Warburton

Warburton or Warburton Ranges is an Aboriginal Australian community in Western Australia, just to the south of the Gibson Desert and located on the Great Central Road (part of the Outback Way) and Gunbarrel Highway.

Warburton or Warburton Ranges is an Aboriginal Australian community in Western Australia, just to the south of the Gibson Desert and located on the Great Central Road (part of the Outback Way) and Gunbarrel Highway. At the 2016 census, Warburton had a population of 576.

The settlement was established as an Aboriginal mission under the auspices of the UAM (United Aborigines Mission) in 1934 by Will Wade, his wife and his children. It was named after explorer Peter Warburton, the first European to cross the Great Sandy Desert.The Ngaanyatjarra people of the Western Desert cultural bloc were nomadic people, but with the arrival of missionaries in 1933, they were drawn to the mission. By 1954, around 500 to 700 Aboriginal people lived at the mission. There was a school where they were taught in English, and traditional culture discouraged. Domestic skills were taught to women and girls, and the men collected dingo or became shearers or builders.More people were attracted to work at the copper mine which opened nearby, and by the 1970s there were few Aboriginal people living as nomads in the bush. In 1973, the UAM handed control of the settlement to the Aboriginal people represented by the Ngaanyatjarra Council, while the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority of the Government of Western Australia became responsible for economic development.The town was hit by a flash flood in February 2011. Water levels in some parts of town reached as high as 2 metres (7 ft) resulting in 60 homes being evacuated. Water flowed through 15 homes to a height of 30 centimetres (12 in) and two people had to be rescued from a stranded four-wheel drive vehicle that had water reach window level.

Climate records have been collected at Warburton Airfield since 1940. January is the hottest month of the year, with a mean maximum temperature of 37.9 °C (100.2 °F) and a mean minimum of 23.1 °C (73.6 °F).July is the coldest month with a mean maximum temperature of 20.8 °C (69.4 °F) and mean minimum temperature of 5.7 °C (42.3 °F).

Average rainfall is 247.6 millimetres (9.75 in), with February tending to be the wettest month and September the driest month.Warburton is therefore more affected by the tropical rain systems from the north of Australia rather than the rain-bearing cold fronts arriving from Antarctica towards the south of Australia.

Warburton has a semi-arid climate (Bsk) with long, hot summers and short, warm winters.