The Lord Will Do It

FAITH COMES TO THE PILBARA
A reporter for the Western Australian wrote this account of the revival amongst the Aboriginal People

A religious revival among Aboriginal people in the remote Northwest town of Nullagine - once labelled the arrest capital of Australia has drastically reduced the number of arrests and jailings. Police in Nulllagine, 184 km north of Newman (Western Australia), claim drunken domestic scenes which once dogged the community have virtially disappeared and the residents seem happier and healthier. Three Christian Aboriginal leaders were the key to revival, Empowered with a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit, they began regular meetings and prayer events every day. The results were powerful. Some gatherings went on for eight hours as people shared in song, testimony, prayer and Bible reading. The effect was felt in the whole community.

The only sufferer is the local pub, the Conglomerate Hotel, which once kept six staff busy. The lessee went into receivership after the town's lOO-150 Aboriginal people turned to Christianity. Since then, the Aboriginal community has reduced the number of arrests to just a handful of men and there have been no jailings. They gave up alcohol and labelled the hotel, 'the Devil's place'.

Instead of going to the bar each night to drink, they sit happily in circles under the stars, pray and sing gospel songs at the Yarrangkaji community on the outskirts of town. They are eager to share their new-found love of God and talk about the positive changes they have made to their lives.

Gary Marshall, who leased the hotel and adjoining shop for 22 years, said the arrival of religion spelt disaster for his business, but he did not hold it against the Aboriginal people. "I couldn't sit here and say it was a bad thing," he said. "If they are better off, then it's a wonderful thing."

Senior Constable, Mal Kay, the officer in charge at Nuiligane, said the drop in crime could be explained in part by the fact that the population dropped every time big groups from the community left town to attend religious meetings around Pilbara and Northam. Most arrests in the past have been assaults and woundings stemming from alcohol.

Mother-of-two, Lisa Daibin used to be a weekly visitor to the Nullagine police lockup for assault, anti-social behaviour or just to sober up. The 26 year-old would spend her pension on alcohol, get jealous over her man and find herself in punch-ups with women who were her friends when she was sober. That was before she found Christianity and gave up her drinking last November. "We pray and sing every morning and every night," she said. 'We have church meetings every Wednesday and Saturday."

Miss Dalbin has worked off her fines through community work, picking up rubbish and working in a kitchen. Her favourite drink used to be port and she freely admits it made her act mad. She does not miss it. She is happier, has money in her pocket to go shopping and takes better care of her sons, aged five and eight. now she is sober. She is even studying to get her driver's licence, a privilege which seemed out of reach to her a few months ago. The only time she sees the police is when they stop her to say hello in the street.

Her cousin, Philip Bennell, 39, who spent much of his youth behind bars because of alcohol related strife, has also been sober for about four months. "God is my master now, not grog," he says. "Alcohol is a killer for anybody, but especially for Aboriginal people. I was one of the worst blokes and have spent years of my life in and out of prison. I had two feet in the grave and what I was doing was adding a final nail in the coffin," he adds. "When I found the Lord I gave it all away. I didn't want to die a young bloke."

Philip says that the footpath outside the Conglomerate Hotel has been a site of many arguments and brawls, but now the community hold prayer meetings across the road. If they ventured into the pub, it was only to get a cool drink. "There used to be a lot of tough drinkers at the reserve," he says. "They gave it away because they found a bit of peace and a better way of life"

Aboriginal leaders empowered by the Holy Spirit are leading the revival. These leaders would like to see the revival reaching the wider Kartiya (non-Aboriginal) society. But for these shy desert people to reach out in these days of the struggle for reconciliation will only be by the hand of God.

Source: The Western Australian Renewal Journal #11: Discipleship. www.pastornet.net/au.renewal