Balgo Hills Police Station

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Ord River Station Homestead (fmr) & Cemetery

Child Places

• 03356 Ord River Cemetery
• 24393 Ord River Station Homestead (fmr)

Uses

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Flora Valley Homestead - Original

Uses

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Statement of Significance

Social Value: The buildings are of note as a fairly intact example of one of the early homestead's in the district and provide an insight into life during the pioneering period.

Physical Description

Built in the 1930's. The homestead comprises a group of four buildings and a water tank.

Integrity/Authenticity

Extent of Original Fabric: Much Modifications: Some

Condition

Poor

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Sawpit Gorge

Uses

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Statement of Significance

Social Value: Well known local recreation place. Aesthetic Value: The area has striking scenery and permanent water.

Physical Description

Sawpit Gorge is 52km from Halls Creek the gorge comprises swimming and fishing pools, the tranquil water surrounded by towering rock walls and sandy edges which were formed when the Black Elvire River forced its way through a rocky ridge.

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Godfreys Tank

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Halls Creek Trackers' Hut

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China Wall

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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Statement of Significance

Aesthetic/Social: The feature is a well known local landmark, it contrasts sharpy with the natural surrounding landforms.

Physical Description

The China Wall is a sub vertical quartz vein. The feature appears sporadically over 10km's giving the appearance of a miniature Great Wall of China.

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Old Halls Creek Cemetery

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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Statement of Significance

Social value: The site and the records associated with it provide an important insight into the lifestyle and the hardships of the early settlers. Aesthetic Value: The site is a local landmark and is one of th few isible remains of the old townsite.

Physical Description

The cemetary was used for buriels between 1895 amd 1976. The grounds are bordered by a low stone wall with raised stone entrances. Many of the original headstones remain intact and some of the graves have cast iron borders. Details of those buried there are kept at the Halls Creek Lodge.

Condition

Good

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Old Halls Creek Townsite

Uses

Historic Themes

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Statement of Significance

Social Value: The site is of considerable importance as one of the early places of settlement in the north west and for it's association with the Kimberley Gold Rush. Historic Value: The site is associated with the first finding of payable gold in WA.

Physical Description

The post office ruin is the only substantial building remnant. The only other traces are two remaining corners if the police station, the cemetary, some concrete floor slabs, stone drains and culverting and other minor stone/concrete remains.

History

The area was named after Charles Hall, who with his partner Slattery, confirmed the presence of payable gold in WA and initiated the Kimberly Gold Rush. The original townsite was abndoned and a new townsite gazetted in 1948 because frequent flooding meant that the airstrip some 10 miles away was at times inaccessible.

Condition

Remnants Only

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Halls Creek Quarantine Yard

Values

• The place demonstrates the importance of quarantine and disease management procedures to the pastoral industry in the Kimberley region, and Western Australia more generally, in the twentieth century.
• The place is a demonstrative example of the interaction and cooperation between stock owners and both Commonwealth and State government departments (Department of Agriculture and Food and earlier incarnations) and officials in combating the spread of cattle tick and other stock diseases and pests in northern Australia in the twentieth century.
• The place is one of a small number of checkpoints along the eastern border of Western Australia, established in the late twentieth century for the purposes of weed, pest and disease control. The decline in the use of facility in the 21st century demonstrates changes in livestock transportation routes and methods in Western Australia since Federation.

Statement of Significance

The place demonstrates the importance of quarantine and disease management procedures to the pastoral industry in the Kimberley region, and Western Australia more generally, in the twentieth century.; The place is a demonstrative example of the interaction and cooperation between stock owners and both Commonwealth and State government departments (Department of Agriculture and Food and earlier incarnations) and officials in combating the spread of cattle tick and other stock diseases and pests in northern Australia in the twentieth century; The place is one of a small number of checkpoints along the eastern border of Western Australia, established in the late twentieth century for the purposes of weed, pest and disease control. The decline in the use of facility in the 21st century demonstrates changes in livestock transportation routes and methods in Western Australia since Federation.

