Indigenous artists from Groote Eylandt are taking the world by storm. Their painting, carving, basket weaving and now textiles are recognised by art collectors, dealers and galleries from Parap to Paris. Two accomplished artists, Maicie Lalara and Annabel Amagula, returned from a skills development course in Indonesia full of new ideas. Their...

The aquaculture project on Groote Eylandt could one day produce 2690 tonnes of fish per year. Anindilyakwa Land Council plans to farm high-end seafood, such as cobia, clam and sea cucumber. It is estimated that the adult cobia would grow to about 6.2 kilograms in a 12-month pond culture cycle. The first stage of the project on Winchelsea...

The land and sea of the Groote Eylandt archipelago supports incredible biodiversity – and Traditional Owners are determined to keep it as pristine as possible. They recognise that their country is a stronghold for several threatened species that have drastically declined on the mainland. Traditional Owners strongly supported the drawing...

Outsiders are often staggered at the musical talent in Indigenous communities. Groote Eylandt is no exception. The archipelago has several successful groups, including Poison Whiskey, Salt Lake Band, Mambali and Eylandt Band. The Anindilyakwa Music Program supports the bands and aspiring young singers and musicians. Music program...

A $4 million solar infrastructure program on Groote Eylandt is turning Traditional Owners into sun worshippers. Mini-solar power plants have been built at three small communities – Bartalumba Bay, Little Paradise and Four Mile – and similar projects at Emerald River and Thompson Bay will begin in April 2021. Lithium ion batteries with...

A specialist-trained detection dog named Edna is helping to keep one of the most pristine islands groups in northern Australia free of a deadly invader – the cane toad. The five-year-old golden labrador has been trained to sniff out the odour of one of the world’s worst invasive species. Cane toads were first introduced into Australia...

History has shown that there are few things more important to people than their own language. The Groote Eylandt Language Centre is dedicated to preserving the Anindilyakwa language. Islanders like to boast that their language is one of the hardest in the world to learn. Anindilyakwa is spoken by the Warnindilyakwa people on Groote and...

Traditional Owners are planning to build a boarding school on Bickerton Island. Anindilyakwa Land Council is applying for a $40 million grant for the project from the Aboriginals Trust Fund. The 14 clans who own the Groote Eylandt archipelago have been extensively consulted and are overwhelmingly in support of the project – 80 percent of...

People of all ages are working hard to keep Groote’s beautiful beaches clean. More than 100 residents – led by the Anindilyakwa Land and Sea Rangers and women from the Anindilyakwa Art Centre – took part in the second annual Clean Up Groote Eylandt Day at 8 Mile Beach. They collected an extraordinary amount of marine debris,...