Groote Eylandt, the third largest Australian island, 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 and rock art which is thousands of years old.
Ore loading jetty on Milne Bay
Fishing anywhere in the Gulf at any time of year is amongst the best in the world, the people of Groote Eylandt know this and have developed the Dugong Beach Resort to help visitors take advantage of this fisherman’s paradise. Surrounding the island is a marine environment with fabulous reef systems and rich recreational fisheries. Over 50 different species are caught in the pristine waters at Groote Eylandt.
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.
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 Eylant: 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 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. The island was also used as a flying boat base by Qantas for a period of time. 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. Manganese is obtained from a black mineral, in nodules and layers; it has been formed by weathering of igneous rocks and the concentration in this form of their primary manganese minerals. It is used in steel production as a 'cleanser' during smelting and also enhances elasticity.
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.
Natural features: Port Langdon; Cape Beatrice; South Point; Tasman Point; Winchelsea Island; Gulf of Carpentaria Built features: settlements of Angurugu, Alyangula and Umbakumba.