Physical Description

Halls Creek Quarantine Yards is located approximately 5kms south-east of Halls Creek townsite. The surrounding land is used predominantly for grazing or is unimproved scrub. The site was in use from 1972 to 2010 as an inspection and wash down facility for livestock and trucks for the purposes of weed, pest and disease control. The yards comprise a series of holding yards, each enclosed by fencing; a covered water dip in the south eastern corner of the yards; the concrete slab of the washing platform in the north east corner with two overgrown dams; a water tank and the remnants of a cattle haulage wagon. The site is vacant and has become overgrown. The two fenced dams are considerably overgrown and not immediately recognisable as dams, although the relationship to the truck washing area is still apparent. The concrete slabs have become overgrown with vegetation.

History

The land incorporating Halls Creek Quarantine Yards forms part of the Burks Park pastoral lease, which was leased to Samuel Thomas in 1968. A Department of Agriculture audit of Halls Creek Quarantine Yards indicates that the place was in operation as quarantine yards as early as 1972. A 1969 plan of the Burks Park pastoral lease indicates that stock pens were present in the area currently occupied by Halls Creek Quarantine Yards, although their exact location cannot be verified. Although it was clearly in use by the Department, the ownership of the leasehold changed ownership several times during the latter half of the twentieth century. Lot 202, Reserve 48535, encompassing Halls Creek Quarantine Yards, was not formally gazetted for use as quarantine yards until 2006. At the time of the 2010 audit of Halls Creek Quarantine Yards, it had the capacity to carry out stock inspections and decontamination of up to 400 head of stock. DAFWA Stock Inspectors were based at the Frank Wise Institute (Kununurra District Office) and commuted to the site as required. By 2010, it was noted that the yards were rarely used due to their remoteness and were the subject of regular vandalism. In 2011, it was noted in Question Time of the State Parliament that the Halls Creek Quarantine Yards had been recently closed awaiting an occupational health and safety assessment. Although Duncan Road was one of four entry points into Western Australia, in addition to the permanent checkpoints at Eucla and Kununurra, it was noted that level of traffic in the vicinity of Duncan Road, and Halls Creek Quarantine Yards at the time was not sufficient to justify a permanent road checkpoint in that location. By 2015, the inspection and wash down facility at Halls Creek Quarantine Yards was no longer operational due to ‘animal welfare issues and OS&H issues for DAFWA staff and contractors, transport operators and clients’.

Archaeology

Although the lack of development on the site indicates that archaeological deposits are likely to be relatively undisturbed, it is unlikely that there would be any useful archaeological artefacts or deposits relating to the quarantine use of the site that would contribute information regarding the place that is not already known or available.

Uses

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Halls Creek Memorial, Memorial Pk

Uses

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Halls Creek Police Station

Condition

Good

Uses

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Red Hill Graveyard

Uses

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Statement of Significance

Social Value: The site and the records associated wih it provide an important insight into the lifestyle and the hardships of the early settlers.

Physical Description

The cemetary was established after the town was moved from it's original location. The site was later found to be unsuitable due to the stony nature of the ground.

Condition

Good

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Lake Gregory and environs

Uses

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Statement of Significance

Social Value: Of interest to those with an interest in the unique animal life and vegetation. Historical Value: Important for it's association with prominent identities during the early period of settlement in WA. Scientific value: The Lake is of international significance for it's flora and faune.

Physical Description

Lake Gregory (formerly known as Gregory Salt Lake) lies at the lower end of Sturt Creek on Billiluna cattle station, south of Halls Creek in the Great Sandy Desert, WA. The land is leasehold and is held by the Aboriginal Lands Trust on behalf of the Mulan Aboriginal community. The land is also part of the Walmajarri and Jaru/Nyinin peoples' Tjurabalan Native Title Claim which has been registered by the National Native Title Tribunal. When full, Lake Gregory is the largest natural body of landlocked water in WA (approximately 50km long, 25km wide and up to 10m deep). The water is apparently quite fresh when it fills but becomes brackish or saline as the level recedes, though it is claimed to never dry completely. The lake is considered one of the State's natural history wonders. After heavy rain in the south-east Kimberley it becomes an inland sea which teams spectacularly with bird life, harbouring tens of thousands of ducks and other birds commonly found on inland freshwater, as well as sea birds.

