Making the Warakurna to Warburton Road
Judith Yinyika CHAMBERS: artist
There was only one road from Warakurna to Warburton and it was a big distance, going the long way around, passing through Blackstone. So there was a community talk, and people wanted a road running straight from Warakurna to Warburton, to make that trip shorter.
Lots of families from Warakurna and Warburton came to help make the road, men, women, children and dogs. My dad was one of those men. I was just a young girl. We started at Warburton. The men made the cutline, chopping down trees by hand with axes, and clearing grass. The women made the fire and prepared food and looked after the camp. While the adults worked we would have fun. There were lots of children and dogs running around playing together. A white man came and paid money for the work done. We all stayed out on the road until that road was finished.
Two brothers drove the tractor, taking it in turns. The tractor had a trailer which stored food, 44 gallon drums of diesel, and blankets. We would get lovely clean water from rockholes. Sometimes we would get in the trailer and play. Each day the men would clear a bit more of the road, and we would move on and camp somewhere else, getting closer and closer to Warakurna every day.
Lots of families from Warakurna and Warburton came to help make the road, men, women, children and dogs. My dad was one of those men. I was just a young girl. We started at Warburton. The men made the cutline, chopping down trees by hand with axes, and clearing grass. The women made the fire and prepared food and looked after the camp. While the adults worked we would have fun. There were lots of children and dogs running around playing together. A white man came and paid money for the work done. We all stayed out on the road until that road was finished.
Two brothers drove the tractor, taking it in turns. The tractor had a trailer which stored food, 44 gallon drums of diesel, and blankets. We would get lovely clean water from rockholes. Sometimes we would get in the trailer and play. Each day the men would clear a bit more of the road, and we would move on and camp somewhere else, getting closer and closer to Warakurna every day.
Title
Making the Warakurna to Warburton Road
Artist/Maker and role
Judith Yinyika CHAMBERS: artist
Date
2020
Medium
tjanpi grass, raffia, acrylic wool and wire
Measurements
fifteen parts: 110.0 x 180.0cm (overall)
Credit line
Purchased through The Art Gallery of Western Australia Foundation: COVID-19 Arts Stimulus Package, 2020
© Judith Yinyika Chambers / Copyright Agency Ltd
The State Art Collection, The Art Gallery of Western Australia
Accession number
2020/0388.a-o