ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

The Australian Government acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the Elders past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.

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Parnngurr

Community profile

Parnngurr is a remote Aboriginal community about 370kms East of Newman on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert in Western Australia.

For more information, see Greater Western Australia.

Parnngurr is a remote Aboriginal community about 370kms East of Newman on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert in Western Australia.

For more information, see Greater Western Australia.

Traditional owners

Martu

Population

117

84.6% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ABS 2021 Census)

Stories from Parnngurr

A mature Aboriginal woman dressed in top and skirt sits on red soil in amongst long grass. She holds a metal rod in her right hand.

Hunting for goannas in the Western Desert of WA - This Place

05 August 2020

Leah Robinson and her Martu families love to hunt sand goannas in the western desert region of WA.
Martu Women’s Traditional Flora Camp

Martu Women’s Traditional Flora Camp

14 April 2016

In the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia, senior Martu women share their knowledge of plant and bush medicine with younger Martu women. The younger women are eager to learn the skills of their ancestors and maintain the transfer of cultural knowledge across generations.
Female ranger and male ranger standing in desert setting with burning grass in the background.

A large return on investment in the Western Desert

02 September 2015

The Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa organisation has shown that giving Martu people meaningful work can also save the government millions of dollars.
Martu womens rangers

More women taking on ranger jobs on Martu country

05 June 2015

For the first time the Martu people have a permanent women’s ranger team based at Parnngurr in the Western Desert region of Western Australia.