ROEBOURNE - POPULATION: 857

MONDAY 16.09.2013:  Roebourne was once the largest settlement between Darwin and Perth. Roebourne's name honours John Septimus Roe, the first Surveyor General of Western Australia. The Pilbara region was first explored by Francis Thomas Gregory in 1861. Gregory regarded the area as highly suitable for pastoral settlement. The first settlers, including Gregory's cousin Emma Withnell and her young family, arrived in the Roebourne area in 1863.

By 1865, the population of the area had grown to about 200, and the Withnells' property served as a local hub, with John Withnell opening a store and providing cartage services to the other settlers. The Government Resident, Robert John Sholl (1819–86), arrived in November 1865 to provide assistance in developing the region and set up camp near the Withnells' home while trying to find a suitable townsite. He eventually decided to locate the town at his camp, and on 17 August 1866, Roebourne became the first gazetted town in the North West. In 1872, the town was destroyed by a cyclone. Many of the buildings from shortly after this time are heritage listed. Gold from Nullagine, discovered in 1878, and surrounding copper and tin mines contributed to Roebourne's prosperity in the 1880s and 1890s. With the decline of both, Roebourne lost the majority of its European population and became a shadow of its former self. Remnants from that era of prosperity are various National Trust buildings around the town. The area was struck by another cyclone in 1925 that destroyed the Port Samson jetty. Several buildings were also destroyed with the towns residents seeking refuge in public brick buildings during the storm.

ORIGINAL BUILDING

Until the 1960s, Roebourne was a non-indigenous town operating as a regional administrative centre, with strict controls and curfews placed on movement of Aboriginal people to, from and within the town. Most Aboriginals were confined to camps and reserves a few kilometres away. However, as mining companies seeking to exploit the iron ore in the region constructed other company towns such as Dampier and Wickham for their workers, and as pastoralism declined, and with changing attitudes to Aboriginal welfare at the government level in the late 1960s, Roebourne became a majority Aboriginal town as people moved out of the crowded camps and reserves, and from the outlying stations. In later years, Roebourne became notorious for the struggles between Aboriginals and police that were documented in a federal report dealing with Aboriginal deaths in custody, which were documented as a major issue in Aboriginal affairs from the 1980s onwards. The report showed that Roebourne (with a largely Aboriginal population of 1,200) had ratios of police to citizens that were five times that of towns in more settled parts of Western Australia. The area is home to the Ngarluma people, but many Yindjibarndi and Banyjima people previously from outlying stations also live in the town.
The first stop was at the Roebourne Information Centre which is housed in the original gaol. This would have to be one of the most effective centres we have come across, from the obliging nature of the staff, to the facilities offered to the campers. On site they have three washing machines ($3.00 per load), plus you can partake of free coffee/tea whilst waiting, water (gold coin donation) and a book exchange, as well as booking your tours and obviously providing information. Situated in the Law and Order Precinct on Queen Street, Roebourne Old Gaol played a fascinating role in WA’s history and housed up to 40 prisoners at times, even though it was designed to accommodate only 14 prisoners.

ONE OF THE GAOL WINGS

The cell blocks of the Old Gaol were built in 1896, and it is most likely that a team of prisoners and local Indigenous people was utilised to gather and quarry the stone. It stands as a reminder of the harsh times that were endured throughout the colonial era.

REAR END OF THE GAOL