Karratha

Distinguished and Famous people from Karratha

🌟 Michael Woodley and Lorraine Coppin

Michael Woodley was born in Roebourne and grew up from the age of ten at Ngurrawaana on Yindjibarndi country. With his partner Lorraine Coppin, he founded Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation in 2000 to preserve and share cultural knowledge. Its archive includes language, stories, songlines and visual records. His later leadership has also involved community and commercial enterprises. Their Karratha district connection is specific to Roebourne and Yindjibarndi country, where recording knowledge and supporting its transmission to younger generations became a substantial shared undertaking.

🤝 Kath French

Kath French spent her early childhood at Roebourne, where her father managed the Victoria Hotel owned by her grandmother. The family returned to Perth when she was eight, and her later career became one of extensive community organisation and advocacy. She raised funds for medical and charitable services, served on women’s advisory councils and worked on committees dealing with discrimination and child protection. Roebourne is a childhood connection, not the location of those later appointments. The family hotel supplies a concrete beginning to a life spent bringing people, practical arrangements and public needs together.