Parkeston, Western Australia
| Parkeston Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coordinates | 30°43′51″S 121°29′24″E / 30.73077°S 121.48996°E |
| Population | 5 (SAL 2021)[1] |
| Postcode(s) | 6434 |
| Area | 51.6 km2 (19.9 sq mi) |
| LGA(s) | City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder |
| State electorate(s) | Kalgoorlie |
| Federal division(s) | O'Connor |
Parkeston is a suburb of the city of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, located 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) east of the city centre. At the 2016 census, it had a population of 60,[2] down from 69 in 2006.[3] It contains the Ninga Mia Aboriginal community.
Parkeston was gazetted as a townsite in 1904. It was almost certainly named after Sir Henry Parkes, the "father of Australian Federation".[note 1][4]
Railway
Parkeston is located near the western end of the Trans-Australian Railway. From 1917, the town was the interchange between the Western Australian Government Railways narrow gauge railway from Perth and the Commonwealth Railways' standard gauge railway to Port Augusta – a break of gauge that was not eliminated until 1970.[5]
The elevation at the railway sidings is 375 metres.[6]
Military history
During and after World War II, Parkeston was the location of a small prisoner-of-war transit and detention camp. It operated between June 1940 and March 1947 as a transit place for prisoners transiting across the country by rail, having a capacity of 20 internees in small cells.[7]
Aboriginal community
The Ninga Mia settlement was established in 1983,[8] constructed by Aboriginal Hostels Limited as the Ninga Mia Fringe-Dweller Village.[9] It was created as an Aboriginal Lands Trust Reserve and leased to the Ninga Mia Village Aboriginal Corporation.[10] It was also used by visitors from remote Aboriginal communities in the Western Desert.[11]
Ninga Mia contained around 30 houses as well as a management office, health clinic, communal kitchen and computer room.[12] In 2004, it was described by Guardian writer David Fickling as a shantytown with many houses lacking basic facilities.[8] A state government audit in 2018 found that no major refurbishments had been carried out since the 1980s and recommended that the community be closed; the Aboriginal corporation holding the village lease had been deregistered several years earlier. A number of homes were subsequently demolished and residents relocated.[13] The Department of Communities described Ninga Mia as "a site of continued social dysfunction with no governance, declining, aged and no longer fit for purpose infrastructure, [and] no system of community governance". It reportedly budgeted for the relocation of 56 residents, although some inhabitants were opposed to the closure of the village.[14]
Notes
- ^ The name was suggested in February 1901, a month after the federation of the Australian states. The Goldfields region was a strong supporter of federation, whereas much of the rest of Western Australia opposed it.
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Parkeston (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Parkeston (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Parkeston (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
- ^ "Town names". Landgate. Western Australian Land Information Authority. 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- ^ "Indian Pacific train turns 40". The Age. 23 February 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ "Kalgoorlie". Topographic-map.com. 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ "Parkeston Transit and Detention Camp, WA during WW2".
- ^ a b Fickling, David (29 July 2004). "Shantytown in the shadow of a gold mine". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "Aboriginal Hostels Limited Annual Report". Australian Parliament. 1982–83. p. 50 – via Trove.
- ^ "Lights back on for Ninga Mia". Kalgoorlie Miner. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ Wynne, Emma (20 December 2011). "Call for better planning for Aboriginal homeless". ABC News. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ Pin, Phoebe (27 June 2019). "Ninga Mia residents' anger at demolition". Kalgoorlie Miner. Retrieved 23 August 2002.
- ^ "Squalid homes demolished, residents relocated from Aboriginal reserves, in shadow of big-money mines". ABC News. 13 July 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ Fernandes, Aaron (23 July 2019). "Aboriginal communities in WA are being neglected, and in some cases, demolished". SBS News. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
