Oombulgurri isolated by floodwaters in 2008.

An abandoned Aboriginal community tainted by controversy in the remote north Kimberley is set to be demolished and buried, sparking anger from former residents desperate to return.

Oombulgurri, about 50km north-west of Wyndham, was established as an Aboriginal mission in the late 1890s but closed in 2011 after high levels of alcohol abuse, suicide, child neglect and a paedophile ring were linked to the community.

The Department of Housing confirmed this week about 44 houses and associated infrastructure like fencing, demountable school buildings, the power house, donga dwellings, various sheds and septic tanks would be buried "on-site".

Balanggarra Aboriginal Corporation chairwoman Cissy Gore-Birch Gault said the news was a devastating blow to former residents who now lived in Wyndham, Kununurra and Kalumburu but wanted to "return to country".

"The State Government are trying to stop people from returning to country but people are going to return whether they like it or not," she said.

"Whether there's water or electricity, people were talking about how there was none in the 1970s when they went back and people are willing to try and do that again."

She said people wanted negotiations with the State Government and Aboriginal Lands Trust to get the land transferred to the traditional owners.

"We had a meeting with Oombulgurri people the other week and they all want to go home - there's connection to country," she said.

"There are a lot of memories and a lot of stories; we are talking about two or three generations of people and that's all going to be demolished by this decision."

More here:
Outrage over demolition

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June 26, 2014 at 9:21 am by Mr HomeBuilder
Category: Demolition