Seven buildings lost at Mogumber Mission as Traditional Owners assess damage

Traditional Owners in WA’s Wheatbelt are assessing damage to the Mogumber Mission site after an out-of-control bushfire destroyed seven buildings, including the church, according to state emergency services.

It’s been reported the Mogumber fire (about 120 kilometres north of Perth) burnt about 7,000 hectares before being downgraded to an advice level. ABC said authorities reported extensive damage to historical buildings and crops.

A Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) spokesperson said “seven buildings were destroyed, including Mogumber Church”, and that the buildings were uninhabited and had been vacant for several years. ABC said DFES had engaged a recovery group to support the Shire of Gingin and the local community.

The same ABC report said the mission was a government-run institution where Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their families were taken, and that the site is listed on the Heritage Council of WA’s places database.

The Heritage Council database entry describes the place as a key site representing government policies and social attitudes towards Aboriginal people across the twentieth century, and notes associations with the Moore River Native Settlement and Mogumber Methodist Mission. The database entry also states the cemetery is of social and spiritual significance and is one of the largest Aboriginal burial grounds in Australia.

ABC reported Yued Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Rewi Lyall said the destruction of mission buildings and damage across farmland was a “deep blow” for people with connections to the site, and said it was “even harder” to know the fire went through the cemetery.

For historical context, Find & Connect states the Moore River Native Settlement was established by the WA Government in 1918, with management later transferred to the Methodist Overseas Mission in 1951, reopening on the same site as Mogumber.