Walangeri Ngumpinku Aboriginal Corporation

Kieran and Akira from the Fulcrum Agency visited Yarralin this week to start the development of our Community Master Plan. Funded through the Aboriginal Benefit Account, the Master Plan takes into consideration the future of Yarralin. What do community want to see over the next 30 to 50 years for future housing, a new store, a new clinic. How does the town meet demand and where should facilities be built?

It’s an opportunity for community to have a say in the future of their community and make long-term plans for the future of Yarralin. This first step was to get the conversation started. Kieran and Akira will be back later in the year to consult more broadly with community.

With the end of the rain, the dry weather has allowed roadwork crews to patch the road, allowing passage to high clearance 4WDs earlier this week. Further work saw weight restricted single trailer trucks able to reach community today, with a load for the store of backlogged items that have been waiting to come out for about 4 months.

Above: The first truck into community was a welcome sight today.

The last of the flights of food have arrived, and with the return of regular trucks, things should begin to return to normal with a food truck scheduled for next week.

Major long-term roadworks and an upgrade of the Buchanan Highway will still be required, as the repairs to date are only temporary and will wash-away in the next wet if further repairs aren’t under-taken. We’re hopeful that work will begin later in the year.

Travellers are advised to take it carefully and drive to conditions but they should be able to get through with little issue.

With heavy rain continuing to fall, the Buchanan Highway is expected to remain closed for at least another few weeks until the road is dry enough for road crews to work on it. Damage to the road has created large mud holes that vehicles are not able to get through. With thanks to the NT Government, Yarralin is receiving regular food deliveries by air.

There’s a particular mud patch about 5 km before the Old Humbert Road turn-off which vehicles are required to winch through.

Until the rain stops, and the road is dry enough for crews to repair the damage, all road travel to Yarralin is out of the question.

The heavy constant rain throughout this wet season has seen water sitting in large stretches across the Buchanan Highway. This has turned the road into a wet and boggy mud pit. While some people have gotten through it has only been in convoy with recovery equipment – which has taken several hours. Entire stretches of road require vehicles to be winched through with other vehicles.

Multiple vehicles are currently stuck in the road with no retrieval options available until the weather has passed, the road has had a chance to dry and repairs can be conducted.

We are expecting the road to be CLOSED TO ALL TRAFFIC until the end of March / 1 April.

Above, damage to the bridge at the Jasper Gorge crossing, and mud pits marked with warning signs.

Above, the bridge at Sandy Creek as at 7 March 2024. Approximately 2M underwater and impassable, with continued rain forecast for at least the next week.

The Telstra mobile network has been restored in Yarralin, allowing for calls into and out of community again.

Please note that while the Victoria highway to Timber Creek (and through to WA) is now open, the road between Timber Creek and Yarralin through the Jasper Gorge is damaged and officially remains closed. There is significant wash-out at the Jasper Gorge bridge which will need to be repaired before trucks can enter community.

Store supplies are low – with flights coming into community limited to crucial goods only. Without a truck, the store will continue to have limited food available for some time. Restrictions on shopping are in place. Visitors (flying in) are requested to bring their own supplies.

The Dashwood Crossing is not expected to be passable for another month or two yet as water levels will need to lower significantly.

An emergency has been declared in the Gregory District for the communities of Daguragu, Kalkarindji, Pigeon Hole, Palumpa and Yarralin.

Yarralin has NOT evacuated but the situation is being monitored daily.

The Telstra network has been down in Yarralin since the 13th January, making regular mobile phone communication difficult. Communications in and out of community are occuring via Starlink and other satellite services or using Wifi calling where possible.

Travel to Yarralin is not possible with all access cut-off and water over the Victoria Highway above the bridge level and the Victoria River Roadhouse flooded.

Heavy rain last night (Mon 27 Nov) has created mud patches on the road. The Dashwood Crossing is over 1M which makes travel in from Top Springs impassable. The route through Jasper Gorge is muddy, accessible via 4WD only.

Trucks are also having some issues getting through. The weather forecast suggests a 20 to 30% chance of more rain this week which if it rains, will make conditions worse. If it doesn’t rain, the road usually dries up and hardens in about 3 days.

UPDATE 29 Nov 23: Heavy rain yesterday afternoon (Wed 29 Nov) that extended late into the night is likely to have worsened conditions. Travellers are advised to take it carefully and have recovery equipment.

Update 11 Dec 23: Heavy rain over the weekend and today has raised the Dashwood. It’s also resulted in many creek crossings between Timber Creek and Yarralin to come up. 4WDs should be able to get through but be advised the road is muddy and will take time – and you’ll need recovery equipment. Rain is forecast in the region all week.

Yarralin community have been exploring a possible township lease for about 10 years. The Office of Township Leasing came out this week as part of ongoing discussions with the Board, Traditional Owners, and members of the Yarralin community.

We look forward to ongoing discussions around the process, along with the benefits to community and Traditional Owners and streamlining the process around leasing in community.

One of the biggest problems in remote communities is having housing available for staff who are delivering programs or working in community (while we have a motel, it doesn’t work for long-term stays). We were fortunate enough to receive ABA funding for two 3-bedroom demountables that arrived this week courtesy of Northern Transportables.

With power and water connections currently under way, they’ll be completed soon. We’ll be renting them out to organisations working in community. Owning these assets gives us the flexibility to rent them out at commercial rates which becomes a good revenue stream that supports us, as well as allowing more programs to be delivered within community. We currently have plans under-way for a further 4 to meet demand.

It’s been a fun weekend of bike races, football, basketball, fishing and music out at Yarralin. Our first Festival for what we hope will become an annual event, has just wrapped up. Below are some images from the events and activities over the weekend.

Thanks to the Hon Chansey Paech MLA and the NT Government who supported the Festival with funding from the Community Benefit Fund, the Yarralin School who graciously let us use their grounds for the Festival, Richard Starr who ran sound and audio for the bands, Walangeri Ngumpinku and the Yarralin Community Store for their financial support for prizes and of course everyone else who attended and the members of community who stepped up and helped out with organising and running events.

It was a great weekend and we all look forward to the next one!