Darrajayin declared WA’s first Aboriginal Protected Area in nearly 30 years after years-long campaign

Western Australia has declared Darrajayin on Malarngowem Country an Aboriginal Protected Area, delivering the strongest cultural protections available under the state’s Aboriginal Heritage Act and marking the first such declaration in almost three decades.

The declaration covers an area on Springvale Station in the East Kimberley, a place Traditional Owners describe as holding burial grounds and sacred storylines connected to the Serpent (Jawaren) and Moon (Garnkiny). Under WA law, a Protected Area is the highest level of protection that can be applied to an Aboriginal site and makes it unlawful to damage vegetation or disturb the ground within the declared boundaries.

Kimberley Land Council chief executive Tyronne Garstone said the decision followed years of advocacy after damage occurred at Darrajayin. “The fact that this is the first declared in nearly 30 years underscores both the cultural significance of Darrajayin and the seriousness of the failures that led to its damage” he said.

The declaration follows claims by Traditional Owners that exploration works disturbed culturally significant ground without proper consultation or consent. National Indigenous Times reported that Kimberley Granite Holdings undertook exploration activity from 2019 into 2020, disturbing almost 9,000 tonnes of material and that the state government later decided not to pursue prosecution in 2021 – a decision Traditional Owners say deepened community hurt.

Malarngowem Aboriginal Corporation director Russell Gregory said the cultural impact remains ongoing. “This place holds burial sites, sacred stories and spiritual connections that should always have been respected” he said. He said the Protected Area status provides clarity going forward: “It clearly defines the responsibility to look after it properly and makes sure nothing like that can ever happen again.”

For director Theresa Darby-Polkinghorne, the declaration is also about truth-telling through protection. “Our ancestors lived on this Country. They walked it, gave birth there, held ceremony there, and many are buried there” she said.

The decision comes in a broader national context where governments and institutions are under pressure to strengthen Indigenous cultural heritage protections. In Western Australia, the Aboriginal Heritage Act sets out how protected areas can be declared by Order in Council and how they can later be varied or revoked by the Governor after consultation.