There is a constant reminder in Roebourne of a massacre 160 years ago
Ngarluma Yindjibarndi man Patrick Churnside says he had noticed a shift in community sentiment about street names. (ABC Pilbara: Kelsey Reid)
In short:
Streets in Roebourne are named after perpetrators of the Flying Foam Massacre which killed dozens of First Nations people.
Some locals say the names cause trauma for residents and need to be changed, while others say they are part of the town's history.
What's next?
The City of Karratha says there must be community support for change to happen.
In the remote Pilbara town of Roebourne, 1,600km north of Perth, some residents say it is time to reconsider some of the names on their street signs.
Withnell Street and Sholl Street, in particular, commemorate colonial figures linked to frontier violence in Western Australia.
Withnell Street is named after John Witnell who led one of two parties that took part in the Flying Foam Massacre. (ABC Pilbara: Kelsey Reid)
The remote community has a population of 975 with over 73 per cent identifying as First Nations, yet the town is named after a white settler.
For some community members, the names represent unresolved trauma.
For others, they are part of history and a way to educate the next generation.
Around 1,000 people live in Roebourne with 73 per cent identifying as Indigenous in the 2021 Census. (ABC Pilbara: Kelsey Reid)
"If you're writing Sholl Street, Roebourne, you're writing the names of two men who committed massacres against First Nations people," Ngarluma Yinjabarndi Foundation (NYFL) CEO Sean-Paul Stephens said.
The debate has reignited conversations about how Australia acknowledges its past — and who decides how that history is remembered.
Roe Highway, Roe Street, Roebourne and John Septimus Roe Anglican School are named after John Septimus Roe. (Supplied: State Library of WA)
A dark history
The Yaburara people are the traditional owners of Murujuga, 40 kilometres north west of Roebourne, having occupied the land for millennia prior to colonisation.
The rise of the pearling industry in the Pilbara drew early European settlers to the region.
In 1868, a months-long conflict now called the Flying Foam Massacre unfolded.
Historian Tom Gara worked in the Pilbara in the early 1980s, collecting first-hand accounts from First Nations residents in Roebourne.
Last year, WA Governor Chris Dawson delivered an historic apology over the Pinjarra Massacre. (ABC Pilbara: Kelsey Reid)
He came across information about the massacre while looking through newspaper articles from 100 years earlier.
Mr Gara said the violence started after an Indigenous man was chained up for stealing flour and a police officer was killed in retribution, prompting retaliatory expeditions against Aboriginal people.
Killings were ordered by Robert Sholl, the north-west's first government resident, with John Withnell, a pastoralist, leading one of two hunting parties.
Artwork at the entry of the town unveiled for Roebourne's 150th anniversary does not shy away from events of the past. (ABC Pilbara: Kelsey Reid)
Mr Gara estimates 30 to 50 First Nations people were killed in the conflict.
"The Yaburara people were only a small group of 80 or 100, so [losing] half or a third of the number is a major catastrophe,"he said.
Today, streets in Roebourne continue to bear the names of Sholl and Withnell.
Even the name of the town is in honour of John Septimus Roe, who participated in the Pinjarra Massacre, where up to 80 First Nations people were killed.
He never visited the north-west of the state.
Community support for change
Patrick Churnside teaches the next generation traditional dance and is skilled in making traditional tools. (ABC Pilbara: Kelsey Reid)
Ngarluma Yindjibarndi traditional owner Patrick Churnside said there was growing sentiment among residents for change.
"There's been a big shift in the community, yes, to change the names or rename these names," he said.
"There is support and a big shift and willingness to do so."
Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation's Mr Stephens said the names contained a multitude of traumas for First Nations people.
Sean-Paul Stephens says NYFL has submitted a framework to the City of Karratha to consider renaming streets. (ABC Pilbara: Kelsey Reid)
"You couple that with an environment that is in extreme social and economic disadvantage [and] there is clearly the perpetuation of trauma through that," he said.
Mr Stephens said if the street names were changed it could not just be virtue signalling.
"We need to be able to chew gum and walk at the same time, so changing names can alleviate some of that ongoing trauma but it has to be coupled with meaningful reconciliation action," he said.
"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is now."
Intergenerational disadvantage in rife the remote community of Roebourne, known as Ieramugadu by traditional owners. (ABC Pilbara: Kelsey Reid)
Opportunity for education
Not everyone agrees the signs should come down.
Yaburura and Martuthunira woman Mary Cosmos grew up not knowing about the massacre due to the pain the events had inflicted on her family.
Robert Sholl was the north-west's government resident in the early days of European settlement. (ABC Pilbara: Kelsey Reid)
She believed the street names should remain as a reminder and an educational tool.
"You cannot remove the street names because that is history,"she said.
"It's very important for myself to teach my kids what took place in the massacre — my grandchildren, my nieces, my nephews — because they will be asking."
Sisters Susan Mowarin, Valerie Holbrow and Mary Cosmos undertake cultural surveying the Burrup Peninsula in the 1990s. (Supplied: David Walker)
'Reality of Australian history'
A spokesperson for Landgate, the government body overseeing the naming of WA roads and town sites, said name changes were rare.
They said existing names were usually changed if road names cause confusion or navigation issues, as any changes affected service providers and emergency services who rely on accurate information.
In Albany, dual names have been awarded for King George Sound/Mammang Koort and Bald Head/Doggerdirup to honour the town's history.
While in Perth, Lake Monger was rebranded last July to Galup, the traditional name for the lake.
Loading...For change to occur it needs to be submitted by the relevant local government.
City of Karratha chief executive Virginia Miltrup said she was open to a conversation.
"I think we can all imagine that there would be sensitivity and even distress for some people, so that's not something that we are shying away from," Ms Miltrup said.
"I think that this is the reality of Australian history."
Virginia Miltrup says the City of Karratha is working on its first Reconciliation Action Plan. (ABC Pilbara: Kelsey Reid)
The city has never released a Reconciliation Action Plan, but hopes to complete one this year.
"I would take my guidance from the local community, including the Aboriginal community, as to how they would like to proceed," Ms Miltrup said.