Bagot Community is an Aboriginal community in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

located in Ludmilla, a northern suburb of the city of Darwin. It was established in 1938 as the Bagot Aboriginal Reserve, when the Aboriginal residents were moved from the

Kahlin Compound Kahlin Compound was an institution for part- Aboriginal people in Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia between 1913 and 1939. After 1924, "half-caste" children were separated from their parents and other adults and moved to an institut ...

, it was also sometimes referred to as the Bagot Road Aboriginal Reserve. In 1979, it became a self-governing community, administered by an Aboriginal Community Council and known as the Bagot Aboriginal Community, but signposted and commonly known as the Bagot Community.

History

The Bagot Aboriginal Reserve was established in 1938 (probably under the ''

Aboriginals Ordinance 1918 The ''Northern Territory Aboriginals Act 1910'' was an Act of the South Australian parliament (Act no. 1024/1910), assented to on 7 December 1910. The long name of the Act was "An Act to make Provision for the better Protection and Control of th ...

'', which allowed for

Aboriginal reserves An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th ...

in the NT), when all Aboriginal residents were moved from the

. The Retta Dixon Home was located at the reserve. The origins of the reserve's name have not been recorded by the Northern Territory Place Names Committee. In 1954, 22 boys from the reserve travelled to

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

to perform a corroboree for

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. In the late 1970s, the Reserve was handed over to Aboriginal custodians; thereafter it was known as the Bagot Aboriginal Community, but commonly referred to as the Bagot Community.

Recent history

Bagot Community is run by the Bagot Community Incorporated (BCI). It faced financial difficulties in 2015 and was reportedly in administration with debts of more than $700,000. Commercial development of about of the Bagot Community site was then proposed. President of BCI Helen Fejo-Frith stated the development would "enable the Bagot Community to have a sustainable future". Poor housing, alcohol problems and violence were cited as major concerns by residents in the run-up to the 2013 Australian election. Although the permanently resident population is only about 250 people, during the

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

, this can grow to 500–700, leading to chronic overcrowding. In September 2013, moves to make Bagot into a suburb of Darwin were mooted, with the

Northern Territory Government The Northern Territory Government is the executive branch of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory was formed in 1978 with the granting of self-government to the Territory. The Northern Territory is a territory of the Co ...

and the Larrakia Development Corporation (LDC) planning to turn Bagot into a normal suburb, embedded in Ludmilla. However Bagot Community Council said it would fight any attempts to hand over control to the LDC. For many years, the Larrakia were the predominant group at Bagot, but as of 2012, according to a paper by

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

Dr Bill Day, only two Larrakia families remained living permanently in the community. A community celebration known as "The Bagot Festival" was held as part of

Darwin Festival The Darwin Festival, founded as the Bougainvillea Festival in 1979 and named Festival of Darwin from 1996 to 2002, is an annual arts festival in Darwin, Northern Territory. It celebrates the multicultural aspects of the Northern Territory lifes ...

in 2014, featuring music, dance and art. In 2015, a painting project was undertaken at the community which saw a series of murals painted on the houses. A project to upgrade much of the housing and infrastructure in Bagot was undertaken from 2018 to 2019 by the NT Government through its Town Camps Futures Unit.

Facilities

The Bagot Clinic, a primary health care unit, is on Bagot Road.

References

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History

Recent history

Facilities

References

Further reading