The Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku is a remote local government area in Western Australia near the Northern Territory/South Australian border. It is 1,542 km from Perth. It was formed on 1 July 1993 following a report of the Local Government Boundaries Commission in 1992. The Shire of Wiluna was divided with the eastern area becoming the new Shire. It is a community of interest within the traditional lands of the Ngaanyatjarra people of the Central Desert of Western Australia. The 99-year leases held by the Ngaanyatjarra Land Council on behalf of the traditional owners also form the boundaries of the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku. The Shire has 560 km of gravel road and is far from bitumen roads. The Federal Court of Australia on 29 June 2005 consented to the native title claim over approximately 187,700 km2 (about the size of Syria) of land in the Central Desert Region in the Shires of Laverton and Ngaanyatjarraku. Ngaanyatjarra is the first language of most residents (65%, see below) with the other language significantly represented being Pitjantjatjara.

Population

The 2021 ABS Census indicated that the region's 1,358 residents comprised 48.5% males and 51.5% females, with 84.5% of the population being Indigenous Australians. The Ngaanyatjarraku community has a greater proportion of younger people than the overall Australian population and a lesser proportion of older people, reflected by the median age of 30 years of age compared with 38 Australia-wide. Some other statistics:

Communities and localities

The Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku covers 159,948 km2 and is the local government authority responsible for the provision of services to the communities. There are 10 small local centres within the Ngaanyatyarra Lands. The communities and localities of the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku with population and size figures based on the most recent Australian census: Kiwirrkurra and Yilka (Cosmo Newbery) lie outside the Lands, but are served by the Shire. Giles Weather Station is also within the Shire.

Council statistics

Ngaanyatjarra Council (Aboriginal Corporation)

The associated Ngaanyatjarra Council operates

Heritage-listed places

As of 2023, two places are heritage-listed in the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku, the Giles Meteorological Station and the Warakurna Multi-Function Police Facility, neither of which are on the State Register of Heritage Places.