and cultures of the region . Led by the British , the weather station construction went ahead and with it the Blue Streak rockets were fired in the general direction from Woomera . The people indigenous to the land were forcibly removed and with it went their culture . MacDougall believed we owed them something , stating “' we have taken away their beliefs and customs and trespassed on their lands , and we have a moral obligation to give them something in return ”, albeit a gradual assimilation into mainstream Catholic life .
Near the out of place building the remains of a Blue Streak rocket sits , twisted , corroded and a reminder that such a failed project by the Anglo-Australian governments costs so much for a people who at the time were to be considered so insignificant that they could be simply told to move on without any thought as to what this meant .
Ironically , the missions and settlements where these people , the Ngaanyatjarra , were forcibly sent soon became overcrowded and during the 1970 ’ s , through government funding and infrastructure , were able to move back to their traditional lands and the Warakurna community was formed . Warakurna with a population of around 270 people has a small school , women ’ s health clinic and centre , as well as numerous other community facilities , including Western Australia ’ s first indigenous police station .
Scouring the many other artifacts of mid-twentieth century life it ’ s hard not to be disappointed that the history is so one sided , although not surprising given that history is just that . Amongst the larger artifacts is Beadell ’ s grader used to survey and construct so many Australian outback and desert tracks .
The semi-protected vehicle is said to have completed over 30,000 kilometres of road building in
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