hi all,
just a quickie to let you know i am safe and sound in rome.. a bit tired after the huge flight but hey, cant complain...
will try to log on somewhat frequently to let you know how its all going...
today we are searching for sim cards, banks and a place to watch the hawks win the GF!
love to all.
s xxxx
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adventures in the top end
Nhulunbuy/Gove - an intro
Gove Peninsula (including Nhulunbuy and Yirrkala)
An important mining town on the edge of Arnhem Land. At the northeastern corner of Arnhem Land lies the Gove Peninsula and the mining town of Nhulunbuy. It is accessible, on a regular basis, by air from Darwin (650 km) and Cairns (1190 km). During the dry season, and with the appropriate documentation from the Northern Land Council, it can be reached by 4WD from Katherine. The journey which passes through the Arnhem Land Aboriginal reserve is 700 km over rough dirt roads and takes approximately 14 hours. There are no fuel stops on the way. The current attitude of the Northern Land Council to such journeys is that there must be some reason beyond sightseeing or simply wanting to travel around the edges of the continent. Consequently applications to travel through Arnhem Land are not easy to obtain.
The Gove Peninsula was originally occupied by the Yolngu Aborigines and its proximity to the Arafura Sea means that for centuries the locals traded with the Macassan trepangus which visited the coast. In 1931 the area was included as part of Arnhem Land but during World War II, with the imminent danger of a Japanese invasion of Australia's northern coastline, the area became a major air force base with a population of over 5 000 servicemen. The peninsula was named after a young Australian airman, Pilot Officer William Gove, who was killed in action in 1943.
In the 1950s the Commonwealth Government carried out mineral exploration and in 1952 bauxite was discovered. The bauxite deposit covered 65 sq. km and contained an estimated 250 million tonnes. Initially the government resisted demands to mine the deposit but in 1964 Nabalco was set up and with a commitment to spend $100 million and build a port, township and mine, the company was granted a lease.
The town of Nhulunbuy (the word is the term used by local Aborigines to refer to the hill named Mount Saunders by Matthew Flinders) was started in 1969. Today it has a population of over 4 000. With no easy land links to the outside world all supplies are either shipped or flown in.
The establishment of the town did not occur without resistance from the local Aborigines. A land rights court challenge was mounted in 1968 and currently the participants in the Gove Joint Venture (Swiss Aluminium & Gove Aluminium Ltd) pay $9.5 million royalties each year.
Part of the royalties go to the local Aboriginal community. The rest benefits Aborigines throughout the Northern Territory.
To the south of Nhulunbuy is the Aboriginal community of Yirrkala. The settlement, which was probably inhabited for tens of thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans, was set up as a mission station in 1935 and was run by the United Church of North Australia until 1976.
In 1976, after four years of preparation, the Church handed ownership of the mission site back to the traditional owners who had set up the Yirrkala Dhanbul Community Association Inc. This subsequently came to incorporate the Yirrkala Town Council. The arrival of a large number of Europeans at Nhulunbuy and the mining of the area saw many of the traditional owners leaving the area and moving back into the hinterland regions of Arnhem Land.
An important mining town on the edge of Arnhem Land. At the northeastern corner of Arnhem Land lies the Gove Peninsula and the mining town of Nhulunbuy. It is accessible, on a regular basis, by air from Darwin (650 km) and Cairns (1190 km). During the dry season, and with the appropriate documentation from the Northern Land Council, it can be reached by 4WD from Katherine. The journey which passes through the Arnhem Land Aboriginal reserve is 700 km over rough dirt roads and takes approximately 14 hours. There are no fuel stops on the way. The current attitude of the Northern Land Council to such journeys is that there must be some reason beyond sightseeing or simply wanting to travel around the edges of the continent. Consequently applications to travel through Arnhem Land are not easy to obtain.
The Gove Peninsula was originally occupied by the Yolngu Aborigines and its proximity to the Arafura Sea means that for centuries the locals traded with the Macassan trepangus which visited the coast. In 1931 the area was included as part of Arnhem Land but during World War II, with the imminent danger of a Japanese invasion of Australia's northern coastline, the area became a major air force base with a population of over 5 000 servicemen. The peninsula was named after a young Australian airman, Pilot Officer William Gove, who was killed in action in 1943.
In the 1950s the Commonwealth Government carried out mineral exploration and in 1952 bauxite was discovered. The bauxite deposit covered 65 sq. km and contained an estimated 250 million tonnes. Initially the government resisted demands to mine the deposit but in 1964 Nabalco was set up and with a commitment to spend $100 million and build a port, township and mine, the company was granted a lease.
The town of Nhulunbuy (the word is the term used by local Aborigines to refer to the hill named Mount Saunders by Matthew Flinders) was started in 1969. Today it has a population of over 4 000. With no easy land links to the outside world all supplies are either shipped or flown in.
The establishment of the town did not occur without resistance from the local Aborigines. A land rights court challenge was mounted in 1968 and currently the participants in the Gove Joint Venture (Swiss Aluminium & Gove Aluminium Ltd) pay $9.5 million royalties each year.
Part of the royalties go to the local Aboriginal community. The rest benefits Aborigines throughout the Northern Territory.
To the south of Nhulunbuy is the Aboriginal community of Yirrkala. The settlement, which was probably inhabited for tens of thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans, was set up as a mission station in 1935 and was run by the United Church of North Australia until 1976.
In 1976, after four years of preparation, the Church handed ownership of the mission site back to the traditional owners who had set up the Yirrkala Dhanbul Community Association Inc. This subsequently came to incorporate the Yirrkala Town Council. The arrival of a large number of Europeans at Nhulunbuy and the mining of the area saw many of the traditional owners leaving the area and moving back into the hinterland regions of Arnhem Land.
1 comment:
glad to hear all safe and well xx
good luck with the gf thing! have just been in melb - our beautiful city is footy mad!! you'd only be forgiven for missing the fact only if you were blind and deaf.. where else can you go out to a club and wear a brown and yellow footy jumper with massive 15 or 23 splashed across your back!! its seriously everywhere - scarfs and jumpers of all colours (mainly hawks/geelong 70:30), 'go hawkers!!' bleating out into the crowds, streamers, banners, 'before the game' telecast live from fed square... the only thing i've seen bigger is the olympic games in sydney eight years ago! fed square is going to madness and mayhem tommorrow..
take care,
lots of love em xx
ps ..we'll go and see hawks v carlton in the granny next year ;)
ps again hi to tabitha
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