Outrage over British YouTuber's shocking comment to Aboriginal man during on the street interview
A West Australian mayor has hit out at a British YouTuber over the portrayal of his city's First Nations community and a heartbreaking interview with an Indigenous man.
YouTuber @WendallExplores visited the state's mining capital, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, located in the Goldfields-Esperance region, around 600 kilometres northeast of Perth.
In a 26-minute video titled Drunk In Australia's Roughest Outback Town, Wendall explored the city and interacted with several locals, including an Indigenous man called Jeff.
The video's description reads: 'Known as a wild place where miners risk it all to make their fortune in the goldfields of the area, it is also a place where the streets are unpredictable and wild.
'Aboriginal communities make the long trip from faraway remote places to visit the town to access vital services, crime and homelessness is rife and scantily clad ladies serve cold pints.
'I met the locals and visitors and enjoyed a few cold ones myself.'
Speaking to Jeff, Wendall asked: 'What's Kalgoorlie like? People say it's a wild town, a dangerous town. Is that true?'
Jeff agreed that it could be 'rough at night' before revealing he had been an alcoholic since he was 18.
'How do you spend your days?' Wendall asked
'Sometimes I have a quiet day, sometimes just too much on the drink … There's nothing much to do round (sic) here. Only thing is just that,' Jeff said.
In the tragic exchange, the Indigenous man revealed he had been sleeping on the streets 'for two years'.
'You've got to try and drink less, mate,' Wendall said. 'I know it's hard … Are you drunk already today?'
'I'll be going soon,' Jeff said
The city has an Indigenous population of about 4,397 and 29,109 non-Indigenous residents.
Glenn Wilson, who has been Mayor of Kalgoorlie-Boulder since October 2023, has criticised the depiction of his city.
'We do not condone the way footage of our First Nations community was captured and presented,' he told news.com.au.
He said any stories involving Indigenous Australians needed to be 'approached with cultural sensitivity, respect, and in consultation with the community'.
Wilson argued that sharing moments with individuals 'experiencing hardship' without 'the right cultural awareness risks reinforcing harmful stereotypes'.
He said the video failed to help viewers understand the real challenges the Indigenous community face and the work being done in his city to address these challenges.
Wendall, who had previously visited Kalgoorlie on a few occasions, said he always wants to learn from the stories of those he speaks to.
He said he wanted to understand the town better and enjoyed his conversation with Jeff, who he described as a 'very sweet and calm man'.
According to the latest data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, in every Australian jurisdiction except for the Northern Territory, the proportion of First Nations people who drank more than 10 alcoholic standard drinks per week, or more than four standard drinks in a single day at least once a month declined from 48 per cent in 2010 to 33 per cent in 2023.
The gap in the disease burden between First Nations and non-Indigenous Australians decreased between 2003 and 2018.
A range of factors is responsible for the gap including disconnection to culture, traditions and country, social exclusion, discrimination and isolation, trauma, poverty, and lack of adequate access to services.
Alcohol use was the second largest contributor to the total disease burden in 2018.
In April 2025, the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder released a report addressing transitional Aboriginal homelessness and anti-social behaviour across regional Australia.
The six-month research project involved over 30 stakeholders across Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory, and features case studies from communities including Broome, Ceduna, Alice Springs, Darwin, and Kununurra.
The report found 'culturally informed, locally driven solutions are key to achieving real and lasting change'.
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