Jameson (Mantamaru)

Contact Details

Community Address

Mantamaru/Jameson Community Inc

PMB 60, via Alice Springs NT 0872

Telephone Numbers

Office 8956 7678

Facsimile number

8956 7679, 8956 7608

Radio Frequency

RFDS 9303

Community Location

Within Ngaanyatjarraku Shire, Western Australia, Warburton Ward of ATSIC Western Desert Regional Council.

At lat. 25 degrees, 51.82 mins south

Long. 127 degrees, 40.70 mins east (g.p.s.)

Community uses Western Standard Time.

Community Airstrip

Jameson airstrip. All weather gravel runway. 2 kms long approx..

Located 1.2 kilometres from community.

Approved for night emergency operations. Kerosene flares.

Ngaanyatjarra air provides regular weekly service from Alice Springs and Kalgoorlie.

Royal Flying Doctor Service visit each fortnight.

Road Access

Community is 125 kms from Warburton (gravel road) or 70 kms from Blackstone (gravel road).

Community is 100 kms from Wanarn (part gravel improved road).

Road maintenance carried out by Ngaanyatjarra services, Alice Springs.

Facilities

• Hall
• Community has a new community hall.
• Women's centre
• Provides kitchen and laundry facilities, art facilities, sewing facilities. Is well used by community women.

Broadcasting

Re-broadcasts ABC.

Satellite communication

Community has satellite dish. Receives 2 tv channels.

Community laundry

Community laundry in women's centre.

Community toilets/ablutions

Two toilets. 

Community kitchen

Located in women's centre.

Community store

Supplied by Perth-based Ngaanyatjarra agency and transport service.

Community family services

Parent teachers association.

Community ambulance service

Clinic troop-carrier to be used for ambulance service when necessary.

Community emergency evacuation

Royal Flying Doctor service is available night and day. Air strip is all weather. Night operations with kerosene flares.

Community mechanical workshop/depot

There is a CDEP depot for tool storage and security of vehicles and machinery.

A small workshop is available to community members who are able to do their own vehicle maintenance, at reasonable cost.

Community fuel depot

Operated by community store.

Has underground storage for 12000 litres diesel.

Has above-ground storage for 12000 litres avgas.

Community recreational facilities

• 1 football oval.
• 1 basketball court with lights.
• 1 children's playground.
• Mantamaru has a band which has suitable equipment.
• Mantamaru is a keen participant in the area football competition.
• There is a resident youth co-ordinator in the community. He also services all Ngaanyatjarra communities.

Businesses

Community store

The community store is a community-run enterprise. It employs community people in shop-keeping duties. Ngaanyatjarra agency & transport service (NATS), Perth, provide alternative fortnightly deliveries of freezer and dry goods.

Special project

The community operates an earthmoving business using a 12 Tonne Mac dump truck.

The community is looking at the possibility of crushing the rock by-products from the chrysoprase mine for road surfacing and building construction work.

Government

Community management

A committee of councillors, under the elected chairman, meets when necessary to consider community business and make decisions. Any five (5) Councillors can form a quorum for meetings.

Staff

Nine (9) staff assist with community management, health, education and enterprises.

• One (1) Advisor
• One (1) CDEP Project Officer
• Two (2) Health Nurses
• Two (2) Store Managers
• Two (2) Teachers
• One (1) Youth Officer
• One (1) Environmental Health Officer

Community administration services

Community Development Advisor (CDA) is responsible to the community council (governing committee) for the day to day management of the Mantamaru community.

He or she is assisted by an project officer, responsible for power, water, sewerage, airstrip and roads maintenance.

Ngaanyatjarra services Alice Springs, provide accounting and financial management, plus arrange and supervise building maintenance.

Community pays are forwarded weekly from Ngaanyatjarra services Alice Springs to the community.

Resource agency assistance to community

Ngaanyatjarra services, accounting, building, roads.

Ngaanyatjarra air, two (2) regular weekly air service and charters as necessary.

