Tjirrkarli Community

Tjirrkarli is an Aboriginal community, located in the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku within the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia.

Tjirrkarli Western Australia
Tjirrkarli
Coordinates	26.000887°0′S 125.473131°0′E
Population	4 (SAL 2021)[1]
Postcode(s)	0872
Area	800 km2 (310 sq mi)
Location	120 km (75 mi) west of Warburton
LGA(s)	Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku
State electorate(s)	North West Central
Federal division(s)	O'Connor

Native title

The community is located within the determined Ngaanyatjarra Lands (Part A) (WAD6004/04) native title claim area.

History

Tjirrkarli is named after a nearby site associated with a Dreaming story about native yams.^[2]

The community was formed in the 1980s, near a bore put down by the company Shell Oil, who were searching for oil in the area. During this time, many Aboriginals, whose family had left the region decades earlier, returned (by this period, a number of Aboriginals living at Warburton had already left and set up an outstation called Mangi, relatively close to Tjirrkarli; many moved to Tjirrkarli). Others came from Cosmo Newberry and as far away as Wiluna.^[2]

In 1987, the community became incorporated and a member of the Ngaanyatjarra Council.^[2]

Governance

The community is managed through its incorporated body, Tjirrkarli (Aboriginal Corporation), incorporated under the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976 on 24 March 1987.

Town planning

Tjirrkarli Layout Plan No.1 has been 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 29 June 2004. The Layout Plan map-set and background report can be viewed at Planning Western Australia's web site.^[3]