Friday, September 12th, 2014
One Arm Point wins Tidy Towns
One Arm Point community has taken out this year’s Tidy Towns award for the Kimberley.
You can read a media release here:
Media Statement
One Arm Point wins Tidy Towns title
One Arm Point (Ardyaloon) has won the Kimberley region’s Tidy Towns Sustainable
Communities title for 2014.
Keep Australia Beautiful WA Chairman Mel Hay congratulated One Arm Point residents for
winning the regional award which was announced in South Hedland today.
“The Bardi Jawi culture is very strong and the people of One Arm Point have worked
together to make their community a sustainable and beautiful place to live,” he said.
The community produced ‘Leave No Trace’ publications in their own language and Bardi
Jawi Rangers placed painted 44-gallon drums around the community to collect rubbish.
“The One Arm Point community has made it clear that all rubbish must be removed by
builders, service providers and any visitors to the community,” said Mr Hay.
“This is a great positive step for the future of the community.”
The community also brought home 100 sacred objects and artefacts from the WA Museum.
The repatriation program, a 16-year project in conjunction with the Kimberley Aboriginal Law
and Culture Centre, aimed to return “lost” items to safe storage areas on the country from
which they came.
“This is of special significance to the community,” said Mr Hay.
“By bringing these objects back, the Bardi Jawi people believe they are regaining dignity,
regaining pride and regaining and keeping their culture strong.”
Tidy Towns’ judges were also impressed with plans for solar panels to greatly reduce
energy costs and the community’s foresight in investigating the use of tidal power, earning
One Arm Point the regional Energy Innovation Award for 2014.
This year’s Kimberley region category winners are:
· Community Action and Partnerships: Imintji
· General Appearance: Joy Springs (Eight Mile)
· Waste Management and Litter Prevention: Yungngora (Noonkanbah)
· Natural Environment Conservation: Broome
· Heritage and Culture: One Arm Point (Ardyaloon)
· Water Conservation: Not awarded
· Energy Innovation: One Arm Point (Ardyaloon)
· Young Legends: Yiyili
Special commendations went to Wangkatjungka for progress towards a sustainable
community, Beagle Bay’s Kimberley Regional Service Providers (KRSP) for leading the way
in keeping the community litter free and Bidyadanga for tidying up gardens and yards.
One Arm Point will compete with other regional winners for the overall WA Tidy Towns
Sustainable Communities title in November.
Tidy Towns Sustainable Communities is a Keep Australia Beautiful program. The
Department of Environment Regulation provides administrative, logistical and policy support
to KAB WA. This program is supported by the State Government through the Landfill Levy
Fund and sponsored by West Australian Regional Newspapers, the Department of Regional
Development, Cliffs Natural Resources and the Water Corporation.