Northern Territory Town Profiles

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2 Northern Territory Town Profiles Our thanks to Paul Kelly, Gangajang, The Hoodoo Gurus, The Warumpi Band and The Castle for the inspiration for Alongside s chapter headings. Thank you to the rangers, community members, shires, NTPFES employees and their families who shared their experiences and expertise with Alongside in the creation of these profiles. Copyright 2017 Alongside All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of authors. To obtain permission contact: Paige Hobbs paige@alongside.org.au Phone: Level 16 The Charles Darwin Centre, 19 Smith St, Darwin Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that the following book may contain images of deceased persons. hello@alongside.org.au Design by One Idea

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4 East Arnhem Regional Council, Mission Beach Northern Territory Town Profiles

5 Moving to a new location can be stressful and overwhelming for several reasons, not least because you may be moving to a remote community, or a town you have never been to before. Partners and families of Northern Territory Police are often required to move around the Territory to support a loved one in the job and while Alongside cannot make some of those changes go away, we can help reduce some of the unknowns for you. We understand that moving somewhere new can be daunting. It is our job to offset those feelings the best we can by providing you with as much information possible on the community you are about to call home. The Alongside town profiles are here to help. Designed to provide Northern Territory Police, their partners and families an overview of each location in the Northern Territory, the Alongside town profiles detail everything from the nuts-and-bolts essentials to suggestions of great things to do on the weekend, how to assimilate into local cultures and the general vibe of a place. From all of us at Alongside, welcome to!

6 FROM LITTLE THINGS, BIG THINGS GROW Town Overview Galiwink ku also known as Elcho Island, is a traditional Aboriginal community situated approximately 550 kilometres north-east from Darwin in the Northern Territory and is the southernmost Island of the Wessel Island chain. Elcho is a tropical Island with varying terrain. The eastern side of the Island is banked with mangroves and mud, a perfect environment for the local s favourite food, mud crab and Barramundi. The western side of the Island consists of sandy beaches and reef where oysters, crayfish, various reef fish and turtles are hunted. Other areas of the Island consist of tropical rainforests, tidal creeks and large cliff areas containing brightly coloured ochre rocks which are used as body paint for ceremonies as well as paint for art works. The township of Galiwin'ku is based at the southern end of Elcho Island and has a seasonal population of around 2,200 Yolngu people. Galiwin'ku is the largest community in East Arnhemland. The population of Galiwin'ku varies during the seasons, with many of the outstation residents migrating to the community during the wet season due to inaccessibility. is in the Gumurr Marthakal Ward of the East Arnhem Council area. Northern Territory Town Profiles

7 Heritage Prior to the arrival of Europeans, Elcho Islanders and other Yolongu living along the coastal edges of Arnhemland had regular contact with sea traders passing through the great trading route between China and Europe. In the 17th Century Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish are known to have chartered the Arnhemland coast. was established with the arrival of Harold Sheperdson, a lay associate of the Methodist Overseas mission, from Milingimbi in It is the service centre for several traditional tribal homelands who were encouraged to retain the traditional way of life. In 2008, became part of the East Arnhem Shire and the Council took over local government. Indigenous communities Aboriginal people have inhabited this region for more than 40,000 years. A small number of Traditional Custodians share the residency of the community with speakers of nine principal Yolngu languages drawn from the many surrounding clans. Yolngu means Aboriginal person in the languages of northern Arnhem Land. People from many clan groups now live in the township of and are known collectively as Yolngu people. Together these Yolngu clans formed a social system of religious organisation that differs from neighbouring systems. Yolngu people identify themselves first by their family group, then by their clan and language, and finally by their family s country.

8 WITH DIFFERENT LIVES, IN DIFFERENT PLACES Climate Galiwinku has a wet and a dry season. Wet season begins in November and ends in May. Over the course of the wet season Galiwinku receives around 1403mm of rain. By comparison, in the dry season from June to October, less than 43mm of rain falls in total. Temperatures in the wet season average between 31 C and 33 C during the day and 22 C and 26 C overnight. Temperatures in the dry season average between 30 C and 33 C during the day and 19 C and 23 C at night. All The Essentials is a dry community, therefore, alcohol is banned, it cannot be consumed by residents or visitors. Galiwin'ku is a traditional Aboriginal community with restricted access. Permission to visit is required by law and can be made through the Northern Land Council directly or via the Galiwin'ku Council. Visit: Galiwin'ku is a petrol free community, therefore only cars that run on diesel are permitted on the island. The closest major centre is the town of Nhulunbuy which is 130 kilometres away or 550 kilometres to Darwin, both by air. Northern Territory Town Profiles

