We left our roadside camp and headed North. The industrial scale of the mining in this area is staggering. We passed one mine, Thunderbox, whose mullock heaps ran for 5kms alongside the road. At almost every turn there is another vast mine beside the road all the way to Leinster. Leinster itself is mining town set up by BHP for its Nickel mining operation nearby. We refuelled and then decided to head on up to Wiluna.
Wiluna sits at the western end of the Gun Barrel Highway and is the point from which Alfred Canning and his party set out in 1906 to map the longest stock route in the world.
An even more interesting story is the one associated with an aboriginal couple…
WARRI and YATUNGKA (1909-1979) (1917-1979)
Warri and Yatungka were believed to be the last of the Mandi djarra tribe and were perhaps Australia’s last desert nomads leading a traditional lifestyle. Long after the Mandildjara people (known also as Martu) had gravitated to urban settlements this couple survived for decades on their own, living on traditional hunting and fruits such as the Quandong
Warri and Yatuncka met in the 1930’s and fell in love but tribal law Toroade them from marrying decause they were the wrong match according to ‘skin group’ law. The consequences for going against this could have resulted in severe physical injury or even death. so the star-crossed lovers ran away together in the middle of the night. Living in their country in isolation, the couple had three children, one daughter died young, her two brothers survived their parents.
Despite the couples defiance and departure the MandildMarra elders had not forgotten them nor had they stopped worrying about them. In 1977 when a severe drought had dried up the waternoles elders anxious for their welfare asked for help to find the last of the nomads. Led by local elder Mudjon and white explorer Stan Gratte and party, after several weeks in the Gibson Desert the couple were found, still inseparable but close to starvation. They agreed to come in to Wiluna although they feared that they might still be punished; but the elders had forgiven them.
They stayed in Wiluna and passed away within weeks of each other in 1979.
Their deaths marked the end of a tribal lifestyle that has stretched back more than 40,000 vears
We had lunch in the town and returned on the road we had come up on, passing JWD Mines Matilda Pits, Mt Pearce Mine, construction of a vast complex at Sir Solomon. We refuelled at Leinster again and headed out along the Agnew Sandstone road to set up camp at Munjeroo East Rest Area (and pray that there is no rain tonight or we could be in a spot of bother)