History

Lake Gregory is also significant for it's association with early expeditions to the north of the state. First visited for plant collecting in 1856 by the North Australian Expedition under Augustus C Gregory, the party included noted botanist Dr Ferdinand JH (Von) Mueller. Also visited by Alred Cannning when he surveyed and estbalished the Canning Stock Route.

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Charles Perkins Hostel

Values

Charles Perkins Hostel is significant in being a former Australian Inland Mission Site established by Rev. John Flynn, a notable Australian medical pioneer of the Royal Flying Doctors Service.

Charles Perkins is a rare example of the change in the care of Aboriginal people since 1918, from mission hospital to education and employment hostel to group home and childcare facility.

Charles Perkins Hostel is a good representative example of the regional education and employment hostels the Department of Native Welfare established to accommodate Aboriginal children and adolescents in the 1960s and 1970s.

Charles Perkins Hostel, as an education and employment hostel, is representative of changing government policies of the assimilation of Aboriginal people.

Statement of Significance

Charles Perkins Hostel is significant in being a former Australian Inland Mission Site established by Rev. John Flynn, a notable Australian medical pioneer of the Royal Flying Doctors Service. It is a rare example of the change in the care of Aboriginal people since 1918, from mission hospital to education and employment hostel to group home and childcare facility. The place is a good representative example of the regional education and employment hostels the Department of Native Welfare established to accommodate Aboriginal children and adolescents in the 1960s and 1970s, and of changing government policies.

Physical Description

The original Charles Perkins Hostel comprised of three dormitory-style buildings of similar size located parallel to each other. Over its existence smaller cottage-style buildings were added to the property. In the 1990s and 2000s the original dormitory style buildings were slowly demolished and the cottages were extended.

History

Charles Perkins Hostel was located on the second site of the Halls Creek Mission (Australian Inland Mission), established by Rev. John Flynn. While the hospital continued under the control of the AIM, the larger mission site that surrounded it closed as a mission in 1960. By the mid-1960s it was known as Charles Perkins Hostel and operating under the Department of Native Welfare as an education and employment hostel. In 1971 Charles Perkins Hostel accommodated “90 boys and girls receiving primary level education in the town” alongside seven staff members. Attendance in the 1980s gradually declined with 55 children accommodated in 1982 and 30 children in 1983. By 1995, Charles Perkins Hostel was no longer considered an education and employment hostel and was more closely associated with “the care and protection programme area”. In 2000 the hostel was renamed Yurag-Man-Gu Taam-Purru Placement and Support Centre and later Yurag-Man-Taam-Purru Hostel in 2007. The front lot is still used as a group home, renamed Yurag-Man-Taam-Purru Group Home in 2013. The rear property, Ningkuwum-Ngamayuwu Halls Creek Children & Family Centre, provides child day-care and community and family services.

Uses

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Roman Catholic Church

Uses

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Statement of Significance

Social Value: The church has played an important role in the development of the community and as a venue for church and civil functions.

Physical Description

A modest gable roofed building with a low gable roof and a verandah over the front of the building. The building was originally located on Springvale property and was moved to it's present location in 1962. A new church, rplacing this building was opened in 1994.

Integrity/Authenticity

Extent of Original Fabric: Most Modifications: Few

Condition

Fair

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House, 43 Welman Rd, Halls Creek

Values

• The place represents the provision of rental housing by the State and Commonwealth governments after World War II.
• The place is indicative of the standard plan and type of housing constructed in the Northwest region by the State Government in the twentieth century.
• The place is associated with the provision of rental housing to Aboriginal tenants in the Northwest, and the ongoing and systemic discrimination against Aboriginal tenants, and State Housing Commission attempts to redress this imbalance, with varying degrees of success.
• The place forms part of a larger cluster of residences along Welman Road in the town of Halls Creek, constructed in the 1970s. The grouping of the residences around an open community area is characteristic of the construction of Aboriginal housing in the Northwest region of Western Australia in this period.

