Wurrumiyanga (), formerly Nguiu (, ), is a community on the southern coast of Bathurst Island,

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Nguiu was founded in 1911 as a Catholic mission by

Francis Xavier Gsell Francis Xavier Gsell, OBE (30 June 1872 – 12 July 1960) was a German-born Australian Roman Catholic bishop and missionary, known as the "Bishop with 150 wives". He was born at Benfeld, Alsace in 1872. He was ordained as a priest in the order ...

. In 2010 Nguiu was renamed Wurrumiyanga, meaning ''the place where the cycads grow'', by the

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 ...

. Nguiu Post Office opened on 3 June 1974 as the first office on Bathurst Island. There are two Catholic schools in the town; Murrupurtiyanuwu Catholic Primary School, and Xavier Catholic College (Years 7-13). Wurrumiyanga (Nguiu) is the home of Tiwi Designs, an art corporation (involving some 100 indigenous artists) which produces fabric, carvings, ceramics, print and paintings and whose aim is to promote, preserve and enrich Tiwi culture. It is also home of the ground where

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

is played and

Tiwi Islands Football League The Tiwi Islands Football League is an Australian rules football competition in the Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory, Australia. Australian Rules football is the most popular sport on the Tiwi Islands. The Grand Final of the TIFL was broadcast on ...

matches.

References

Towns in the Northern Territory Tiwi Islands Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory Catholic Church in the Northern Territory Australian Aboriginal missions {{NorthernTerritory-geo-stub