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 Email: paige@alongside.org.au Phone: 0439 470 701 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 www.alongside.org.au Design by One Idea
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!
FROM LITTLE THINGS, BIG THINGS GROW Town Overview is located 240 kilometres south-east of Katherine in the Northern Territory. The town has a population of approximately 400 people and is part of the Roper Gulf Shire Council area. The area is prime cattle country with numerous cattle stations surrounding the community. Heritage The township is very near the site of the Hodgson Downs Station Residence. Hodgson Downs, a cattle station, was built on the Alawa traditional lands. The Alawa people have lived in South- Eastern Arnhem Land for thousands of years. Conflicts occurred as white settlers began to encroach upon Aboriginal territory and these first encounters included the killing of 30-40 Alawa, in 1903 about 500 metres from the current community. This was thought to be one of the biggest massacres of the time. There were similar patterns seen elsewhere in this region as Aboriginal people came to terms with White culture. Northern Territory Town Profiles
Hodgson Downs Station was granted to the Alawa people under the Land Rights Act in 1995, and is now called Waliburru. In the past few years the Indigenous Land Corporation has invested in renewing the cattle station. As of 2008, a 6,500-strong Brahmin herd had been established and there was some 500 kilometres of fencing, bores, new paddocks and some 20 workers on full-time wages. Indigenous communities is a small community situated on the traditional lands of the Alawa people. The land is rich with plants and animals and the people are full of knowledge, language and culture. Kriol is the first language that children learn and is also common to communities surrounding. The traditional language Alawa, is no longer widely spoken in the community.
WITH DIFFERENT LIVES, IN DIFFERENT PLACES Climate Like much of the Northern Territory, has a tropical climate with two distinct seasons, the wet and the dry. The wet season from November to April, is characterised by increased humidity followed by monsoonal rains and storms. The temperature ranges from 24 degrees Celsius to 37 degrees Celsius and humidity can exceed 80 percent. The dry season, from May to October, brings warm, dry, sunny days and cool nights. The temperature range is between 30 degrees Celsius to 14 degrees Celsius, with humidity around 60 percent. Northern Territory Town Profiles
All The Essentials is a dry community. No alcohol may be brought into, possessed, or consumed in the community by visitors or residents. A permit is required for non-aboriginal people to enter the community via the Northern Land Council. Visit: www.nlc.org.au There are two community stores in, the Hodgson Downs Store being the main one. The store stocks basic grocery supplies, household essentials and also sells petrol. The store has banking facilities and accepts EFTPOS. Mail is delivered via plane every Tuesday. There are no restaurants for dining out in, the closest option is the Roadhouse at the Elsey Homestead. Katherine is the closest regional hub and is located 268 kilometres away.
Health Centre is managed by Sunrise Health Service. The clinic is staffed by three Registered Nurses and four Aboriginal health workers. The clinic is open Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm and is staffed around the clock for medical emergencies. Like most of the Northern Territory, specialists visit the community periodically. Plugging into the outside world can be tricky as there is no mobile phone coverage in the area and internet is only available at the health clinic. There is however, television and radio coverage in the community. Education School, also known as Hodgson Downs- School, caters for children from Prep through to Year 9. The school principal has lived and worked in for many years and the school has a good reputation for attendance and results. There are approximately 200 children in, of which approximately 175 are enrolled in school. The school is equipped with multiple classroom blocks, a preschool, a playground, a basketball court and a home economics room. Northern Territory Town Profiles
IN CONVOYS OF SILENCE THE CATTLE GRAZE Sport has a community sports oval and basketball court. The community also has Wadabirr Billa Pul the first children s water park built in an Aboriginal community. The water park was opened in July 2012, and has helped drive attendance at school, as children must attend school in order to play in the water park. The chlorinated water has also helped to decrease the rates of rashes and illnesses. In Alawa Kriol, Wadabirr Billa Pul means goanna billabong. Children in enjoy games of cricket, football and basketball, as well as as well as -specific sports such as tip- tip, four tin. Teachabout, a youth-led organization facilitates unique holiday programs in, with the guidance, permission and collaboration of the local council. The programs aim to extend and enrich learning through a diverse range of both cultural and education-based activities.
Recreation There are some beautiful spots to explore in and around, such as Elsey Homstead, located 150 kilometres away. The Elsey Homestead Replica lies within the Mataranka Homestead Tourist Park. The homestead is an exact replica of what was described and made for the novel-turned-film "We of the Never Never" by Jeannie Gunn. Barunga Festiva, held in Barunga, some 240 kilometres away, is the biggest festival held near. The Barunga Festival is an iconic event with a long a proud tradition of celebrating the best of remote Indigenous Australia. The festival is held annually on the Queen s Birthday long weekend. Elsey National Park's highlights include historic sites, natural pools, the Korowan and Mataranka Falls, the tufa dams, Stevie's Hole and magnificent fishing spots. Visitors can enjoy various activities such as barbecuing, camping, canoeing, fishing, swimming, leisure walking and picnicking. Northern Territory Town Profiles
Mataranka Hot Springs are located right next to the Elsey Homestead and have been said to lessen body pains making it a popular spot to relax in the warm and crystal clear water of the natural pool. Palm and paperbark trees surround the spring and its water temperature sits at around 34 degrees Celsius all year round. Roper River, not far from Elsey Homestead is a fantastic spot for Barramundi fishing. The fishing is so good, in fact, the area is known to some as Barradise. The world-famous Katherine Gorge is 250 kilometres from and provides opportunities for canoeing, boating, swimming, hiking, camping and more. Art The Art Centre was founded as a space for people to learn, revive and teach skills such as basket weaving, screen printing and painting, as well as projects that celebrate the Alawa language and culture. Artists from enjoy depicting the rich array of animals, bush foods and medicines that are found in Alawa country.
Northern Territory Town Profiles
I M TOLD I M GOING PLACES By road, the trip to /Hodgson Downs takes approximately three hours from Katherine. Following the sealed, single lane Roper Highway Mataranka for 80 kilometres will bring you to the / Hodgson Downs turn-off. The remaining 80 kilometres is a dirt road. Access to the community can be restricted during the wet season as there are several floodway s which can become impassable. The road is usually graded once a year, normally after the wet season. Most of the time, the road is very rough with plenty of corrugation and bull dust. Care should be taken when traveling on this road. /Hodgson Downs may also be accessed by chartered light aircraft. Distances out of ; Darwin...470km Katherine...270km Ngukurr...89km Mataranka...160km Barunga...244km
Northern Territory Town Profiles
PLACES TO START The Northern Territory Government website, Bushtel is a great place to start with profiles on all communities in the Northern Territory. www.bushtel.nt.gov.au The Roper Gulf Council website provides an overview of the and Hodgson Downs area. www.ropergulf.nt.gov.au/our-communities/minyerri/ Teachabout is a youth-led organization facilitates unique holiday programs in. The 2017 report on their dry season activates has a lot of information on opportunities for children in the community. www.teachabout.com.au/docs/teachabout-program-report-2017.pdf Art and Cultural Centre facebook page has information on the Alawa culture, language, arts, crafts and bushfoods. www.facebook.com/arts/
Northern Territory Town Profiles
www.alongside.org.au