BA2840/1636: The country beside the road to Useless Loop, 5 September 2019

Summary

The photographer, Darren Clark, documents his arrival in Useless Loop on 5 September 2019. The following day he documents the life of the Useless Loop Primary School as they prepared to celebrate their anniversary which he photographed on the 7th September. In his notes he quotes teachers and parents as they talk about their lives in a small, isolated company town in Western Australia. They highlight the benefits and disadvantages of living in Useless Loop. The anniversary celebrations are attended by the community and invited guests such as Hidetaka Honda, CEO of Mitsui & Co. (owner of Shark Bay Salt and the town); Betty Foster, the inaugural teacher; and Aboriginal elder John Oxenham. Useless Loop is a closed company town, with 70 employees and their families servicing the solar salt operation of Shark Bay Salt which was established in 1962 by Shark Bay Resources Ltd. A joint venture was formed in 1973 with Mitsui & Co. Ltd which acquired full ownership in 2005, incorporated as Shark Bay Salt Pty Ltd. In 2015.