9 East Arnhem Regional Council

10 Community Store is operated by the Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation (ALPA). Limited fresh food, sometimes fresh milk, basic groceries, hardware and clothing are available. There are two ATM s in the ALPA and a Post Office agency located in the community store. Mail is delivered on a regular basis. There is also a small takeaway store and a smaller supermarket in town. All freight for is barged to the community on a weekly service. The barge landing is on the south-east coast, five kilometres from the community. The barge road is gravel and is accessible all year round. Marthakal Motel is the only commercial accommodation. It has 50 rooms with single beds and meals are available. Ngalkanbuy Health Centre is staffed by six registered Aboriginal Health Workers and five Registered Nurses. The Centre provides a comprehensive primary health service to all residents of Elcho Island. The Centre provides a high quality 24-hour emergency Clinical care service and there is a chemist on site. Marthakal Homeland and Resource Centre is another health organisation on Elcho Island. Medical officers and visiting specialists service the area and conduct health care checks in the homeland communities. Northern Territory Town Profiles

11 Plugging into the outside world can be done via Telstra mobile phone service. Available radio stations include ABC local radio 105.9FM, National 107.5FM, Triple J 105.1FM or Community Radio 106.7FM. Currently there is no internet available. Shepherdson Preschool, Gawa Christian School, Shepherdson College and Senior Secondary School provide education from preschool through to Year 12. The College also provides education services to seven Homeland Learning Centres (HLCs). Access to School of the Air correspondence school is also provided to eligible students. East Arnhem Regional Council offers a child care service. The service operates 48 weeks per year and is closed on Public Holidays. Permanent, part-time and casual bookings are available and a waiting list applies when the service is full. Arts The Elcho Island Art Centre is located on a cliff top (the eagle s nest in Yolngu mythology) south-east of the town centre. It has spectacular views looking south-west over Mission Beach, Abbott Island and the surrounding sea. Yalu Marnggithinyaraw Cultural Knowledge Centre is a centre for the Yolngu culture focusing on the gathering and teaching of traditional language and culture.

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13 IN CONVOYS OF SILENCE THE CATTLE GRAZE Sport The community has a football field and a basketball court which is well utilised. The East Arnhem Regional Council is funded to provide youth, sport and recreation services relevant to the needs and interests of children in the community. The town beach has a fresh water pool where people can bathe unimpeded by the local crocodile population. Recreation The island is surrounded by pristine beaches and the waterways offer an abundance of fishing and recreational activities, including mud crabbing, fishing, turtle hunting, chipping oysters, rainforest and beach walks. It is a great privilege to be invited by the residents to go fishing and explore their country, so if an invitation is extended, be sure to accept. Market Days are held every Friday, starting at 4.30pm on the Church lawn. There are a variety of stalls including food, drinks, clothes, plants, household goods, toys and more. The Markets are popular with many local families making an evening out of it.

14 I M TOLD I M GOING PLACES is 550 kilometres east of Darwin and while the Island itself is around 50 kilometres long and only six kilometres wide, it can take many hours by four-wheel drive to get from one end to the other because of the unsealed, bush track roads. During the wet season the roads flood and some areas become completely inaccessible. The only way off the island is via plane and there is an all-weather airfield with automatic radio controlled lighting. Air North provides return services from Darwin every day except Sunday. The flight to from Darwin is approximately two-hours and includes a 30-minute stop in Maningrida. The community owns and operates a charter business and Marthakai Yolngu Airlines. Distances out of ; Gapuwiyak...59km Nhulunbuy...133km Ramingining km Katherine...447km Darwin...515km Northern Territory Town Profiles

15 PLACES TO START Lirrwi Tourism website has some great information on the Yolngu people, country, culture and tourism. The East Arnhem Regional Council site has information on the community of and activities available within the Island. The lively arts culture within the community is well worth getting involved in. The Elcho Island Arts website has artist profiles on artists as well as upcoming exhibitions and news.

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