Elijah Doughty funeral: hundreds of mourners farewell Kalgoorlie teenager
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Version 0 of 1. Hundreds of people have paid tribute to Elijah Doughty, the 14-year-old Aboriginal boy whose death sparked racially charged riots in Kalgoorlie last month. Police numbers were boosted for Elijah’s funeral on Tuesday afternoon at Maku Stadium. His mother was allowed to attend after prison authorities granted her leave. The City of Kalgoorlie’s chief executive, John Walker, said her call for peace had helped keep the mood calm. The riots and racial tensions have left the Western Australian gold-mining town contemplating ways to heal deep wounds. More than 400 people were estimated to have gathered for the funeral. A 55-year-old man was charged with manslaughter after Elijah was allegedly run down by a ute while riding a motorcycle. The first court appearance of the accused prompted hours of rioting outside the Kalgoorlie courthouse and the deliberate torching of the accused’s rental home. The man will face court again on Wednesday. Walker criticised the WA attorney general, Michael Mischin, for a whistle-stop tour of the town the day after the unrest, when he labelled the participants a lynch mob and met courthouse guards but not the council. The mayor’s call to the state’s premier, Colin Barnett, to visit Kalgoorlie had gone unheeded, he said. The WA Nationals leader, Brendon Grylls, had met with councillors and canvassed ideas that he promised to raise with fellow MPs. There was no shortage of government funds for Indigenous services, Walker said, but to deliver what was really wanted, programs needed to be more targeted and arranged in consultation with Aboriginal people. He cited the town of Bourke in New South Wales, where the problem of youths stealing cars was being tackled with free driving lessons. “That seems to be working really, really well,” he said. Walker said motorcycles could figure in a Kalgoorlie version of the program, given the passion for riding among local teens. He said a positive development was the pending reopening of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs office in Kalgoorlie, which was closed 18 months ago, leaving coordination of services in the hands of the Geraldton office – a 900km drive away. The cost-cutting decision was reversed by the WA education minister, Peter Collier, in March when there were a string of assaults at the local high school.Collier promised to reopen the office in December but Elijah’s death has been instrumental in bringing that forward to next month. |