This paper traces the development of the first private company set up by Aboriginal people in Western Australia. It aims to draw out structural elements of early organisations that can shed light on contemporary Indigenous organisations set up to harness economic and social development from major mines in the Pilbara region.

The paper raises questions that will assist in the analyses and formulation of effective governance structures in this same region today. Researching the history of settlement and early development is an essential prologue to contextualising current Indigenous responses to mining and associated development.