Jigalong Community, Western Australia

Jigalong is a remote Australian Indigenous community of approximately 427 people located in Western Australia.LocationJigalong is in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, approximately 165km east of the town of Newman in the Shire of East Pilbara local government area. The community is located in an Aboriginal Lands Trust reserve on the western edge of the Little Sandy Desert.Demographics and facilitiesThe 2011 Australian Census recorded the population of Jigalong as 427 people, of which 76.1% were Aboriginal.The Jigalong Remote Community School provides education from kindergarten to Year 12 level, with six teachers for a student enrolment of around 120 children.The community has a medical centre, but patients with serious illnesses and injury are usually flown to Port Hedland—400km north west of Jigalong—by the Royal Flying Doctor Service.HistoryJigalong was established in 1907, as the location for a maintenance and rations store for workmen constructing the Rabbit-proof fence. In the 1930s, it was used as a camel-breeding site, but this use was abandoned once the motor car superseded the camel as a mode of transport. In 1947, the land was granted to the Apostolic Church, who used it as a Christian mission, and set up the Aboriginal community. The land was returned to the Australian government in 1969, and was granted to the Martu people in 1974.