Ngaanyatjarra health service supplies a community clinic and resident nurse.

Ngaanyatjarra agency and transport services, provides a Perth-based buying service for the community store. Re-supplies are on a fortnightly basis, with frozen goods delivery and dry goods delivery on alternate fortnights.

Fuel supplies arranged by Ngaanyatjarra-owned ampol agency for supply from South Australia.

Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku environmental health & building surveyor, makes monthly inspections.

Community services

Health

• There are two aboriginal health workers employed at the clinic.
• A quarterly dog immunisation program is carried out by the shire of Ngaanyatjarraku. This has greatly improved the condition of community dogs.
• The Royal Flying Doctor Service provides a fortnightly doctor's clinic visit from Kalgoorlie to the community.
• There is one environmental health worker in the community.

Community school facilities

• A pre-school is located at community primary school. Has 6 children attending.
• 1 government primary school within the community.
• Has 18 students
• Has 2 teachers

Law/order and justice services

• Community patrols are carried out regularly by the essential services officer.
• There is an aboriginal liaison officer in the community.
• The police make weekly visits, by road from Laverton, some 600 kilometres away.

Employment

• The community development employment scheme (CDEP) gives employment to 62 community people.
• Employment is available in the community store, the workshop and the women's centre.

Essential services

Community sewerage

• Mantamaru is the first of small communities in the lands to be given a full sewerage system. All new houses have full toilet and bathroom facilities.
• There are 33 deep sewerage connections.
• Large sewerage treatment ponds adequately cope with all sewerage.
• Western Australian water authority adequately maintain the sewerage system.
• Only one pit latrine on the community.

Community rubbish collection

• Community CDEP collect rubbish daily.
• Rubbish buried in open pits.
• Community rubbish dump is part-funded by Ngaanyatjarraku Shire Council.

Community water supply

• 3 bores supply adequate community water.
• Water flow rate 60 to 80 litres per hour.
• Water storage 200000 litres.
• All 28 community houses are connected to water supply.
• Water monitoring by essential services officer every day.
• 2 diesel, 1 electric motor, supply power for water pumps.
• Water is of good quality.

Community power supply

• 1 x 100 kva diesel generator.
• 1 x 150 kva diesel generator.
• 1 x 170 kva diesel generator.
• Community has 24 hour power.
• Fuel storage for 51000 diesel fuel.
• System uses 10000 litres per month.
• Power house fuel delivered, through ampol Alice Springs, from South Australian depot

History

Mantamaru or Jameson is located at the base of the Jameson range in the central ranges region. The community takes its english name from these ranges, which in turn took their name from an early european explorer. Mantamaru and Parnamaru (the original name of the community when it first became incorporated) both translate in Ngaanyatjarra and Pitjantjatjara respectively as black (Maru) ground (Manta or Parna) which describes the ground cover of small black stones found around the Jameson range. The other name which is sometimes used by Yarnangu is Wirrlkuralnya, which is the name of a spring in the Jameson range. The residents are all Ngaanyatjarra speakers.

Many of the present day residents of Mantamaru were educated at Warburton mission. A small number went to Ernabella mission in South Australia. The close proximity of Mantamaru to Warburton allowed many to move back and forth between their traditional country and the mission with relative ease. During school holidays parents of the now middle-aged men and women living at Jameson would take their children out of the mission to travel with them on foot. These journeys would last several months and usually occurred in summer time when the waterholes had been replenished from summer rains.

Like Irrunytju, the community was established in the vicinity of a mining camp, in this case it was southwestern mining, a subsidiary of international nickel. In the early days of the outstation residents camped at Wirrkuralynga, a short distance from the existing community, because of the poor quality of water from the existing bore near the mining camp. Homelands funding was later provided for a store, a generator, a new bore and a vehicle to transport supplies from Warburton. The community became incorporated in 1976 and a member of the Ngaanyatjarra council in 1981.

Today, as at Irrunytju the miners are back looking for nickel, with a large deposit of sulphide nickel having been identified 30km south of the community.