The Fitzroy Valley

The Fitzroy Valley today comprises the town of Fitzroy Crossing surrounded by 36 very remote Aboriginal communities within a 400 km area.

The Fitzroy Valley

The Fitzroy Valley is a collection of connected communities located in a vast area of the central Kimberley of Western Australia – a part of the world known for its diverse and beautiful physical environment and rich Indigenous cultures.

Fitzroy Crossing is situated on Bunuba Country along the Martuwarra (Fitzroy River).

History of the town

The Walmajarri, Wangkatjungka and Gooniyandi people came together on Bunuba Country after being moved from surrounding stations and ancestral lands in the late 1970's. These forced removals resulted in the different groups negotiating a new cultural, spiritual and geographical terrain. Through respect for each other’s Country and People, an appreciation of cultural differences and similarities, and responsibility for one another, the four language groups built communities around the town of Fitzroy Crossing. An estimated 3,500 people live in these 36 communities.

Fitzroy Valley and surrounds

The history of the town

The Walmajarri, Wangkatjungka and Gooniyandi people came together on Bunuba country after being moved from surrounding stations and ancestral lands in the late 1970's. These forced removals resulted in the different groups negotiating a new cultural, spiritual and geographical terrain. Through respect for each other’s country and people, an appreciation of cultural differences and similarities, and responsibility for one another, the four language groups built communities around the town of Fitzroy Crossing. An estimated 3,500 people live in these 36 communities.

Challenges in The Valley

Marninwarntikura exists because of womens' advocacy to respond to complex challenges in the Valley including family and domestic violence, alcohol related harms, intergenerational trauma and limited access to a range of services.

In the early 2000s, senior women from the Valley noticed children experiencing a range of challenges they hadn’t seen before. They were concerned about what was causing these behaviours and sought to understand the causes and find a solution.

They feared that increased access to alcohol might be causing these challenges, and successfully lobbied the WA liquor licensing board for restrictions on takeaway sale of mid/full-strength alcohol. These restrictions are still in place today.

The Lililwan Project

The Lililwan Project, Australia's first and only population-based FASD prevalence study was initiated by women in the community in 2009. Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre (MWRC) and Nindilingarri Cultural Health Service partnered with The George Institute for Global Health and The University of Sydney.

Lililwan is a Kriol word meaning 'all the little ones'.

Of all children in the Fitzroy Valley aged 7-8 years in 2011 and 2012;

* 90% had experienced early life trauma
* 55% had prenatal alcohol exposure, and
* 1 in 5 met criteria for FASD, with associated neurological, learning, behavioural and health challenges.

The Lililwan prevalence study provided the initial evidence base from which to build a community led response, known as the Marulu Strategy. The study resulted in increased community awareness of the harms of alcohol in pregnancy and provided evidence for ongoing alcohol restrictions. This work continues to inform further responsive strategies today.

View Lililwan research and reports here

Marulu strategy and research

Professor Elizabeth Elliott AO
Distinguished Professor in Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of
Sydney

Video length 2m 28s

Bigiswun Kid Project

A decade later, the community invited the University of Sydney research team back to the Valley to follow up the young people from the Lililwan Project who were aged 17-18 years and their parent /carers to explore their needs from adolescence to adulthood.

The Bigiswun Kid community-driven research and support project walked alongside these young adults, listening deeply to their experiences and identifying the cultural, social and structural supports needed to thrive. Preliminary data from interviews with 94 of the 100 of the young people still living in the Fitzroy Valley indicated that access to services was limited or non-existent amongst this cohort. The community was concerned that the services needed to help these young people to thrive were not effectively meeting their needs, and sought to create community-led solutions.

As a result, the Bigiswun research informed the development of a youth social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) service. Known as the Bigiswun SEWB service, it supports young people in the community aged 15 to 25 to reach their goals. This program evolved in response to community priorities and feedback from the young people in the research project.

An evaluation of the Bigiswun SEWB service was completed in 2025 and provided key recommendations for ongoing improvement. The community led service model was shown to build on the learnings from the research by creating an evolving, culturally grounded service.

View the Report here
View additional Bigiswun research and reports here

Responding to research and supporting the community

June Oscar AO
Previous CEO of Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre

Video length: 1m 59s

Marurra-U

The Marurra-U partnership began in 2015 as a collaboration between MWRC and Royal Far West (RFW), an allied paediatric specialist health service focusing on rural and remote children, to enhance capacity of service providers to support young children living with complex neurodevelopmental, health and social-emotional needs, including FASD, and their families.

Marurra-U supports wraparound models of care, which include integrated and coordinated services, with adaptive models responding to local contexts and communities.

The Marurra-U partnership team works with teachers and healthcare providers, promoting trauma informed approaches to better understanding child brain development and behaviours, and benefits for children’s social emotional functioning and wellbeing.

View the The Marurra-U Partnership Research

View additional research and reports here