Kalumburu, Western Australia
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Kalumburu Western Australia |
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 Kalumburu
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| Coordinates | 14°17′42″S 126°38′31″E / 14.295°S 126.642°ECoordinates: 14°17′42″S 126°38′31″E / 14.295°S 126.642°E | ||||||
| Population | 467 (2011 census) | ||||||
| Established | 1937 | ||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6740 | ||||||
| Elevation | 23 m (75 ft) | ||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley | ||||||
| State electorate(s) | Kimberley | ||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Durack | ||||||
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Kalumburu (postcode 6740) and Kalumburu Community (formerly Drysdale River Mission) are both bounded localities within the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley Western Australia. Kalumburu Community is the northernmost settlement in Western Australia. According to the 2011 census, it has a population of 467 people and is inhabited mostly by Aboriginal people from the Wunambal and Kwini language groups. Kalumburu Community is remote from any main roads — the nearest is the Gibb River Road, 270 km to the south via the Kalumburu Road. It was the site of a World War II airbase, which was attacked by Japanese planes in 1943.
In 1905, the Order of Saint Benedict (OSB) decided to establish a mission near the Drysdale River. The mission was established in 1908, 20 kilometres north-east of the present site, at Pago, near the southern end of Napier Broome Bay, by Benedictine monks from New Norcia. In 1937, water supply problems forced the missionaries to move to the present site at Kalumburu Pool, on the King Edward River.
Following the outbreak of World War II, the Australian government commissioned an airfield at the mission. After Japanese forces occupied the Dutch East Indies in 1942, Drysdale became a frontline Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base, acting as a staging post for Allied squadrons based further south. The airfield was a refuelling and ammunition depot for the RAAF anti-submarine aircraft operating between Darwin and Fremantle. On 19 February, the mission provided assistance to the crew and passengers of the merchant vessel Koolama, which had been attacked by Japanese planes.
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