Milingimbi Island, also Yurruwi, is the largest island of the

Crocodile Islands The Crocodile Islands are a group of islands belonging to the Yan-nhaŋu people of the Northern Territory of Australia. They are located off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Arafura Sea. List of islands Larger islands * Milingimbi Island, in the ...

group off the coast of

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 ...

, Australia.

Location

Milingimbi lies approximately east of Darwin and west of

Nhulunbuy Nhulunbuy () is a township that is the sixth largest population centre in the Northern Territory of Australia. Nhulunbuy was created on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land when a bauxite mine and a deep water port were established ...

History

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

have occupied the area for more than 40,000 years. It was an important ritual centre for the great ceremonies conducted by the indigenous inhabitants. In 1923, the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Overseas Mission established a

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

on the island, which attracted Aboriginal people from eastern

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 ...

groups. They included Gupapuyŋu- and Djambarrpuyŋu-, as well as Wangurri- and Warramirri-speaking people. The Yan-nhangu-speaking Yolngu people are the

traditional owner Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

s of Milingimbi and its surrounding seas and islands. The island was bombed by the Japanese during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and most of its population moved to nearby

Elcho Island 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 Arnhe ...

. After the war, the island continued to be used as a

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

base, before the missionaries returned in 1951. The mission administered the island until 1974, after which management was transferred to Milingimbi Community Incorporated. In 2008 Milingimbi, became part of the

East Arnhem Regional Council The East Arnhem Region is a local government area of the Northern Territory, Australia, governed by the East Arnhem Regional Council. Situated in the far north-eastern corner of the Northern Territory, the region covers an area of and had a po ...

, which took over local government.

Language

English is a second, third or fourth language for most Aboriginal residents of Milingimbi. A successful

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

program of the Milingimbi CEC, started in 1974, was stopped. Bilingual education continues on some of the surrounding outstations, run by traditional owners concerned to support the linguistic, cultural and biological diversity of the

. To that end, the Yan-nhangu traditional owners have started the volunteer Crocodile Islands Rangers project to promote sustainable livelihood activities for local people in local languages.

Facilities

The island has its own airfield,

Milingimbi Airport Milingimbi Airport is an airport located east northeast of Milingimbi on Milingimbi Island in the Northern Territory of Australia. The airport received funding for security upgrades in 2006. History The airfield was constructed by Milingimbi ...

, with the airport call-sign YMGB, and is also the site of a

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together ...

weather station. The island also has its own ALPA (Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation) store, post office and an art gallery. Milingimbi has a community library serviced by East Arnhem Regional Council.

Notable people

Binyinyuwuy Djarrankuykuy Dick Binyinyuwuy Djarrankuykuy (c. 1928–1982) was a leading Aboriginal artist from the island of Milingimbi off the coast of the Northern Territory of Australia. He belonged to the Djarrankuykuy clan of the Djambarrpuyngu people. During ...

was a leading Aboriginal artist from the island of Milingimbi. His works are held in major museums around the world. *

Tom Djäwa Tom Djäwa (a.k.a. Djäwa Daygurrgurr) (born 1905 – March 23, 1980) was an Aboriginal Australian master painter and had created many works such as ''Murayana''. Djäwa worked with bark painting and made wood sculptures as an expression of his a ...

, an artist and community leader and elder, was part of recordings that appeared on the

Voyager Golden Record The Voyager Golden Records are two phonograph records that were included aboard both Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977. The records contain sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, and are intended for ...

, along with Mudpo and Waliparu. * Artist

David Malangi David Malangi (192719 June 1999) was an Indigenous Australian Yolngu artist from the Northern Territory. He was one of the most well known bark painters from Arnhem Land and a significant figure in contemporary Indigenous Australian art. He wa ...

attended school at Milingimbi in his childhood. * According to one account, the noted

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 ...

maker and player,

Djalu Gurruwiwi Djalu Gurruwiwi, also written Djalu ( – 12 May 2022), was a Yolngu man from Arnhem Land in northern Australia, known worldwide for his skill as a player, maker and spiritual keeper of the yiḏaki (didgeridoo). He was also a respected arti ...

, was born at Milingimbi. * Northern Territory senior Australian of the Year 2012,

Laurie Baymarrwangga Laurie Baymarrwangga (Gawany) Baymarrwaŋa (c. 1917 – 20 August 2014) was the senior Aboriginal traditional owner of the Malarra estate, which includes Galiwin'ku, Dalmana, Murruŋga, Brul-brul and the Ganatjirri Maramba salt water surrounding ...

, was the senior djungaya (manager) of Milingimbi Island. She was awarded the 2011 Northern Territory Innovation and Research Award for her projects, including the development of a

Yan-nhaŋu 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. Name The Yan-nhaŋu people derive ...

Dictionary (1994-2012) and her work with the Crocodile Islands Rangers. In 1935, Baymarrwangga was photographed by Donald Thomson at Milingimbi and at Murrungga. * Danzal Baker (known professionally as 'Baker Boy') is an influential music artist hailing from Milingimbi

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * *

External links

Milingimbi as part of East Arnhem Shire Council

Crocodile Islands Rangers project

Milingimbi Island map
{{Islands of the Northern Territory, state=collapsed 1923 establishments in Australia Arnhem Land Islands of the Northern Territory Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory