Barunga, formerly known as Beswick Creek and then Bamyili, is a small
Aboriginal community located approximately southeast of
Katherine
Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and Catherina, other variations are feminine Given name, names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria ...
, in the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
of Australia. It is part of the
Roper Gulf Region
Roper Gulf Regional Council is a local government area of the Northern Territory, Australia. The region covers an area of and had a population of 7,397 in June 2018.
History
In October 2006 the Northern Territory Government announced the r ...
local government area. At the , Barunga had a population of 313.
[
In mid June each year, the Barunga Festival, a three-day event showcasing ]Australian Aboriginal culture
Australian Aboriginal culture includes a number of practices and ceremonies centered on a belief in the Dreamtime and other mythology. Reverence and respect for the land and oral traditions are emphasised. Over 300 languages and other groupings ...
, is held. At the 1988 event, the Barunga Statement, which requested a treaty between the Australian federal government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...
and Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
( Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped ...
peoples), was presented to then prime minister Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...
. Just before the 2018 Festival, the Barunga agreement was signed between the Northern Territory Government
The Government of the Northern Territory of Australia, also referred to as the Northern Territory Government, is the Australian territorial democratic administrative authority of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory wa ...
and all four land council
Land councils, also known as Aboriginal land councils, or land and sea councils, are Australian community organisations, generally organised by region, that are commonly formed to represent the Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australians ...
s.
History
Aboriginal people have lived in Barunga and the surrounding region for thousands of years.
Maranboy tin mine
In September 1913, a goldfield named Maranboy
Maranboy was a tin mine near Barunga, about 70 kilometres east of Katherine in the Northern Territory of Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian ...
was declared for a period of two years. Maranboy was located from where Barunga is today.
Tin was discovered at Maranboy in 1913 by prospectors Scharber and Richardson. Tin mines and a battery were operational in the same year. Prospectors of European, Chinese and Aboriginal descent worked at Maranboy. The mine closed in 1949 for repairs but never reopened. Many of the Aboriginal people who serviced the mine returned to Beswick Creek.
Plane crash nearby
A Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner
manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
belonging to the Dutch Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force''
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, equipment ...
crash-landed near Beswick Creek or Beswick (now Wugularr) in 1947. All passengers survived, with four crew travelling about down the Katherine River to get help. After running out of food they killed one of two dogs they had with them. The wings were eventually removed and the remains of the plane were towed to Katherine.
Tandangal
The Tandangal Native Settlement (from Jawoyn language
Jawoyn (Jawonj, Jawany, Djauan, Jawan, Jawony; Adowen, Gun-djawan), also known as Kumertuo, is an endangered Gunwinyguan language spoken by elders in Arnhem Land
Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, wit ...
''dangdangdal''), also known as the Eight Mile Settlement, was established in 1947, located about from Beswick Station. The local people were not consulted about the choice of location nor the method of their removal to the settlement from the King River Compound.
In 1948, the Beswick community moved to Tandangal (sometimes known as "old Bamyili"), because of risk of flooding from recent heavy rains. An influenza epidemic spread through the community in May 1951.
In June 1951 the people were relocated to the new site, initially known as Beswick Creek Native Settlement, and Tandangal was condemned.[
]
Back to Beswick
By November 1951 the 'flu had killed seven people.
In early 1951, the Northern Territory Government
The Government of the Northern Territory of Australia, also referred to as the Northern Territory Government, is the Australian territorial democratic administrative authority of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory wa ...
started to develop the Beswick Creek community, building basic housing infrastructure and creating some minor employment opportunities. Local farmers also employed Aboriginal people, even running a peanut farm at Beswick Creek. The farm only lasted a few years. As Beswick grew, new groups formed a camp on the other side of the river known as "The Compound" where the people made humpies
A humpy, also known as a gunyah, wurley, wurly or wurlie, is a small, temporary shelter, traditionally used by Australian Aboriginal people. These impermanent dwellings, made of branches and bark, are sometimes called a lean-to, since they ofte ...
.
1950s to present
The Barunga school was first opened in 1954 with 42 children enrolled.
The elders changed the name of "The Compound" to Bamyili in 1965. In 1984, it changed its name to Barunga.
Australian cycling champion Cadel Evans
Cadel Lee Evans (; born 14 February 1977) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist, who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along wi ...
spent his early childhood in Barunga, in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1985 the Barunga Festival was first held. In 1988, the Barunga Statement was presented to the prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
at the event. (See below for detail.)
