A highly-regarded art gallery in Victoria has bought an Indigenous-designed fashion collection from female artists and designers on Groote Eylandt. The Bendigo Art Gallery originally planned only to borrow the clothes and jewellery for a major two-month exhibition of First Nations fashion entitled Piinpi. But after seeing the Groote range...

The Anindilyakwa Land and Sea Rangers are playing a critical role in keeping Groote Eylandt as pristine as possible. There are 11 Indigenous rangers – with the main base at Alyangula and another base at Umbakumba – plus five coordinators, covering 10,000 square kilometres of the Groote Archipelago. Threatened species management is an...

Anindilyakwa Land Council is being rebranded to show its undoubtedly energetic, progressive, caring face to the world. Darwin-based Campaign Edge Sprout has been contracted to carry out the rebranding, which includes trademarking, new livery and brand portal. The project and service offering is extended to strategic communication plans for...

Indigenous people have been making ochre paints for as long as their culture has been alive. Groote Traditional Owner Murabuda Muramarrba talked about how his brother used to cook and strain the paint to make it smooth and not sandy or gritty. Working with Men Shed coordinator Ian O’Malley, they managed to develop a technique of cooking...

Radio manager Percy Bishop was lying down staring at the stars when Mama Lorraine quietly called him over and asked: “You got that recorder thing?” Lorraine then spoke to more than 20 people around a campfire for several hours in her hypnotic, low-register voice. Everyone was captivated as she told how 60 years ago as an 11-year-old...

T Wurramarrba has dedicated his life to the most noble of causes: helping his people. The chairman of the Anindilyakwa Land Council has invested an enormous amount of time, energy and emotion into the mission. “We need to create opportunities for our people,” he says. And that simple statement is at the heart of his philosophy –...

Seventy five building projects worth more than $130 million are under way or on the drawing board at Groote Eylandt. The work is being carried out by the Anindilyakwa Land Council’s Infrastructure Branch, which is using two local Indigenous-owned construction companies, Gebie Civil and Construction and Aminjarrinja Enterprises, along with...

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 textile designs were modelled on the catwalk at a Jakarta...

A fish that few people have heard of will be the lifeblood of an aquaculture project on Groote Eylandt. The cobia is perfect for fish farms. It commands a reasonably high price, not only because of its firm texture and tasty flavor but also because it is usually solitary and, therefore, difficult to catch commercially. They also grow...