Kumanjayi Walker ‘memory house’ to memorialise Yuendumu shooting

Kumanjayi Walker’s grandmother Margaret Brown has requested regular maintenance on House 511 be stopped so it can be used as a memorial for the 19-year-old.

Flowers line the fence outside House 511 in Yuendumu where Kumanjayi Walker was killed. Picture: Jason Walls

The “memory house” in Yuendumu where Kumanjayi Walker was fatally shot by Constable Zach Rolfe will likely be preserved as a permanent memorial to the 19-year-old Warlpiri-Luritja man.

On Friday, Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities chief executive Brent Warren took the stand for the final day of the most recent fortnight of hearings at an inquest into Mr Walker’s death.

Under questioning by lawyers for members of Mr Walker’s family, Mr Warren said House 511’s current listed tenant, Margaret Brown, had requested that regular maintenance be stopped “so it can be used as a memorial for the sad death”.

“I think we need to clarify whether it’s going to be used in the future as a home or whether it’s going to be used as a place to visit and memorialise, because that will determine what kind of maintenance we do there,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Warren said there were 23 other houses in Yuendumu that were considered “below acceptable standard” where residents were still paying rent to the NT government.

“We levy rent on all houses where we have a tenancy agreement in place,” he said.

“I’ve identified that those houses are scheduled for refurbishment (and) we’re not aware of anything that would prevent someone from living safely in those houses as they wait for refurbishment.

Counsel assisting Maria Walz and Peggy Dwyer with Coroner Elisabeth Armitage (right) outside the memory house in November. Picture: Jason Walls

“When the refurbishment commences they’ll move into transitional accommodation, we don’t levy any rent in transitional accommodation, we don’t lay any charge for power and water, when the house is completed the family then moves back in and recommences paying rent.”

But Mr Warren said when a family was forced to wait for up to six weeks for an issue to be fixed in a house deemed up to standard they did not receive any reduction in rent.

“So for example,” Coroner Elisabeth Armitage asked.

“If a window is broken in a bedroom where there may only be one window, that window can be boarded up, and they’re still required to pay $70 a week for that bedroom with a boarded up window, which may be almost uninhabitable?”

Mr Warren replied: “If a window’s been secured through boarding up, yes, they’ll still be asked to pay rent.”

“Our position is the house has been made secure and we’ve initiated the reasonable process of getting a glazier in to come and replace the glass.”

Constable Rolfe was acquitted on all charges by a Supreme Court jury in March last year.

The inquest continues in July.

Originally published as Kumanjayi Walker ‘memory house’ to memorialise Yuendumu shooting