INTRODUCTION

In the mid-1980s, two institutions celebrated 50 years of activity in the Kimberley. The Royal Flying Doctor Service began operations from Wyndham in 1934, and a year later agreement was reached between the State and Commonwealth for the construction of a leprosarium, the bungaran, across the marsh from Derby. However, the story of Aboriginal health in the Kimberley is more than the record of such organisations. Health cannot be quantified by the building of clinics or the growth of institutions. While its definition is elusive, it includes at least three components that were identified in the Constitution of the World Health Organization: ‘Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’.

DANGEROUS OCCUPATIONS

The north was, and remains, a dangerous place compared to the rest of Australia. The Europeans who were drawn to the Kimberley were exposed to an unfamiliar and unforgiving environment which was frequently unrewarding and hazardous. Aborigines forced into unfamiliar occupations were particularly vulnerable and often expendable. Workers in the pastoral industry, both European and Aboriginal, experienced high rates of injury and exposure to diseases such as malaria, with little likelihood of medical attention.

While few Aborigines were directly involved in mining, the land around Halls Creek had been traversed by them for millennia. They were able to read its moods and anticipate its vicissitudes.