This clip shows scenery and wildlife at and around Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Local Aboriginal employment officer Willigan discusses the challenge of balancing tourism and culture. Another local, Kevin Oscar, talks about the seasonal arrival of thousands of tourists. Bruce Williams, on a canyon boat trip and later on an escarpment, talks about the benefits of cultural tourism as a way of maintaining culture and providing for the future.

Educational value points

• In 1990 ecotourism and cultural tourism were relatively new and in the clip Willigan draws attention to the debate in Fitzroy Crossing communities between those who believed that cultural tourism could bring jobs and income and those who believed that the price of cultural tourism would be the commodification of their culture. Views about ecotourism at the time were less polarised and focused on how tourists’ impact on country could be sustainably managed.
• While Willigan discusses the challenges presented by tourism in remote communities, tour guide Bruce Williams talks about its positive side. He describes both the personal and wider cultural benefits that his work brings and explains how he was initially reticent in his role as a tour guide, but is now very confident. He also talks about his belief that showcasing his culture through tourism preserves traditions and encourages young people to connect with the land.
• In the clip Kevin Oscar expresses reservations about the numbers of tourists visiting the area and in the years that followed those numbers continued to grow as tourists increasingly sought 'authentic’ cultural experiences. In 2002–03 hundreds of thousands of tourists to the Kimberley region spent about $268.3 million on artworks, artefacts, tours of scenic sites and attending performances of traditional dances.
• The Kimberley region, comprising 360,000 square km in far north WA, is one of the world’s last great wilderness areas, its complex landscape characterised by spectacular gorges such as Windjana, waterfalls and WA’s oldest cave systems at Tunnel Creek. Williams explains that during the Devonian Period (375–350 million years ago) the area was covered by a shallow sea and coral reefs. Geological movement, erosion and varying sea levels have led to its present state.
• Willigan’s Fitzroy (2000) was produced by the Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA), which was established in 1980 to promote Indigenous culture, language, dance and music and to provide training and employment opportunities for Indigenous people. CAAMA includes a film and television production company, radio network, recording studios and a record label, and is a major shareholder in the Alice Springs-based Imparja Television.

Beautifully shot during the sunset, the light captures the remarkable landscape, and it is easy to appreciate the call to preserve the natural environment through ecotourism, developing commercial partnerships to attract the tourists.

Willigan's Fitzoy Synopsis

A documentary about Fitzroy Crossing presented through the eyes of local characters.

Willigan’s Fitzroy is part of the Nganampa Anwernekenhe series produced by Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) Productions. Nganampa Anwernekenhe means 'ours’ in the Pitjantjatjara and Arrernte lanuages, and the series aims to contribute to the preservation of Indigenous languages and cultures.

Curator's Notes

In Willigan’s Fitzroy the landscape of Fitzroy Crossing is introduced to us through the eyes of local man Jo Ross, nicknamed Willigan. The introduction to the film at first is disarming, as we hear the director talking with Willigan as they drive through the country in a four-wheel drive vehicle. The sound bite is what is usually cut from the film, but in this instance it sets up a style the director Warwick Thornton uses throughout the film.

The local folk though have interesting things to say about Fitzroy Crossing and the debate about whether to produce the land in a European agricultural context, or preserve the land through ecotourism is one occurring throughout Australia today. Ecotourism, which means that Indigenous culture and its preservation become necessary to attract the tourists, is positive in that it will not harm the environment. On the other hand, while Western agricultural techniques will increase productivity, it will devastate the natural resources. The characters speak with familiarity of Fitzroy Crossing, as well as the rich cultural heritage of the place.

Notes by Romaine Moreton