The Strelley Mob

Animation, historical archives, and rarely seen illustrations bring to life the story of the Strelley Mob and the enduring legacy of the 1946 Pilbara Strike.

In 1946, hundreds of Aboriginal pastoral workers from across the Pilbara walked off the stations in one of the first mass industrial strikes by First Nations people in Australia. Refusing to return to exploitative conditions, they established independent mining camps, gathered pearl shell, and formed self-sustaining communities.

The Strelley Mob are the descendants of these strikers—families who continued to live and work on their own terms. Central to this exhibition are the stories they told: histories of hunting, mining, organising, and resisting a hostile government. These were written, translated, and illustrated by Elders for their children when they opened their own school, in an act of cultural preservation and community education.

The Strelley Mob exhibition combines archival materials, newly created animations, and artworks spanning multiple generations. It offers an intimate look at a powerful chapter of Aboriginal self-determination and the cultural legacy that continues to thrive. Told through the lens of Nyangumarta knowledge and visual storytelling, this exhibition reconnects Country, history, and community.

“Today, returning to these Nyangumarta archives is an opportunity to retell the unique history of Marrngu
and Martu, the Aboriginal people of the Pilbara, and to reposition them in the history of Australia. The history of the Pilbara is an Aboriginal history, but it is also a history of resistance and resilience in the pastoral and mining industries that has for too long remained untold.” Darren Jorgensen