Mobile Aboriginal Patrol

Port Augusta, South Australia

The Patrol Minister is David Wright and he is based in Port Augusta. The patrol covers an area that includes the Flinders Ranges , the Gammon Ranges and the Lake Eyre Basin . It includes the communities of Hawker, Leigh Creek , Nepabunna, Marree, Cooper Pedy, Iga Warta, Marla and Oodnadatta. There are also Aboriginal owned pastoral stations and Aboriginal employees of the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The patrol was established as a pilot project in 1992 between the South Australian Regional Council of the Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress with Frontier Services support. The focus of ministry in this patrol is the Aboriginal communities spread throughout the area.

In many of the communities there is much hurt as people struggle for a future for themselves and at times there is conflict between people which can spill over into fighting. There is a cry for someone to come and care enough for those communities as they sort out their future and their place in it. The ministry is about resourcing the communities and people within them, that they may be empowered to make decisions about their future directions.

David Wright also spends time sharing with those who are in gaol in Port Augusta as this is the regional gaol. This is an important aspect of his ministry. He worships at the Congress Church in Port Augusta.