Due to gold mining, the population of Wiluna in the mid-1930's grew to over nine thousand people and at its peak, the town had a regular railway service to Perth, four hotels and many other amenities and facilities. Mining is still a focus of the Wiluna region, but the fly-in fly-out workforce has resulted in some different outcomes.
Wiluna now has a population of only about 300 people but thousands of workers fly into the region every day to work on a range of mines including gold, nickel, and lead, along with at least three major uranium projects. Nickel West, the world's third largest producer of nickel in concentrate contributes significantly to the Australian economy from its Mt Keith and Leinster mines, just south of Wiluna, but there is little evidence of such activity on the dusty streets of Wiluna.
Our society has changed in such a way that regional towns that were once thriving communities no longer experience the hustle and bustle of the mining boom. Mine workers can maintain a home and family in the city and fly in and out of their workplace, without contributing to community life. To be fair to the mining companies, the Wiluna school (pictured) has received some benefits from the support of BHP Billiton, but football clubs, churches, self-help groups, and community societies, struggle to survive or even to exist in a fly-in fly-out environment.
The communities of which we are a part require participation to survive. It is not enough to see our communities, whether they are towns, clubs, workplaces, or organisations, as resources that can operate independently of people. Communities thrive as we participate, contribute and give.
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