In July 2024 Original Power, Ngardara Cooperative and Bushgrid delivered a complete system upgrade to solar, storage and water services at the remote Borroloola homeland of Mumathumburru, also known as West Island.

Mumathumburru is a small community situated off the coast of Borroloola in the Northern Territory’s Gulf of Carpentaria on the lands and seas of the Yanyuwa people. It is one of fifteen permanently occupied homelands surrounding Borroloola township of 1500 people.

West Island residents, including Garrwa elder Shirley Simon, were forced to relocate from West Island to Borroloola in 2021 after their former-Bushlight solar system was decommissioned due to unidentified faults by contractors to Bushlight’s successor program Outback Power.

“With no power, our water pumps stopped working too and our family were made to move to Borroloola where we’ve lived in overcrowded housing with relatives for four years now. We come back as much as we can to be on our homeland, but the cost of diesel for the generator and keeping our boat running is too much. I used to cry for my homeland sitting empty, hoping to see my grandkids grow up there one day.”

Read our full Case Study to find out how Original Power is working with local communities like Mumathumburru to improve energy security for homelands and keep people connected to Country.