Statement of Significance

• The place represents the provision of rental housing by the State and Commonwealth governments after World War II. • The place is indicative of the standard plan and type of housing constructed in the Northwest region by the State Government in the twentieth-century. • The place is associated with the provision of rental housing to Aboriginal tenants in the Northwest, and the ongoing and systemic discrimination against Aboriginal tenants, and State Housing Commission attempts to redress this imbalance, with varying degrees of success. • The place forms part of a larger cluster of residences along Welman Road in the town of Halls Creek, constructed in the 1970s. The grouping of the residences around an open community area is characteristic of the construction of Aboriginal housing in the Northwest region of Western Australia in this period.

Physical Description

The building comprises a hallway, kitchen/dining, bathroom, laundry, three bedrooms, water closet and verandah. Limited information was provided regarding the layout of the building; however the majority of the interior fittings appear to be original. The building is in very poor condition, exhibiting termite and other damage. The exterior windows of the building are boarded over.

History

House, 43 Welman Road, Halls Creek was constructed in 1979. Welman Road is a meandering road that creates a circle of housing around a central open area, located west of the original centre of the townsite. The majority of buildings along the road are timber framed residences with corrugated iron roofing, constructed after 1970. The vast majority of residences in the vicinity of House, 43 Welman Road, Halls Creek are owned by the Housing Authority, including a number of newer buildings under construction in 2015. House, 43 Welman Road, Halls Creek is currently vacant and in poor condition.

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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Bluey's House

Uses

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Statement of Significance

Social Value: The place is of particular note for it's association with a prominent local identity, Bluey O'Maley.

Physical Description

The dwelling stands among the original mine site buildings. The site contains five buildings the remains if a gold plant, three dams and Bluey's house. Bluey built the house from local stone.

History

Bluey O'Malley was responsible for much of the stone work in the region, he was also instrumental in the construction of the road from Halls Creek to Wyndham.

Integrity/Authenticity

Extentof Original Fabric: Much Modificatons: Many

Condition

Fair

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Pavement Hill

Uses

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Old Halls Creek Post Office Ruins

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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Statement of Significance

Social Value: The remains of the building give an indication of the ingenuity of the original settlers in the district. Aesthetic Value: The structure is one of the few visible remains if the Old Halls Creek townsite. Historic Value: Of importance for it's association witht he establishment of the Royal Flying Docotr Service. Scientific Value: The building provides evidence of the use of vernacular building teechniques which relied on local knowledge and materials and were in part a response to the prevailing environmental conditions.

Physical Description

The ruins of a single storey mud brick construction. Only parts of the walls and fireplace remain. The creative use of local building materials such as termite mounds mixed with spinifex is for a civic building most unusual.

History

The Post Office is also of note for it's association with the estab;ishment of the Royal Flying Doctor Service after surgery was performed on a station hand by the postmaster. The case was used to highlight the lack of medical care in isolated areas of Australia.

Integrity/Authenticity

Extent of Original Fabric: Little

Condition

Poor- Remnants Only

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Statement of Significance

These ruins mark a historically important site in the original town of Halls Creek which was declared in 1894 and resulted from the discovery of gold by Hall & Slattery which led to the first payable gold field in Western Australia. The construction of ant bed blocks and the mortar used are of great interest and the setting on the banks of Halls Creek is attractive.

History

Assessment 1984 Construction: 1895 - 1900 Halls creek was named after Hall, who with his partner Slattery, discovered the first payable gold in Western Australia and the township grew up on the banks of the Creek. A formal plan of the town was drawn up and the townsite gazetted in 1894 and the Post office with quarters was built before the turn of the century. The old townsite was abandoned and a new townsite gazetted because frequent flooding meant that the airstrip some 10 miles away was at times inaccessible. The area around the old town is attractive with Halls Creek and a small tributary nearby. The condition of the ruins is deteriorating and attention is urgently needed. The old townsite is a tourist attraction and the local Shire is interested in its maintenance.

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