Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia

Fitzroy Crossing Western Australia
Fitzroy Crossing
Coordinates	18°11′40″S 125°34′00″E / 18.19444°S 125.56667°E / -18.19444; 125.56667Coordinates: 18°11′40″S 125°34′00″E / 18.19444°S 125.56667°E / -18.19444; 125.56667
Population	928 (2006 census)[1]
Established	1900s
Postcode(s)	6765
Elevation	114 m (374 ft)
LGA(s)	Shire of Derby-West Kimberley
State electorate(s)	Kimberley
Federal Division(s)	Durack
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 35.6 °C 96 °F 19.1 °C 66 °F 541.2 mm 21.3 in

Fitzroy River at Fitzroy Crossing

Fitzroy Crossing is a small town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, 400 kilometres (250 mi) east of Broome and 300 kilometres (190 mi) west of Halls Creek. It is approximately 2,524 kilometres (1,568 mi) from the state capital of Perth.

It is 114 metres (374 ft) above sea level and is situated on a low rise surrounded by the vast floodplains of the Fitzroy River and its tributary Margaret River. In 2006 the population of the Fitzroy Crossing town-site was approximately 1,500, with a further 2,000 or so people living in up to 50 Aboriginal communities scattered throughout the Fitzroy Valley. About 80% of the Fitzroy Valley population were Indigenous Australians with a split of closer to 60/40 (Aboriginal/settler) in the townsite. Tourism, cattle stations and mining are the main industries in the area.

Pre-European history

Fitzroy Crossing and the lands and valleys around it were the home for a number of Aboriginal language groups. When Fitzroy Crossing was established the main group was the Bunuba People, their land stretching from the present day Brooking Springs and Leopold Downs Station to the Oscar, Napier and King Leopold Ranges. The Bunuba are the River and Hill people.

Another group in the area stretching on the other side of the Fitzroy River from Gogo, Fossil Downs and Louisa Downs Station and on either side of the Margaret River, are the Gooniyandi People. The plains Aboriginal people are the Nyigina and further south are the Walmakarri, the people of the Great Sandy Desert.

Other traditional owners of the area are the Njikena, Konejani and Waladjari peoples.^[2]

European history

One of the first European explorers of the Kimberly area was Alexander Forrest and his party in 1879, following the Fitzroy River to its junction with the Margaret River at Geikie George. The party then travelled east as far as Darwin. Following this exploration, around 1882, the first sheep stations were established around the mouth of the Fitzroy and the next couple of years saw the stations move out west with Noonkanbah and Quanbun opening up in 1886.

The area was finally settled in 1886 by Mr McDonald when he set up the Fossil Downs cattle station. This was following a three-year, 3,500 mile trek from Goulburn, New South Wales.

Fitzroy Crossing received its first bridge in 1935; which was built up into a more substantial structure in 1958. However this bridge could be closed for months during the monsoonal summer. In 1974 a new bridge was built 200 meters south of the crossing which moved the focus of the settlement from its original site.

The town was gazetted in 1975, but had been shown on maps since 1903.

Prone to occasional flooding, the town was inundated in 2002 and 2011 following heavy rain events in the region.^[3]

The local high school was closed for two days in 2014 after four children, three of whom were under the age of ten, extensively vandalised the school twice in week causing over A$50,000 worth of damage.^[4]

Sport

The Central Kimberley Football Association is centred in the town, six clubs from local communities play in a regular season. The competition was formed in 1991.

Indigenous issues

From 1951 to 1955, S Preston Walker, a missionary with the United Aborigines Mission (UAM) on loan to the Department of Native Affairs, WA, opened up a novel Fitzroy Crossing Feeding Depot-Mission which was handed back to the Junjuwa Community in February 1987. He and other UAM missionaries set up a basic school and a health centre which was later taken over by the WA government and expanded to where it is today (2008).

In February 2008, a Coronial inquest ^[5] described the living conditions for Aboriginal people in the Fitzroy Crossing area as "a national disaster with no disaster response". Though the coroner noted a co-ordinated government response to the problems of Fitzroy Crossing to be lacking, local leaders have taken some action. In 2007, a restriction on alcohol sales was campaigned for by members of the indigenous population: early indications suggest the restrictions have been positive for the town.^[6] The Rudd Federal government announced in mid-April 2008 that it supported the continuation of the alcohol ban beyond its expiry date of 23 May 2008,^[7] citing that the alcohol ban has led to:

• a 50 per cent fall in the number of people seeking treatment at the Fitzroy Crossing Emergency Department.
• a 27 per cent reduction in alcohol-related domestic violence, and
• a 14 per cent increase in high school attendance.

Climate

Fitzroy Crossing has a climate that is in transition between monsoonal and semi arid. The climate is very hot, with the average maximum temperature ranging from 30°C in July to 41°C in November. The highest temperature was recorded on 1 January 1969, when it reached 48°C. The lowest minimum was recorded on 27 June 1971, when the temperature dipped to 0.6°C. Most of the rainfall occurs in between December and March (summer/early autumn). April through to October are dry, although cooler (autumn, winter and early spring).

References