Gawa is a place on

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 ...

in the

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

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 ...

. Elcho Island is situated about 90 kilometres west-north-west of the

Gove Peninsula The Gove Peninsula is at the northeastern corner of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. The peninsula became strategically important during World War II when a Royal Australian Air Force base was constructed at what is now Gov ...

in the

Arafura Sea The Arafura Sea (or Arafuru Sea) lies west of the Pacific Ocean, overlying the continental shelf between Australia and Western New Guinea (also called Papua), which is the Indonesian part of the Island of New Guinea. Geography The Arafura Sea is ...

. Approximately 60 km long and 6 km wide, it is home for some 1,000

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

whose homelands are scattered on Elcho, several neighbouring islands and surrounding mainland regions. Elcho Island is one of the most remote communities in Australia.

Early history

Historically, Gäwa, on the northern tip of Elcho Island, was a meeting place for Indigenous groups long before white people came to these shores. The seafaring Macassans from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

visited Elcho Island to collect trepang, a sea animal that is to be found lying on the sea bed, a Chinese

delicacy A delicacy is a rare food item that is considered highly desirable, sophisticated, or peculiarly distinctive within a given culture or region. A delicacy may have an unusual flavor or be expensive compared to everyday foods. Delicacies va ...

. The Macassans visited for a period of over 200 years prior to 1906 when the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

stopped the practice. During that time, some Gäwa and Elcho people travelled back to Macassar. Since then some have made periodic visits back and forth. Many Macassan words, artefacts and cultural practices were adopted into the local languages and lifestyle. Macassan artefacts have been bartered via Indigenous trading routes as far as the southern and western coasts of Australia.

European settlement

The first Europeans only moved to Elcho Island in 1921 and then permanently in the 1940s. In 1937-1938, Constable

John William Stokes John William Stokes (1 February 1910 – 3 August 1995) was an Australian administrator in the Northern Territory Police, and on the Territories of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and of Christmas Island. His maternal grandparents were from Stol ...

of the Northern Territory Police was stationed on Elcho Island at the future site of Galiwinku as part of an effort to eliminate prostitution of Aboriginal women by visiting Japanese luggers. He established a cordial cooperative working relationship with local people (see account in the book 'The Long Arm' and his now-published diary). Later, in the 1940s,

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

came to live side by side with, and learn from their Indigenous co-workers. Most of these were committed to learning local

languages Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing. Human language is ch ...

, and training those workers with skills to equip them to live within the changing world. Government policies of the 1970s encouraged missionaries to leave, and hand over their work to local people. Government policies tend to have a 4-year currency, after which there is always a better policy. With 2 year tenures, airfares home, and generous entitlements, (compared to mission rates), new government workers who did not have the long term commitment for Indigenous people, stepped into the gap, exposing Yolnu to further disadvantage and confusion caused by the rapid and unrelenting change. Various enterprises were set up on communities everywhere; grazing,

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

, gardens,

sewing Sewing is the craft of fastening pieces of textiles together using a sewing needle and thread. Sewing is one of the oldest of the textile arts, arising in the Paleolithic era. Before the invention of spinning yarn or weaving fabric, archaeo ...

baking Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but it can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot Baking stone, stones. Bread is the most commonly baked item, but many other types of food can also be baked. Heat is ...

; some employing and training Indigenous people, others acting as supply bases.

External links

gawahomeland.com
The Long Arm - Biography of a Northern Territory Policeman 1937-1942, Hugh V. Clarke, Roebuck Book, Canberra 1974, {{ISBN, 0-909434-03-4 http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/17796427?q=John+William+Stokes&c=book. The Diary of Constable John William Stokes of the NT Police Force 1937-1942 and other family history, (Tony Stokes, editor). Manuscript. 61 copies printed privately, 1981. Copies in Australian National and Northern Territory libraries. http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/21814991?q=John+William+Stokes&c=collection. Towns in the Northern Territory