Yurlu | Country

After a defunct asbestos mine contaminates a huge area of land in the Pilbara, Banjima elder Maitland Parker confronts the devastating impact made on country and his own body.

In 1934, industrialist Lang Hancock staked a claim for Blue Asbestos at Wittenoom Gorge near his childhood home of Mulga Downs Station in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The traditional owners of the land were not consulted and did not give approval, and today, 46,840 hectares of Banjima Country, including Hancock’s childhood home, is a toxic exclusion zone.

Asbestos now paints the red rocky landscape black, and the people of the area, including proud Banjima elder Maitland Parker, are locked out of their lands. For Maitland, though, the damage to the land takes an even more personal toll.

Curator’s Note

Did you know that Australia is home to the most contaminated site in the Southern Hemisphere?

Yaara Bou Melhem’s shocking documentary sheds a vital light on Australia’s obsession with mining, much-blighted environmental record and impacts on First Nations people. But at the heart of the film are people and an unwavering mission to heal the land.

– Reece Goodwin, Curator (Film & TV)