Groote Eylandt

Groote Eylandt is unique place with a very diverse environment – pristine beaches, spring water swimming holes, open woodland, rainforest, red sand dunes, the aqua waters of the Gulf of Carpentaria, rock art which is thousands of years old, fascinating Aboriginal culture and friendly locals. 50 km from east to west and 60 km north to south, it has no high mountain ranges; the highest point, Central Hill, is only 219m above sea level. The island is becoming renowned for its fine aboriginal rock art sites, arts and crafts and outstanding sport-fishing.

Location: Groote Eylandt is the largest island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in northeastern Australia. It lies some 50 km from the Northern Territory mainland and eastern coast of Arnhem Land (approximately 630 km from Darwin).

The island has until recently been open to the public only with permission, and the local Aboriginal Land Council did not encourage tourism. There is now a resort style hotel and a sport fishing lodge on the island and visitors are welcome, however there are certain areas on the island where visitors are not permitted to visit without a traditional owner.

Fishing anywhere in the Gulf at any time of year is amongst the best in the world, and Dugong Beach Resort was developed to help visitors take advantage of this fisherman’s paradise. The Resort is located on the island's west coast, not far from the main town of Alyangula and caters for people from all cross-sections of our world community. The Resort offers a relaxed and friendly tropical atmosphere reflecting the lifestyle, hospitality and wishes of the Groote Eylandt traditional land owners. The Resort is serviced by Air North and Vincent Aviation. Airnorth is aligned with QANTAS, frequent flyer points can be earned.

Sacred sites are vital spiritual and cultural places which link the island's Aboriginal people to their cultural traditions and the land. Amuwarngka Cultural Tours, an Aboriginal owned and operated company based on Groote Eylandt, operates from the Dugong Beach Resort.

Its experienced Aboriginal guides share about land values and lifestyle of the Warnindilyakwa people on Groote Eylandt, and include many site of cultural significance in their tours. The company offers a 2 hour bush walk and a full day hunting tour. On the Bush Walkabout, indigenous guides highlight important plants used by the Warnindilyakwa People, and recall their Dreamtime and Salt Water Stories. The Shallow Water Hunting tour visits one of the many private outstations, and incorporates spear making and throwing demonstrations and practice. Ph (08) 8987 7014.

The most visited is the Wurruwarrkbadenumanji cave painting site. This name contains 34 letters that far exceed the number of letters in Lake Cadibarrawirranna in South Australia which is always quoted as being the longest place name in Australia at trivia quiz competitions. The cave paintings are in pristine condition and no vandalism has occurred in the thousands of years since they were painted.  Sitting in the caves in quiet consultation is as powerful than being in a majestic man-made cathedral or temple. Depicted are bark canoes alongside canoes of the Macassan traders from Sulawesi  in the 18th century which they pre-date.

Alyangula

A mining company town owned and run by GEMCO, a BHP subsidiary, which operates a large open-cut manganese mine near the community of Angurugu.

Umbakumba

A small community on the southern edge of Little Lagoon. Opposite Umbakumba at Spit End is the site of a QANTAS flying boat base where Imperial flying boats en route from London to Sydney overnighted and refuelled in the 1930s. During WW2 the RAAF used the base as a staging post for north Australia reconnaissance.  Military presence on Groote during WW2 was extensive; there were lookouts watching for Japanese military movements and semaphore stations operated by Australian army personnel.  The Japanese did actually land on Gulf Country shores but did no damage.


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Climate

The daily temperatures are generally around 30 degrees at any time of year with the humidity rising from around 30% in June, July and August to above 80% during the “build up” and wet season October to March.

About Groote Eylandt

The island measures approximately 50 km from east to west and 60 km north-south, a total area of some 2,260 sq. km. It is generally quite low-lying, with an average height above sea level of 15 m. It was named by the explorer Abel Tasman in 1644 and is Dutch for "Big Island", in a now-archaic spelling. It is one of the few Australian geographical features to be named by or to have retained the name given by the early Dutch explorers.

Groote Eylandt was first sighted by Europeans in 1623, by the Dutch ship Arnhem, under Willem van Coolsteerdt. However, it was not until 1644, when Tasman arrived, that the island was named. The first European settlement on the island was established at Emerald River in 1921, in the form of an Anglican church mission. During World War II, in 1943, the mission moved to Angurugu, as the RAAF required the use of the mission's airstrip. The ruins of the RAAF base are still evident today. In 1979, control of the island was transferred to the local Aboriginal Town Council.

The island today belongs to the Anindilyakwa people, and is part of the Arnhem Land Aboriginal Reserve. The island is open to the public only with permission, and the local Aboriginal Land Council has not encouraged tourism. In general, a permit issued by the Anindilyakwa Land Council office is required in order to visit the island.

GEMCO, a BHP subsidiary, operates a large open-cut manganese mine near the community of Angurugu, paying royalties to the traditional owners. In operation since the early 1960s, it has a yearly production of more than 2 million tonnes, which is about 10 percent of the world's total.

It occurs in a single bed of varying thickness mostly in a pebble like form comparable with bauxite granules. The overburden and then the ore is removed by scrapers and bulldozers. The ore is removed by truck, crushed, and then stockpiled at the harbour at Alyangula, a modern town where most non-Aboriginal employees of the mine live. At Milne Bay the ore is offloaded onto ships from a jetty. Loading is confined to the dry season between April and November. A road leads from the mine to the small Aboriginal community of Umbakumba on the east coast. A prawn processing factory operates on Bartalumba Bay.

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