[7] It was established around a bore in the early 1980s as a Pintupi settlement, as part of the outstation movement, and became a permanent community in 1983.

[4] It was flooded in early 2000, and further flooding between 3 and 5 March 2001 forced the evacuation of its population of 170, first briefly to Kintore and then for four weeks to NORFORCE's base in Alice Springs and finally to Morapoi Station in the Goldfields of Western Australia, 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) SSW of Kiwirrkurra.

The stay in Alice Springs and Morapoi brought the community into contact with alcohol for the first time and led to violence and social disruption.

[4][8] On 19 October 2001 the Kiwirrkurra people gained native title over 42,900 square kilometres (16,600 sq mi) of the surrounding land and waters.

[citation needed] The Kiwirrkura community worked to establish the Kiwirrkurra Indigenous Protected Area,[13] which was formally launched in September 2014.