Barunga Festival
Bangardi Robert Lee (1952–2005), a leader of the Bagala clan of the Jawoyn
The Jawoyn, also written Djauan, are an Australian Aboriginal people living in the Northern Territory of Australia. The Bagala clan are of the Jawoyn people.
Language
Jawoyn, known as Kumertuo, is a non- Pama–Nyungan language that belongs t ...
people, initiated the Barunga Sport and Cultural Festival in 1985. It became an important forum for sharing ideas, showcasing the Aboriginal Australian
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
and Torres Strait Islander
Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped ...
cultures and talent, and to engage with social and political issues.
It has become an annual music and cultural celebration, held on the Queen's Birthday
The King's Official Birthday (alternatively the Queen's Official Birthday when the monarch is female) is the selected day in the United Kingdom and most Commonwealth realms on which the birthday of the monarch is officially celebrated in those ...
long weekend (second weekend) in June attracting over 4,000. It features a program of workshops, dancing ceremonies
A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion.
The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''.
Church and civil (secular) ...
, traditional bush tucker
Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and used as sustenance by Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora or fauna used for culinary or ...
-gathering, didgeridoo
The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...
-making, basket weaving
Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...
and musical performances and sport.
In 2018, popular Tiwi band B2M played at the festival.
The 2020 Festival was postponed from June to September, then cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The 2021 event went ahead as scheduled on 11-13 June. The number of interstate patrons was limited by the organisers, and some local Indigenous groups did not attend due to caution over COVID-19.
The Barunga Statement (1988)
In 1988, as part of Bicentennial __NOTOC__
A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to:
Europe
*French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...
celebrations, the prime minister of Australia
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...
Bob Hawke visited the Northern Territory for the Barunga Festival, where he was presented with a statement of Aboriginal political objectives by Galarrwuy Yunupingu
Galarrwuy Yunupingu (born 30 June 1948), also known as James Galarrwuy Yunupingu and Dr Yunupingu, is a leader in the Aboriginal Australian community, and has been involved in the fight for Indigenous land rights in Australia throughout his ca ...
and Wenten Rubuntja
Wenten Rubuntja (c. 1923 – 2005) was an Australian artist, Aboriginal rights activist, and historian.
Wenten was born at Bart's Creek, about 56 km north of Alice Springs.
A meeting of representatives of Central Australian Aboriginal co ...
. Painted on a 1.2 metre square sheet of composite wood, it became known as the "Barunga Statement". It stated:
Prime Minister Hawke responded by saying that he wished to conclude a treaty between Aboriginal and other Australians by 1990, but his wish was not fulfilled. Controversy erupted over the exposure of sacred material in the bark painting, leading some Indigenous leaders to call for its return. Some leaders alleged the presentation of the painting resulted in at least ten deaths due to "munya", which translates as remorse in the Aboriginal system of payback.
In 1991, Hawke's last act as prime minister was to hang the Barunga Statement at Parliament House, Canberra
Parliament House, also referred to as Capital Hill or simply Parliament, is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia, and the seat of the legislative branch of the Australian Government. Located in Canberra, the Parliament building is ...
. He did so one minute before Paul Keating
Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...
was sworn in as the new prime minister, stating "its presence here calls on those who follow me, it demands of them that they continue efforts that they find solutions to the abundant problems that still face the Aboriginal people of this country".
Yothu Yindi song ''Treaty''
In June 1991 Australian Aboriginal band, Yothu Yindi
Yothu Yindi (Yolŋu Matha, Yolngu for "child and mother", pronounced ) are an Australian musical group with Australian Aboriginal, Aboriginal and ''List of English words of Malay origin#B, balanda'' (non-Aboriginal) members, formed in 1986 as ...
, wrote and released the hit song "Treaty
A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations
An international organization or international o ...
" to commemorate the statement. Lead singer Mandawuy Yunupingu
Mandawuy Djarrtjuntjun Yunupingu , formerly Tom Djambayang Bakamana Yunupingu; skin name Gudjuk; also known as Dr Yunupingu (17 September 1956 – 2 June 2013) was an Australian musician and educator.
An Aboriginal, in 1989 he became assista ...
