Balgo

Balgo, previously Balgo Hills and Balgo Mission, is a small community in Western Australia that is linked with both the Great Sandy Desert and the Tanami Desert. The community is in the Shire of Halls Creek, off the Tanami Road (formerly known as the Tanami Track). It has a petrol station, supermarket, Catholic Parish, Luurnpa Catholic School (K–10), Adult Education Centre, Clinic and Police Station. At the 2006 census, Balgo had a population of 460.It is possible that the name Balgo is related to the Kukatja language word palkurr-palkurr, meaning rice grass, which grows on the hills at Old Mission, a former site of the community. Kukatja is the first language for many people at Balgo. Luurnpa Catholic School has published a comprehensive Kukatja dictionary, based on the work of several linguists. The school includes the Walkala Centre where audio books are written, recorded onto CD or DVD in both Kukatja and English and illustrated.HistoryThe community was established following the arrival of German Pallottine Catholic missionaries in the region in 1939. Following the outbreak of World War II, the Australian government designated the missionaries "enemy aliens" and their radio transmitter and firearms were confiscated by police. After earlier sites proved to be unsatisfactory, the present site was chosen, in 1942.