Aboriginal-owned cultural space which was once the Victoria Hotel.
Roebourne sits within the City of Karratha local government area and is the oldest town in Western Australia north of Geraldton.
The town is undergoing a steady transformation with a range of new buildings completed in the last decade. In upcoming projects, a new primary and high school are about to be constructed and there are plans for a revamped 50-cent hall. A new community facility will join the swimming pool and the Hall. In the centre of Roebourne, street scapes will be improved with pavement works, shade and plantings in accordance with a new re-visioning plan.
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