Gapuwiyak, also known as Lake Evella, is an

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 ...

community located in north-eastern

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compan ...

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 ...

, south of the head of

Buckingham Bay Buckingham Bay is a large, rectangular bay on the northern coast of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It lies 520 km east of Darwin and 120 km west of Nhulunbuy. Description The bay is about 40 km long and ...

and about the same distance south-west of Arnhem Bay. The settlement had a population of 871 people recorded at the 2016 census. Gapuwiyak is adjacent to Lake Evella. The lake was seen by Harold Shepherdson from his

Miles Hawk The Miles M.2 Hawk was a twin-seat light monoplane designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Miles Aircraft Limited during the 1930s. It is the first of the company's aircraft to attain quantity production. The Hawk's developm ...

aeroplane in 1935 and he named it Lake Evella after his wife Ella, and Eva, the wife of a fellow missionary Rev. T.T. Webb. ''Gapuwiyak'' means "brackish water" (''Gapu'' – water; ''Wiyak'' – salty). The community is serviced by a barge from Darwin once a week that comes up the

Buckingham River Buckingham River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia. The headwaters of the river are on the northern edge on the eastern side of the Mitchell Ranges near where the Central Arnhem Road crosses the Range. The river flows in a no ...

. The community comprises Aboriginal people from many different families or

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

s. It produces a

newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of int ...

called ''Gapuwiyak Dhäwu''. In April 2017, a four-day festival to mark the

Rom ceremony 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 groupi ...

was attended by about 500 people at Gapuwiyak School. The Yolngu Rom comprises the

laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

, values,

beliefs A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to take i ...

songs A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

of the people, and the young people learn from participation in the event, which is attended by people of all ages. It was planned to hold the event each term. The health clinic transitioned to a community-managed model in 2018, and is managed by Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation.

References

External links

Gapuwiyak Community IncGapuwiyak Culture & Arts
Geography of the Northern Territory Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory {{NorthernTerritory-geo-stub

See also

References

External links