Northern Territory Town Profiles

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2 Front cover Image: Yaja Hadrys. Women of all ages were painted getting ready for one of the most important ceremonies performed in, a funeral for a prominent and highly regarded elder. 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 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! Northern Territory Town Profiles

5 is usually referred to as Ramo by police. It is a small community with a big police station which was a new station and housing facility via the THEMIS intervention. This station also polices Milingimbi so members will often head across in the boat. You can only get across on high tide, so members may have to stay overnight. Ramo will become virtually cut off in the wet season and only accessible via 4WD or air. It is a really isolated spot. It is a pretty decent place to police; the community is pretty good and there is great fishing and camping. It does have a high turnover of relief police out of Katherine. MARK, POLICE OFFICER Image by Matt Nettheim

6 FROM LITTLE THINGS, BIG THINGS GROW Town Overview is an idyllic, culturally rich Indigenous community in a tropical forest located on the edge of the Arafura Swamp. Many outstations are situated on the banks of the lagoons and rivers that are teeming with wildlife. The community is home to approximately 800 residents. resides in the Ward of Birr Rawarrang of the East Arnhem Council Area. Fun Fact The community was the filming location for the 2006 movie 10 Canoes starring Jamie Gulpili and the 2013 movie Charlie s Country starring his Jamie Gulpili s son, David Gulpili. Heritage The people of originally moved from Milingimbi during the establishment of the Missions. Fresh water shortage on Milingimbi forced the population to begin a new settlement that became. The community was established in the early 1970s and became recognised as Aboriginal land with the passage of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act of By late 1971, 200 people had Northern Territory Town Profiles

7 moved to. is now a major community, with Ngangalala a sizable homeland community, eight kilometres to the north east of. Indigenous communities The tract of land upon which township is built is owned by the Djadawitjibi people of the Djinang group. The people of Milingimbi and follow strong Yolngu traditions and ceremony. The people's language (Yolngu Matha) is primarily Djambarrpuyngu and Gupapuyngu, however Ganalbingu and others are also spoken, including English. In total, there are 14 languages spoken across 13 clan groups. DREAMING The baru is the saltwater crocodile, the primary symbol of the Gumatj people. The Gumatj people are also known as the saltwater people and the crocodile people. They come from the pristine coastal region in the northeast corner of Australia's Northern Territory. The language the baru speaks is full of fire and wisdom and strength.

8 Long ago, in Dream Time, the sky was close to the land and everything crept or crawled upon it. Yondi the warrior found a magic stick with which to raise the sky. When the sky had been raised Yondi threw away the stick which had become bent under the weight of the sky. To Yondi's surprise, the bent stick returned to him and so the Boomerang was born! Yondi threw it again and this time it did not return. Instead it struck a long, rock-like object which suddenly came to life! The object began to writhe. It was Croonar the Crocodile who had been sleeping on the banks of the lagoon. Croonar was angry at being disturbed. He opened his mouth many times and it became very large. All the creatures cowered in fear. But Yondi, the warrior, stood tall. To this day Croonar sleeps in swamps and lagoons among the mangrove trees, with his wide mouth and rock-like form. Yondi the warrior and all warriors to follow, have been careful to throw boomerangs with the greatest of skill and respect, so as not to disturb other legendary creatures. Northern Territory Town Profiles

9 Billy Durbuma Black Baru Dhawu (Crocodile Story) 2015 Acrylic on canvas The Artists Photo courtesy Bula Bula Arts

10 WITH DIFFERENT LIVES, IN DIFFERENT PLACES Climate The area has two distinct seasons, wet and dry. From November to April, during the wet season, can be cut off by flooding for several months. Temperatures range between 20 C and 40 C with high humidity. From May to October during the dry months, the temperatures range between 21 C and 33 C with low humidity. All The Essentials Alcohol is banned in. It cannot be consumed by residents or visitors. Kava used to be legally available, but was banned in the entire Northern Territory in August 2007 as part of the federal government's intervention on indigenous affairs. 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 Council. Northern Territory Town Profiles

11 The Store (ALPA) is the only supermarket in the community and delivers a wide range of food and products. All freight for the store is barged to the community on a weekly service. The barge landing is located on the north coast, 30 kilometres from the community. Food orders from Woolworths or Coles can be purchased online and delivered via the barge service or Fly Tiwi domestic flights. Check with the ALPA store for barge contacts. The Store sells opal and diesel fuel which is available 24-hours a day if paying by credit card. Mail is delivered by Fly Tiwi on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to the council offices. Traditional Credit Union is available in the council building and there is an ATM in the ALPA store. Commercial accommodation can be booked at the Dinybulu Lodge, Mona Lodge (Bulabula Arts Aboriginal Corporation) and East Arnhem Regional Council Visitor Accommodation.

12 Health Centre provides primary health care services to residents of the community. There is a mix of aboriginal health workers and registered nurses as well as a district medical officer who regularly visits the community. A range of specialists visit at different intervals including a dentist who visits monthly. Emergency evacuations can be made to either Darwin or Nhulunbuy by Care Flight. Pregnant women birth in either Darwin or Gove, dependant on their needs. Plugging into the outside world can be done via Telstra 3G mobile. Available radio stations include ABC National radio 104.1FM, ABC Territory 107.3FM, Community and Yolngu radio School provides education from preschool to year 12. There is no crèche facility, however an FAFT (Families Are First Teachers) playgroup exists at the school. Northern Territory Town Profiles

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14 IN CONVOYS OF SILENCE THE CATTLE GRAZE Sport The East Arnhem Regional Council is funded to provide youth, sport and recreation programs in based on interests and needs. There is a strong sporting focus within the community, which is served in part by a public outdoor basketball court and football oval. BodyFit run the odd yoga session and team up with Ramo Boot Camp (who meet at the council gym) for those who prefer group fitness. Recreation Sightseeing, fishing and hunting are very popular activities in. The Blythe and Glyde Rivers are beautiful places to explore and Sandy Point is a fantastic spot to camp, just make sure you have a permit to do so. has lots of red dirt and plenty of free-range Water Buffalo to see! Bak'bididi Festival is a community run festival based in in October. The festival includes both traditional and contemporary music, dance, arts and sports. Arts Bula bula Arts provides the artists of community and surrounding homelands an outlet to voice the stories through art. Northern Territory Town Profiles

15 Daniel Warrulukuma Kangaroo, Wallaby and 3 Ibises 2016 Acrylic on canvas Photo courtesy Bula Bula Arts

16 I M TOLD I M GOING PLACES is in north-east Arnhem Land, west of the Glyde River, 445 kilometres from Darwin by air or 559 kilometres by road in the dry season by four-wheel drive. An alternative route via the Central Arnhem Road is 818 kilometres in length, but allows access to the community 11 months of the year. is a mainland community located to the west of the Glyde River about 30 kilometres south east of Milingimbi Island, 580 kilometres east of Darwin, 435 kilometres by road west of Nhulunbuy and 30 kilometres inland. Maningrida is 85 kilometres by road to the west. The main road through Nhulunbuy and katherine is 100 kilometres to the south. Both roads, which link Maningrida to, are for dry season, four-wheel drive use only. There is a sealed, all-weather airstrip located at. Fly Tiwi flies direct from Darwin to on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Airnorth flies from Darwin to Milingimbi daily, with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) chartering you the rest of the way to. Distances out of ; Darwin...550km Nhulunbuy...430km Milingimbi...30km Maningrida...100km Katherine...600km Alice Springs km Northern Territory Town Profiles

17 PLACES TO START The East Arnhem Regional Council site has information on the town of and the services, activities and events available within the region The lively arts culture within the community is well worth getting involved in. The Art Centre website has information on upcoming events and artist profiles, including pieces for sale. Noticeboard on Facebook is used to inform people of events, buy/swap/sell and sharing informative positive stories.

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