8-626: Looma is an Aboriginal community about 120 km south-east of Derby adjacent the Fitzroy River in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. At the 2011 census , Looma had a population of 374. The Looma Aboriginal community was originally built as accommodation for the Aboriginal stockmen and their families who worked on the Camballin and Liveringa Stations during the late 1950s and 1960s. It
16-552: A football oval. Looma fields a team in the West Kimberley Football Association called the "Looma Eagles". Bush walking, some fishing and camping are the dominant pursuits for tourists visiting. Visitors are required to apply for a permit prior to entering the Community. Looma has a community nursing post. Looma Layout Plan No.2 was prepared in accordance with State Planning Policy 3.2 Aboriginal Settlements and
24-472: Is fed via a feeder from the nearby Camballin power station. Looma also has its own power station, located approximately 5 kilometres south of Looma. Old Looma has two bores feeding into a high level tank. New Looma has the same arrangement with more modern infrastructure. Old Looma has a sewerage pump station and ponds. New Looma pipes its waste to the Old Looma ponds. The community has basketball courts and
32-462: The areas, or relocated under various Government acts. The Aboriginal Communities Act 1979 allowed Aboriginal councils to make and enforce by-laws on their land. Originally it only applied to the Bidyadanga and Bardi communities, but was subsequently extended to others. In the 1980s and 1990s, effort was made to support indigenous communities. In 2014 and 2015 the support of some of
40-455: The communities comprise families with continuous links to country that extend before the European settlement of Australia . The governments of Australia and Western Australia have supported and funded these communities in a number of ways for over 40 years; prior to that Indigenous people were non citizens with no rights, forced to work for sustenance on stations as European settlers divided up
48-464: The communities was questioned in Western Australian and Australian political discussions. In 2015 rallies were held across Australia and the world to protest the withdrawal of government support of the communities. A group of Aboriginal protesters set up a camp on Heirisson Island , as "... a place of retreat for all Aboriginal persons who have been and will be forcibly removed by
56-868: Was endorsed by the community in 2007 and the Western Australian Planning Commission in 2008. The layout plan map-set and background report can be viewed at the Department of Planning Lands and Heritage web site. Looma is equipped with a community radio station: Looma BRACS, 106.1 MHz (FM band), part of the Pilbara and Kimberley Aboriginal Media (PAKAM) network. Aboriginal communities in Western Australia Aboriginal communities in Western Australia are communities for Aboriginal Australians within their ancestral country ;
64-514: Was one of the first communities of its kind in Australia. A second community, "New Looma", was built approximately 2 km south, after splinter groups within the community had to move due to infighting. Consequently, a new community was formed with new roads, housing and water supply installed. The old community remained as is. Looma Remote Community School is serviced by a district high school and also has access to TAFE short courses. Electricity
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