European settlement
The first Europeans only moved to Elcho Island in 1921 and then permanently in the 1940s. In 1937-1938, Constable John William Stokes of the Northern Territory Police was stationed on Elcho Island at the future site of Galiwinku as part of an effort to eliminate prostitution of Aboriginal women by visiting Japanese luggers. He established a cordial cooperative working relationship with local people (see account in the book 'The Long Arm' and his now-published diary). Later, in the 1940s, missionaries came to live side by side with, and learn from their Indigenous co-workers. Most of these were committed to learning local languages, and training those workers with skills to equip them to live within the changing world.
Government policies of the 1970s encouraged missionaries to leave, and hand over their work to local people. Government policies tend to have a 4-year currency, after which there is always a better policy. With 2 year tenures, airfares home, and generous entitlements, (compared to mission rates), new government workers who did not have the long term commitment for Indigenous people, stepped into the gap, exposing Yolnu to further disadvantage and confusion caused by the rapid and unrelenting change.
Various enterprises were set up on communities everywhere; grazing, fishing, gardens, sewing, baking; some employing and training Indigenous people, others acting as supply bases.
Groote Eylandt is the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria and the fourth largest island in Australia. It is the homeland of, and is owned by, the Warnindhilyagwa who speak the Anindilyakwa language.
Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km (310 mi) from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Company captain Willem Joosten van Colster sailed into the Gulf of Carpentaria and Cape Arnhem is named after his ship, the Arnhem, which itself was named after the city of Arnhem in the Netherlands.
The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act 1960 for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the Australian people", thus functioning as a national library. It is located in Parkes, Canberra, ACT.
The Yolngu or Yolŋu are an aggregation of Aboriginal Australian people inhabiting north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. Yolngu means "person" in the Yolŋu languages. The terms Murngin, Wulamba, Yalnumata, Murrgin and Yulangor were formerly used by some anthropologists for the Yolngu.
The Gove Peninsula is at the northeastern corner of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. The peninsula became strategically important during World War II when a Royal Australian Air Force base was constructed at what is now Gove Airport.
Makassar people from the region of Sulawesi began visiting the coast of northern Australia sometime around the middle of the 1700s, first in the Kimberley region, and some decades later in Arnhem Land. They were men who collected and processed trepang, a marine invertebrate sea cucumber prized for its culinary value generally and for its medicinal properties in Chinese markets. The term Makassan is generally used to apply to all the trepangers who came to Australia. Some were from other islands in the Indonesian Archipelago, including Timor, Rote and Aru.
Nhulunbuy is a township that is the sixth largest place in the Northern Territory of Australia. Nhulunbuy was created on the Gove Peninsula when a bauxite mine, and a deep water port, were established in the late 1960s, followed by an alumina refinery. At the 2016 census, Nhulunbuy had a population of 3,240 with a median age of 32.
The history of Darwin details the city's growth from a fledgling settlement into a thriving colonial capital and finally a modern city.
Elcho Island, known to its traditional owners as Galiwin'ku (Galiwinku) is an island off the coast of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located at the southern end of the Wessel Islands group located in the East Arnhem Region. Galiwin'ku is also the name of the settlement where the island's largest community lives. Elcho Island formed part of the traditional lands of the Yan-nhaŋu, according to Norman Tindale. According to J. C. Jennison, the Aboriginal inhabitants were the Dhuwal, who called themselves the Kokalango Mala (mala=clan.)
John William Stokes, also known as Jack Stokes was an Australian administrator in the Northern Territory Police, and on the Territories of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and of Christmas Island.
Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage to groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They include the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia. The term Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, or the person's specific cultural group, is often preferred, though the terms First Nations of Australia, First Peoples of Australia and First Australians are also increasingly common.
This outline of Australia is an overview of and topical guide to various aspects of the country of Australia.
Corindi Beach, pronounced Cor-in-"dye" although Cor-in-"dee" is widely used recently, historically also known as Pipeclay Beach until a name change in 1954, Corinda until a forced change to be provided postal service to avoid confusion or by Red Bank as Corindi River was formerly known, is a beach and small seaside farming town located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The village is situated 33 kilometres (21 mi) north of Coffs Harbour and 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of Grafton. The original village of Corindi is slightly north along the Pacific Highway at Post Office Lane and Casson Close. Corindi means "grey" in local indigenous language referring to the pipeclay on the beach.
Gundagai is a place of considerable reputed Aboriginal cultural significance, with both archaeological sites and anthropological associations related to sacred and spiritual beliefs of the local clan group and wider cultural associations.
Cyclone Lam was the strongest storm to strike Australia's Northern Territory since Cyclone Monica in 2006. It formed from the monsoon trough on February 12 in the Coral Sea. For much of its duration, the system moved westward due to a ridge to the south. The system crossed over the Cape York Peninsula and moved into the Gulf of Carpentaria, whereupon it gradually organized due to warm waters and favorable outflow. On February 16, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) classified it as a Category 1 on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale and gave it the name Lam. The storm intensified further while drifting toward the Wessel Islands, developing an eye and strengthening to the equivalence of a minimal hurricane on February 18. It strengthened to reach maximum sustained winds of 185 km/h (115 mph) early on February 19 before turning to the southwest, making it a Category 4 cyclone. That day, it made landfall on Northern Territory between Milingimbi and Elcho Island at peak intensity, and it rapidly weakened over land. About six hours after Lam moved ashore, Cyclone Marcia struck Queensland as a Category 5 cyclone, marking the first time on record that two storms of Category 4 intensity struck Australia on the same day.
The Darwin Festival celebrates the multicultural aspects of the Northern Territory lifestyle. The Festival is held over 18 days in the dry season (May-Oct) and comprises a series of events including outdoor concerts, workshops, theatre, dance music, comedy, cabaret, film and visual arts. In 2020, Darwin Festival will be held from 6–23 August.
Pobasso, also spelt Probasso or Pobassoo, was the chief of a division of the Makassan fleet of perahu in the waters between northern Australia and Indonesia in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The fleet harvested trepang, or sea cucumber, trading it to China. Pobasso was a key informant on the early Makassan relationships with Australia's Indigenous peoples prior to European settlement.
The Yan-nhaŋu, also known as the Nango, are an indigenous Australian people of the Northern Territory. They have strong sociocultural connections with their neighbours, the Burarra, on the Australian mainland.
Wurrwurrwuy stone arrangements is a heritage-listed indigenous site at Yirrkala, Northern Territory, Australia. It is also known as Wurrwurrwuy. It was added to the Northern Territory Heritage Register on 15 August 2007 and to the Australian National Heritage List on 9 August 2013.
William George Murray was a constable in the Northern Territory Police force who, in 1928, led a series of punitive expeditions against Aboriginal Australians that became known as the Coniston massacre.
