Climate
During the dry season average maximum temperatures reach 35°C and hit a humid 40°C during the wet.
Warmun aboriginal art
Art in Warmun arose in the late 70s from the traditional Girrirr Girirr dance ceremony that was derived from stories told by preeminent Warmun artist Rover Thomas. As a forerunner of present-day art, he began painting plywood boards, that were held behind the heads of dancers, with designs imparted to him by the spirit of a relative who described her journeys in the afterlife. His masterful paintings depicting his particular vision of the Kimberley landscape were noticed by collectors and his reputation as an artist in his own right grew. The state gallery in Perth holds many of his finest works. Other artists, including Shirley Purdie, Queenie McKenzie and Patrick Mung Mung have since followed Rover Thomas to gain international recognition as leading Indigenous artists.
History
Warmun's beginnings were far from auspicious. Turkey Creek was established in 1901 as a government depot to distribute rations to Aboriginal people forced off their land by pastoralists in the late 1880s. Many were forced onto government cattle stations through government coercion where conditions were little better. In the 1970s, some Gija people, fed up with dispossession and poverty, asked for government assistance to establish a community at Turkey Creek. Slowly, Gija people related by language gravitated in from the stations and settled into small camps till a permanent settlement was established in 1977. It is now one of the largest Aboriginal communities in the Kimberley.
The Warmun community has strived to maintain a strong culture and tradition. The community owned roadhouse and Art Center are an important part of enabling their social and economic independence. The original Art Centre was established in 1998 inside the former post office until it moved to a modern custom built space in 2007.