Works start on new Juniper Staff Accommodation in Fitzroy Crossing with Smoking, Welcome and Soil Turning Ceremony
Andrea Myers
Around 30 Juniper residents, contractors, community members and traditional owners celebrated a major milestone this morning with a welcome to country and smoking ceremony by Danggu Bunuba and Walmajarri Traditional Owners Olive Knight and Sharon Bieundurry at the site of the soon to be built Permanent Juniper Staff Accommodation.
Works began this week on permanent accommodation for Juniper aged care staff in Fitzroy Crossing in response to housing shortages in the region and to ensure high-quality, culturally safe care for older people in West Kimberley. These were works were a long time coming. With its origins back in 2015 with a Federal grant application, the accommodation will be built on land native title holder authorised to be leased in December 2022 from Aboriginal Lands Trust, then subleased to Juniper for long term security of the development.
The development includes eight one-bedroom units and three two-bedroom units, located adjacent to Juniper’s existing Guwardi Ngadu Residential Aged Care Home. Luke Ketewai, Carer at Guwardi Ngadu, spoke about how excited the workers were to be the first residents of the new accommodation and for their laundry and cooking facilities to all be under one roof.
Permanent staff accommodation will support the delivery of quality care in remote Western Australia by enabling Juniper to attract and retain a stable workforce. It was acknowledged how challenging it has been for staff to be based at the Marra Worra Worra Workers Accommodation over the last decade but there was gratitude to Marra Worra Worra for their support.
Keith Andrews, current Bunuba Chairperson, spoke about how important the development was for elders to grow old on Country, surrounded by culture, family and community. He spoke about remembering when old people, uncles and grandfathers long past, set aside the original land for Guwardi Ngadu to be built back when he was still very young.
Partially funded by a Federal Government Grant with co-contributions by Juniper, the modular housing will be constructed in Perth by Trigon Projects and delivered to Fitzroy Crossing mid-2025. Site preparation and service connections will be carried out by local tradespeople and BOAC will support cultural and environmental monitoring during excavation and disturbance of soil. The project is expected to be completed in early 2026.
Juniper are committed to the finished accommodation reflecting the five language groups of the Fitzroy Valley with plans already begun to work with Mangkaja Arts to incorporate local art work into the privacy screens and the local plant Biriyali or Konkerberry bush into the landscape design.
Listen to the interview with Russell Bricknell here:
https://omny.fm/shows/kimberley-voices-6fx/juniper-ceo-russell-bricknell-10-june-2025