, with his older brother Galarrwuy, wanted to highlight the lack of progress on the treaty between Aboriginal peoples and the Federal Government. Mandawuy said:
"Bob Hawke visited the Territory. He went to this gathering in Barunga. And this is where he made a statement that there shall be a treaty between black and white Australia. Sitting around the camp fire, trying to work out a chord to the guitar, and around that camp fire, I said, "Well, I heard it on the radio. And I saw it on the television." That should be a catchphrase. And that's where 'Treaty' was born".
The Barunga agreement (2018)
On 8 June 2018, just before the opening of the Barunga Festival, the Northern Territory Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), since known as the Barunga agreement, to begin talks with all four of the Territory's Aboriginal land council
Land councils, also known as Aboriginal land councils, or land and sea councils, are Australian community organisations, generally organised by region, that are commonly formed to represent the Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australians ...
s, on the subject of a treaty. The agreement, which was drafted after a week of discussions which included about 200 elected members of the land councils, included some guiding principles, including that “Aboriginal people were the prior owners and occupiers of the land, seas and waters that are now called the NT of Australia”. The land councils involved are the Northern, Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
, Anindilyakwa and Tiwi Land Council
The Tiwi Land Council is a land council in the Northern Territory of Australia established in 1978 to represent Aboriginal Australians living on the Tiwi Islands.
It was established following requests by the Tiwi people for recognition of thei ...
s. One of the essential elements was seen as truth telling
A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...
, “Truth telling is critical. Unless we understand each other, and understand how we’ve been impacted even by the best intentions of the other side, it’s pretty hard to construct a new relationship”.
The only two surviving senior men of the nine who painted the Barunga statement in 1988, Rirratjingu
The Dangu (Dhaŋu, Dhangu) are an Aboriginal Australian people of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory, one of many Yolŋu peoples. They are, according to Norman Tindale, to be carefully distinguished from the Djaŋu.
Two prominent clans of ...
clan leader Galarrwuy Yunupingu and fellow Yolngu leader Djambawa Marawili, were present on Friday as the treaty agreement was signed.[
]
Facilities
Barunga School provides education for students from preschool to the middle years, with up to Year 12
Year 12 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is sometimes the twelfth year of compulsory education, or alternatively a year of post-compulsory educa ...
supported by the NT Open Education Centre. , the school is developing links with Wugularr
Wugularr, also known by its non-Aboriginal name Beswick, is a small community in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located south-east of Katherine and from the Barunga Community.
The traditional owners are the Bagala people.
A DC- ...
and Bulman
''Bulman'' is a British television crime drama series, principally written and created by Murray Smith. It was first broadcast on ITV on 5 June 1985. The series, featuring retired ex-cop George Bulman (Don Henderson) and his assistant Lucy Mc ...
schools through the Vocational Education and Training
Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesman, tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education give ...
(VET) program. The school has six 6 teaching staff and 14 non-teaching staff, with 54 boys and 48 girl students, 99% with languages other than English as a first language. As a very remote school in an area of socioeconomic
Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local ...
disadvantage, at this point most of its students do not fall into the top quarter of achievement (as per the NAPLAN
The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is a series of tests focused on basic skills that are administered to Australian students in year 3, 5, 7 and 9. These standardised tests assess students' reading, writing, l ...
statistics, but the number has been growing since 2011.
The Bagala Community Store opened in September 2017, after local women raised the need for good food at affordable prices. Run by eight staff, it is the only store in the NT entirely owned and operated by Indigenous people. it stocks fresh produce and other foods, as well as hardware, mechanical goods, small electrical appliance
A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation.
Appliances are divided into three ty ...
s as well as major appliances
A major appliance, also known as a large domestic appliance or large electric appliance or simply a large appliance, large domestic, or large electric, is a non-portable or semi-portable machine used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cook ...
.
The community has a health clinic, camping grounds, sports oval, basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
courts, softball
Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
pitch and council office.
See also
* ''Uluru Statement from the Heart
The ''Uluru Statement from the Heart'' is a 2017 petition by Australian Aboriginal leaders to change the constitution of Australia to improve the representation of Indigenous Australians.
The statement was released on 26 May 2017 by delegates ...
''
* Yirrkala bark petitions
The Yirrkala bark petitions, sent by the Yolngu people, an Aboriginal Australian people of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, to the Australian Parliament in 1963, were the first traditional documents prepared by Indigenous Australians that ...
References
Further reading
Barunga Festival Official Website
*
{{authority control
Towns in the Northern Territory
Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory