Key Points
- Flooding has swept through the remote town of Fitzroy Crossing, causing extensive damage.
- Locals rallied together in an effort to save the very important painting for Traditional Owners.
- The 10m by 8m canvas had to be lifted on the shoulders of eight people to be carried through the water.
Despite dangerous floodwaters and rescues via helicopter this week, record-breaking flooding in northern Western Australia couldn't dampen the spirit of the Kimberley on an overcast Wednesday.
There was a rescue mission of a different kind in Fitzroy Crossing - about 400km east of Broome - which saw the safe removal of a significant Aboriginal artwork from a flooded gallery.
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Ellie had brought heavy rain that overwhelmed the Fitzroy River, with communities in the area facing conditions never seen before. Flooding began in the centre of the Kimberley region, an almost 2,400km drive from Perth, earlier in the week.
Many people took refuge in a makeshift evacuation centre and the Australian Defence Force was deployed.
The Fitzroy River at Fitzroy Crossing peaked around 15.81 metres on Wednesday afternoon and floodwaters have displaced many residents in the remote town.
Saving the Ngurrara Canvas
Amber McCarthy from Yanunijarra Aboriginal Corporation was part of the rescue mission on Wednesday to save an 8m by 10m painting known as the Ngurrara Canvas from Mangkaja Arts, a gallery and painting studio in Fitzroy Crossing.
She said young Traditional Owners, Bunuba Rangers and artists from Mangkaja Arts joined together to get the painting to dry ground.
Ms McCarthy said that while the canvas had been in a storage box above the flood line, some water penetrated to inside the box.
"There was water all through Mangkaja,” she said.
“We waded through water above our knees, up to our thighs. It was scary. We were all emotional at the start, really anxious.
"A lot of people across town have been flat out dealing with damage to their own places, so we were lucky to have hands on deck to pull the canvas out of the box and carry it to safety."
The significance of the artwork
The canvas stored in the remote town's gallery had once toured the country, having been in 2018.
Ngurrara Canvas Committee member Terry Murray said it was "a living treasure of native title".
The collaborative painting was completed by Traditional Owners from the Great Sandy Desert in 1997 as an expression of their links to their country.
It was presented to the National Native Title Tribunal as part of their case for Native Title over the area.
“Looking at the canvas makes us strong inside because it’s the journey of our elders, our artists and the land itself,” Mr Murray said.
Native Title in the region was first determined in 2007, with further determinations in the following years expanding the area of land and water where Traditional Owners have rights and interests.
The Bureau of Meteorology told media 60,000 cubic metres of water per second, the greatest amount of water ever seen in an Australian river, had been moving down the Fitzroy River at one point. Source: AAP / ANDREA MYERS/PR IMAGE
Was it damaged?
While it is still too early to know the full extent of any damage that the water may have caused to the Ngurrara Canvas, Ms McCarthy is hopeful it will dry quickly, so mould does not become an issue.
There is no indication of lasting damage at this stage, according to the corporation, but the canvas will need to be assessed by a conservator when possible.
The region remains inaccessible with floodwaters cutting off many Kimberley towns.
It’s understood many other artworks in the gallery have also been damaged by the floodwaters.
The main flood peak has been moving west and on Friday morning was around Noonkanbah.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services is warning moderate flooding is expected to reach Broome in the coming days.
