Summary

Karalundi Mission was established in 1954 by the Western Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist Church as a 'native institution' for up to 50 Aboriginal children. It was located on the Great Northern Highway, north of Meekatharra in Western Australia. The children received an education which according to an article written for British Seventh-Day Adventists in 1957, met with the state's requirements. They were also taught bible studies and general instruction in Christian education. In addition, the boys were taught farming, saddlery, plumbing and building while the girls were taught cooking, sewing, mothercraft and home management. By 1971, there were 61 school-aged children in the Mission however in 1974, the Executive Committee of the church made the decision to close the Mission because of the Commonwealth government's policy of discouraging missions and the ban on alcohol which had caused populations to drop. In 1986, it became Karalundi Aboriginal Education Centre, still linked to the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, and then in 2007, a museum was established in one of the old mission buildings.
These days Karalundi is a medium sized Aboriginal community with its own boarding school, the Karalundi Aboriginal Education Community Campus. In 2011, Karalundi and Meekatharra had a combined population of 451.
For more information see:
www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/wa/WE00111

Related entries

Archival resources

National Centre for Indigenous Genomics

• Correspondence and Lists of Study Participants, 1971 - 1974, 02D-33; National Centre for Indigenous Genomics. Details