Breaking New Ground: Stories of Mining and the Aboriginal People of the Pilbara is a celebration of people. The people you will meet in the following pages have struggled and rejoiced, succeeded and failed. Some of these people are miners, others are the traditional custodians of the land. Some look towards the future, while others reflect on the past.
Their stories mainly explore the impact Pilbara Iron’s Aboriginal Training and Liaison Unit (ATAL) has had on the local communities since it was established in 1992. But this story would be incomplete without broadening the scope to encompass Rio Tinto and the mining industry in Australia. It is only when considered in this wider context that the true significance of ATAL’s achievements can really be recognised.
All of the stories featured in this book have been told in the words of each individual. Many of the stories overlap and are interlinked, as different people touch on each other’s lives. Some of the people mentioned in the book are no longer with us, but their contributions are not forgotten as they live on in these pages and people’s memories. We would like to make special mention of Ngimaliny (whose non-Aboriginal name was Peter Stevens) who told his story to us in November 2004. He passed away on 1 January 2006 after a battle with cancer. Ngimaliny’s honesty, directness and love of his people and his land will be remembered by all who took the time to listen. We thank his family for giving us permission to publish his story and photograph, and hope it plays a small part in celebrating the life of this highly respected man.
The truly amazing people featured in this book have shared their private thoughts and their personal journey, telling it how it was, in some cases, warts and all. It is essential that we take the time out of our busy lives to celebrate the past, but by looking back we also uncover answers to how we can move ahead. We have heard where we have succeeded and more importantly, where we must improve. We will take this valuable feedback and act on it, to ensure we continue to lead the way.
To all the people who have contributed their time and energy to Breaking New Ground, we thank you for your honesty and enthusiasm. To the many, many people we have missed who could equally be featured in this book, we also thank you for your contributions to ATAL over the past 14 years. We now invite you to explore the personal stories featured in this book and gain a rare insight into the journey of the miners and Aboriginal people in the Pilbara.
This book is no longer available in hard copy but can be viewed on-line by clicking here
Published by: Rio Tinto Iron Ore, 2006
ISBN: 0-9775191-0-4
People featured in the book
- Desert Knowledge Australia chair, Reconciliation Australia Board member, Deputy President of the Graham (Polly) Farmer Foundation, Hon Fred Chaney AO
- Ex-chairman of Westpac and ex-CEO of Rio Tinto Australia, Leon Davis AO
- Indigenous expert, Mark Simpson
- Retired Senior Corporate Affairs manager, Professor George Littlewood
- Aboriginal Affairs manager, Jeremy van de Bund
- Retired Aboriginal trainer, Bob Beeton
- Aboriginal Elder, Slim Parker (Marditja Banyjima)
- Aboriginal Elder, Carol Lockyer (Guruma) deceased
- Aboriginal Elder, Marshall Smith (Banyjima)
- Aboriginal Elder, Nelson Hughes (Gurrama)
- Aboriginal Elder, Ngimaliny ( Gurrama) deceased
- Boilermaker, Clinton Walker (Ngarluma)
- Mine worker, Austin James (Yindjibarndi)
- Mechanical fitter, Samantha Williams
- Senior mining executive, Bruce Larson
- Archaeologist and mining advisor, Elizabeth Bradshaw
- Community development adviser, Stuart Robertson
- Mining executive, Ian Williams
A memorable moment...
Marditja Banyjima Elder Slim Parker was a hard man to track down to interview for the book Breaking New Ground. His relationship with Rio Tinto had taken a downturn due to complications arising from native title negotiations and he was very suspicious of this person trying to interview him for a book.
On the day we were to meet he suddenly wasn’t available, and then the following meeting was also cancelled. The third time the location was changed three times, before I jumped in my car and said I’d meet him wherever he was which happened to be a coffee shop at Mirrabooka Shopping Centre.
I loved Slim straight away – he got straight to the point and didn’t hold the punches. We ended up spending a couple of hours together chatting in that coffee shop and I was lucky enough that he choose to open up to me, to tell his story of struggle for his people.
I later went to visit him when he was next in Perth for health reasons and he was so happy with the story that he asked me to have my picture taken with him so he could keep it. I felt honoured to be respected by such a strong man. -
Photography
Leon Bird is an award winning photographer whose work covers diverse interests from food and beverage to manufacturing, mining and editorial. His black and white images featured in this book capture the strength of each individual.