Barunga, Northern Territory
Encyclopedia
Barunga is a small aboriginal
community located approximately 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) southeast of Katherine
, in the Northern Territory
, Australia. Barunga is part of the Roper Gulf Shire Council. The community has a health clinic, camping grounds, sports oval, basketball courts, softball pitch, school, council office, a community store. At the 2006 census
, Barunga had a population of 282.
Each year, the community holds the Barunga Festival which occurs in mid June.
There is also some reports that Tandangal was a s acred site, and the people were reluctant to settle there.
In early 1951, the Northern Territory Government started to develop the community, now known as the Beswick community, building basic housing infrastructure and creating some minor employment opportunities. Local farmers also employed the aboriginal people, even running a peanut farm at Beswick Creek. The farm from accounts only lasted a few years.
As Beswick grew, new tribes came to settle in, and a camp formed on the other side of the river known as 'the Compound' where the people made humpies
. In 1965, the elders changed the name of Compound to Bamyili in 1965. In 1984, it changed its name to Barunga.
Today, Barunga is a community with a population of about 500 people.
The Barunga school was first opened in 1954 with 42 children enrolled. Today, Barunga has a dynamic school with students aged from 6 months to 19 years.
Australian cycling champion Cadel Evans
spent his early childhood in Barunga.
, and Pine Creek
) would gather for these ceremonies.
at that year’s Barunga festival. It called for Aboriginal self-management, a national system of land rights, compensation for loss of lands, respect for Aboriginal identity, an end to discrimination, and the granting of full civil, economic, social and cultural rights. Prime Minister Hawke responded by saying that he wished to conclude a treaty between Aboriginal and other Australians by 1990, but his wish was not fulfilled.
The Australian Aboriginal band, Yothu Yindi
, wrote the song "Treaty" to commemorate the statement. The song became a worldwide success.
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
community located approximately 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) southeast of Katherine
Katherine, Northern Territory
Katherine is a town situated southeast of Darwin in the "Top End" of Australia in the Northern Territory. It is the fourth largest settlement in the Territory after the capital Darwin, Palmerston and Alice Springs...
, in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, Australia. Barunga is part of the Roper Gulf Shire Council. The community has a health clinic, camping grounds, sports oval, basketball courts, softball pitch, school, council office, a community store. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Barunga had a population of 282.
Each year, the community holds the Barunga Festival which occurs in mid June.
History
In 1913, tin mines opened in a location known as Maranboy. Many prospectors (of European, Chinese and aboriginal background), who became the first settlers in the area worked at this mine. The mines at Maranboy closed in 1945 and the aboriginal people who serviced the mine returned to Beswick Creek. In 1948, the community moved on from Beswick to Tandangal, as the community was at risk of flooding from recent heavy rains. A few years later, the people returned to Beswick creek as Tandangal's creeks had dried up and they had problems with water.There is also some reports that Tandangal was a s acred site, and the people were reluctant to settle there.
In early 1951, the Northern Territory Government started to develop the community, now known as the Beswick community, building basic housing infrastructure and creating some minor employment opportunities. Local farmers also employed the aboriginal people, even running a peanut farm at Beswick Creek. The farm from accounts only lasted a few years.
As Beswick grew, new tribes came to settle in, and a camp formed on the other side of the river known as 'the Compound' where the people made humpies
Humpy
A humpy is a small, temporary shelter made from bark and tree branches, traditionally used by Australian Aborigines, with a standing tree usually used as the main support...
. In 1965, the elders changed the name of Compound to Bamyili in 1965. In 1984, it changed its name to Barunga.
Today, Barunga is a community with a population of about 500 people.
The Barunga school was first opened in 1954 with 42 children enrolled. Today, Barunga has a dynamic school with students aged from 6 months to 19 years.
Australian cycling champion Cadel Evans
Cadel Evans
Cadel Lee Evans is an Australian professional racing cyclist and winner of the 2011 Tour de France. Early in his career, Evans was a champion mountain biker, winning the World Cup in 1998 and 1999 and placing seventh in the men's cross-country mountain bike race at the 2000 Summer Olympics in...
spent his early childhood in Barunga.
The festival
Barunga Festival is held annually. It is a cultural and sports festival with up to 3000 people attending. The ceremonies, are an important part of Barunga community life. The aboriginal people used to travel out of the Bamyili Settlement to have their ceremonies at Tandangle. People from up to 20 different tribes (e.g. BulmanBulman, Northern Territory
Bulman is a cattle station town in the Northern Territory of Australia. One of the northernmost communities in the Northern Territory, it is on the Central Arnhem Road about 400 kilometers east-southeast of Darwin, Australia...
, and Pine Creek
Pine Creek, Northern Territory
Pine Creek is a small town in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory, Australia. According to the 2001 Australian census 665 people live in Pine Creek, which is the fourth largest town between Darwin and Alice Springs....
) would gather for these ceremonies.
The Barunga Statement
In June 1988, many aboriginal tribes gathered and a statement of national Aboriginal political objectives was issued to the federal government in June 1988. This became known as the ‘Barunga Statement’. It was written on bark and presented to Prime Minister Bob HawkeBob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
at that year’s Barunga festival. It called for Aboriginal self-management, a national system of land rights, compensation for loss of lands, respect for Aboriginal identity, an end to discrimination, and the granting of full civil, economic, social and cultural rights. Prime Minister Hawke responded by saying that he wished to conclude a treaty between Aboriginal and other Australians by 1990, but his wish was not fulfilled.
The Australian Aboriginal band, Yothu Yindi
Yothu Yindi
Yothu Yindi are an Australian band with Aboriginal and balanda members formed in 1986. Aboriginal members come from Yolngu homelands near Yirrkala on the Gove Peninsula in Northern Territory's Arnhem Land...
, wrote the song "Treaty" to commemorate the statement. The song became a worldwide success.