Tyron Colley usually has to travel hundreds of kilometres to get something as basic as a haircut.
He lives in the small Aboriginal community of Irrungadji, in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, where the nearest town with a hairdresser is almost 200 kilometres away.
“We usually have to go to Newman or South Hedland, it’s a long way,” the Martu man said.
“We haven’t had haircuts in a long time.”
The lack of accessible basic services in remote Australia extends beyond haircuts to more serious issues, with communities like Irrungadji also facing significant housing and health challenges.
Environmental Health Trachoma Project (EHTP) lead Melissa Stoneham said poor hygiene combined with living conditions and overcrowding can lead to bacterial infections like trachoma – an eye disease that can cause blindness.
Australia is the only developed country to still have endemic trachoma, and almost all cases are found in remote Aboriginal communities.
In an effort to stop the spread, EHTP is working with the state government, Curtin University and other advocacy groups to take health and housing programs to remote WA communities.
The team recently visited Irrungadji to assess its housing situation.
“[Irrungadji is] a really small community, but a very vulnerable community in the Pilbara,” Dr Stoneham said.
“It’s probably the oldest housing stock we’ve seen, which needs a lot of work — the living conditions aren’t great.”
She said a major focus for the team was on plumbing and “anything that helps these people living in their homes with the ability to wash their face, hands, body and clothes”.
Embracing ‘holistic’ health
Dr Stoneham said health should be approached as a “holistic concept”, with mental and physical wellbeing going hand-in-hand.
She said when heading out to remote communities, it was important to provide culturally respectful services that helped people feel taken care of.
“We have free haircuts, we have de-licing of hair, we have free clothes that we are giving out,” she said.
“Interactions have been great, you know, they’ve been getting a new outfit, a new haircut, they’re feeling fresh and good about themselves.”
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Mr Colley was one of many community members to get a new haircut.
“It’s good people having their hair cut, it’s making us proud,” he said.
“It makes us feel good in our hearts and in our minds.”
Albany barber Rowena DeBonde has been cutting hair for 46 years and with retirement pending, she was keen to start volunteering.
When the opportunity arose to travel 1,700 kilometres from WA’s Great Southern to Irrungadji, Mrs DeBonde embraced it with open arms.
“[The community] has been so kind to me and they’ve really accepted me, [and they’re] really accepting of what I’m doing – they’re enjoying it,” she said.
For Mr Colley, seeing everyone connect over the week was a highlight for him.
“I watched it all bring the mob together and the families as well,” he said.